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Since announcing its entrance into the Houston innovation market in January, MassChallenge Texas has been scoring the city — and the rest of the world — for the accelerator programs inaugural cohort. Now, the organization is ready to announce its 26 startups ahead of the program’s July 22 launch.

The 26 companies come from three countries and six states, and half have female founders. The startups are mostly within the health care and high tech industries — eight companies reside in each of those categories. Two companies are energy related, and one company has a social impact focus. The remaining seven companies are categorized as “general,” according to the release.

“We have an incredibly diverse cohort of startups for our first MassChallenge Texas in Houston program,” says Jon Nordby, managing director of MassChallenge Texas in Houston, in the news release. “The startups cross five industries, where 50 percent of the startups come from outside of Houston bringing talent from innovation hubs like New York, San Francisco, and Switzerland. Proving that Houston’s global reach is not just for the Fortune 500 and that startups are looking for their place in the global economy, something that Houston is uniquely suited to offer.”

As a part of MassChallenge, the selected startups aren’t asked for equity in order to participate, and free coworking space, more than $250K in deals and discounts, and more prizes await the top companies at the conclusion of the six-week programming.

Throughout the accelerator, MassChallenge will provide training, guidance, and corporate connections with a large network of companies, such as Southwest Airlines, TMAC, WeWork, USAA, Upstream, Central Houston, the City of Houston, Lionstone, Midway, BAE Systems, BHP, Ingram Micro, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Houston Texans. Houston-based Reliant, an NRG company, is the latest corporate partner to join those ranks, according to the release.

Over 280 companies applied for the program, says Robert Pieroni, director of economic development for Central Houston, in the release, a clear indication for him that the Houston program was a good decision for both the city and MassChallenge.

“When we set out to find a partner to support our innovation initiatives, we were seeking a catalyst for Houston’s innovation ecosystem,” Pieroni says in the release. “We knew we needed an organization that matched Houston’s global reach and our passion for bringing creative ideas to life through business.”

Without further adieu, here are the 26 companies that begin their MassChallenge journey on July 22:

AeroGenics (Iowa,)
AeroMINE (Texas,): AeroMINE is a motionless wind turbine created for the building environment. It installs like solar panels but is more cost effective.
Animatus Biosciences, LLC (Texas): Animatus Biosciences is an R&D company focusing on the development of unique regenerative therapeutics based on our modified mRNA platform.
Ask Doss (Texas): DOSS is a Real Estate Operations System (ReOS) that will radically simplify how people search (voice activated) and transact real estate.
Bell Analytics (Texas)
Bright Angle (Texas): Bright Angle is a Pinterest style activity platform for teachers, students, parents, and admins that is the “chalkboard” of the 21st century
Camppedia Inc. (Texas): Camppedia plans to disrupt the $18B children’s camps industry and in the process improve the lives of millions of working parents.
Captain (Texas): Captain is a user-friendly, multi-sided platform that connects outdoor sports adventurers and guides.
Celise (Virginia): Celise is a compostable disposables company in the foodservice industry that aims to replace and eliminate single-use plastic waste.
Combined Arms [CAX-X] (Texas): Combined Arms is a forward-thinking nonprofit that is committed to unleashing the impact of veterans on Houston.
DoBrain (Republic of Korea): DoBrain is a children’s diagnosis app that detects neuropsychological markers indicative of developmental delays.
Door Space Inc. (Texas): Door Space built a cloud-based platform that automates professional credential management and verification for clinicians and their employers.
ElecTrip (Texas): ElecTrip offers city-to-city, door-to-door transportation services in private-professionally driven Teslas with Wi-Fi and laptop charging. Book online to any major Texas-based city.
FloodFrame (Texas): FloodFrame is a concealed flood protection system that utilizes the natural buoyant force of water to deploy and protect your home.
Māk Studio (Texas): Māk Studio is a fabrication studio in the heart of Houston. We design and fabricate custom walls and furniture for commercial interiors.
NeuroRescue (Ohio): NeuroRescue improves the standard of care used to treat stroke, brain injury, and cardiac arrest to increase neurological outcome by up to forty-percent.
Noleus Technologies Inc. (Texas): Noleus is a novel medical device that reduces post op ileus, saves post op hospital days and accelerates patient recovery
ORDRS (Texas)
PTC Wizard (New York): PTC Wizard helps K-12 schools streamline their scheduling and sign-up process thereby improving parent involvement and decreasing overhead.
RehabMaker Corp. (California): Rehabmaker is a manufacturer of exercise equipment that attaches to wheelchairs and allows people to move their legs.
Reveal Technologies (Texas)
Sensytec Inc. (Texas): Sensytec is revolutionizing the oil & gas, and construction industries by bringing smart cement technologies and real-time data collection.
Swoovy (Texas): Swoovy is a mobile app that connects single people and volunteer opportunities with nonprofits, as a date.
Waterdata (Ticino, Switzerland): Waterdata offers Liquidprice, an Intelligent pricing software that optimizes prices with AI by adapting to customers, competitors and market behavior quickly.
WellWorth (Texas)
Zero5 (California)

Full article can be found here.

It was an afternoon filled with heartfelt moments, dazzling diamond ring designs, legends, raindrops and even a few tears.

Yes, the focus was on the class of 2019 at the Houston Sports Hall of Fame presented by PNC Bank ring ceremony and plaque unveiling Tuesday afternoon on the Walk of Fame at The House of Blues. And, while it didn’t have a show-stopping moment like last year when Earl Campbell opened his ring box and his eyes looked as though they would pop out of their sockets, George Foreman’s ring reveal came pretty close.

“I thought these rings would be you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” the two-time world heavyweight champion said. “I had no idea I would get blown away by this ring.”

Neither did Jack Burke, Jr., A.J. Foyt and Dan Pastorini, who were blown away too by their one-of-a-kind rings.

Designed by Fred Cuellar at Diamond Cutters International, the rings were individualized with symbols representing each Hall of Famer’s sports — a golf ball on a tee for Burke, a rippled checkered flag for Foyt, a boxing glove for Foreman and the Houston Oilers’ oil derrick logo for Pastorini.

Cameras clicked away as the players slipped on their rings and the day culminated when the signature plaques were unveiled — surrounded by cameras as well — as honorees stood under umbrellas to ward off the rain.

Yet one of the quieter moments that day reminded you just how special the day was for another group — the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association.

Twenty of the organization’s Hall of Honor coaches were on hand to help launch Phase Two of the Hall of Fame — an interactive kiosk which will house photos and short biographies of the Hall of Famers and of the GHFCA’s Hall of Honor members. The actual kiosk wasn’t ready, but the coaches got to see a demo of the new kiosk which was safely tucked away from the rain along the GreenStreet promenade.

“I think it was even more than what we expected,” said former Deer Park coach Chris Massey, past president of the GHFCA and member of the organization’s Executive Board of Directors. “Most of us didn’t grow up with technology and didn’t have any idea what we would see. It was really, really neat to see.”

At least one coach teared up when he talked about the GHFCA’s participation in the new Hall of Fame, while others marveled over some of the features of the kiosk. One of the coolest options? Visitors will be able to leave a message for a specific coach, which will be forwarded to him.

“All of those guys had a huge impact on a lot of guys over the years,” Massey said. “It will be neat for people to be able to send them notes.”

The coaches’ Hall of Honor, which began in 1992 and has honored 84 coaches, was originally memorialized on a wall in the Astrodome. But when the Astrodome closed in 2008, the group didn’t move to then-Reliant Stadium. Instead, it continued work with local coaches and high schools, honoring some of Greater Houston’s legendary high school coaches and give scholarships at its annual luncheon.

Now they will be part of the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.

“This is really exciting for us,” Massey said. “We’ve been trying for a long time to recognize these coaches. Now, this new location will allow people to learn about the impressive high school coaches in our area.”

Like everyone else there, the coaches were awed a bit by the stars of the day — those rings.

According to Cuellar, the average price for a traditional Hall of Fame ring like so many halls give out is less than $1,000. “When you consider a top Super Bowl ring is 20 to 25 times that amount . . .” Cuellar said. “Why did we forget the Hall of Famers?”

He didn’t.

Last year’s inaugural Hall of Fame class was Houston’s three iconic 34s — Earl Campbell, Hakeem Olajuwon and Nolan Ryan — and, thus, their rings all had 34s on the top. Campbell’s was in Houston Oilers Columbia blue, Olajuwon’s in Rockets red and Ryan’s in Astros orange.

This year’s rings all included investment grade Vivid White diamonds and then diamonds reflecting their design. The largest ring belongs to Foyt — a size 14; the smallest a size 9 for Burke.

Burke’s had canary yellow diamonds for the tee, while he used black diamonds for Foreman’s glove and Foyt’s rippled checkered flag. Pastorini’s design – with rubies and blue diamonds – was the most challenging.

“We have basic frame for the rings, but we had a problem with the Houston Oilers derrick,” Cuellar said. “It was too big. We couldn’t find a way to figure out how to get it on there. If we shrunk it down, we lost details.”

Finally, he decided to let the derrick’s base rest on the outside of the frame and found the only blue stone that would work with it — blue diamonds, which he said are the rarest color of diamond.

“I’m proud to wear it,” Pastorini said. “We all went through all this together and we’re recognized for the Luv Ya Blue years. Not just me, not just Earl. But for the Luv Ya Blue teams.”

There were lots of oohs and aahhs over the rings Tuesday, but there were also the smiles from everyone, including those coaches.

And leave it to the colorful Foyt provided the perfect exclamation point.

“I’ve got a lot of rings, but this one stands out,” he said. “Being made here in my hometown … being honored here in Houston, Texas . . . It’s hard to put into words what it means.”

Then again, maybe it’s not.

Full article can be found here.

This city has almost as many murals as it does people that want to find them. We can only admire the paint wall and pose in front of the “Houston Is Inspired” art piece for so long. Every once and a while, a new colorful addition brightens up this town a little bit more. And this time, we get to head over to Green Street to see the brand new Houston mural, FolkHeArt.

Three weeks ago, FolkHeArt debuted on Green Street and commissioned House of Blues Houston, and now, more artists and muralists are hinted to join the already-popular spot.

This city has almost as many murals as it does people that want to find them. We can only admire the paint wall and pose in front of the “Houston Is Inspired” art piece for so long. Every once and a while, a new colorful addition brightens up this town a little bit more. And this time, we get to head over to Green Street to see the brand new Houston mural, FolkHeArt.

Three weeks ago, FolkHeArt debuted on Green Street and commissioned House of Blues Houston, and now, more artists and muralists are hinted to join the already-popular spot.

The cityscape that lines the bottom was inspired by Reginald Mitchell, an artist whose work resides on the walls of House of Blues.

You can find this poppin’ wall next to Forever21 on Green Street at 1201 Main St Space #101 & 201. And keep on the look out for new additions coming soon by watching Green Street.

It’s a perfect way to support local art while using that red heart to get those red hearts on IG.

You can swing by and snap a photo at the new mural, but why not make a whole day out of it? Hop around the city to these different spots and impress the heck out of your followers.

Full article can be found here.

HOUSTON, (MARCH 26, 2019) —Life Time, the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand, is bringing its luxury athletic club and premium workspace, Life Time Work, to downtown Houston at GreenStreet as it continues building a major presence in the Houston market. For the first time, downtown Houston will have healthy living and healthy entertainment programs and experiences, combined with a coworking space intentionally designed to promote a healthy and fulfilling work life.

“GreenStreet aligns well with our vision to meet the changing needs of consumers by bringing Life Time—through our athletic destinations and coworking space—as a lifestyle asset to bustling and successful developments,” said Parham Javaheri, Life Time executive vice president of real estate and development. “We look forward to becoming an anchor to this new model of urban living in 2020.”

Life Time will be ideally positioned on Houston’s Innovation Corridor, linking the Texas Medical Center and Rice University to downtown’s major corporate headquarters and financial and legal powerhouses. Located at 1201 Main Street, Life Time will create more than 56,000 square feet of diamond-level wellness space and more than 38,000 square feet of coworking space. With modern architecture, beautiful spaces and an abundance of amenities, the two-level luxury athletic lifestyle resort will provide a highly personalized luxury approach to health and wellness unlike anything else in the area.

Fernando Urrutia, Vice President, Real Estate Asset Management for Lionstone Investments, owner and operator of GreenStreet in partnership with Midway, said Life Time GreenStreet delivers competitive advantage for companies recruiting the most sought-after workforce. “Being able to attract and retain workers who place a premium on work/life balance sets a company’s culture apart,” Urrutia said. “Combining GreenStreet’s state-of-the-art work environment with the highest level of health and wellness amenities, in the middle of downtown’s expanding variety of new residential developments, will be a game-changer.”

Life Time originated its urban athletic resort concept in Houston at Midway’s CITYCENTRE more than a decade ago, and chose that development for the Houston market launch of Life Time Work in 2018. “We are happy Life Time has selected another Midway development after our successful collaboration at CITYCENTRE,” said Chris Seckinger, Vice President, Investment Manager for Midway. “Life Time adds an all-important healthy living component to GreenStreet, a mixed-use district that is being redeveloped as the new model of urban lifestyle. “

The vision of Lionstone and Midway has been to create an urban campus environment at GreenStreet.
Spanning four blocks from Main Street to Caroline Street, GreenStreet is becoming a meeting ground where major companies and investors in Houston’s downtown central business district collaborate with leading edge technology startups, sparked by Houston’s academic, medical and energy communities.

GreenStreet is upgrading the office tower experience with a new three-story lobby to create a sense of arrival and hotel-quality hospitality. Life Time will access the tower lobby on levels two and three, activating and energizing the newly enhanced entry, which will connect from Polk Street to the GreenStreet Lawn, an open area programmed with live music and other community activities.

In addition to creative and high-rise office spaces, GreenStreet is home to technology accelerator, MassChallenge, popular restaurants, national retail and pop-up shops, local art installations and an ever-changing lineup of events. The upscale, award-winning Hotel Alessandra and the House of Blues concert hall bring after-hours vibrancy and activity to the property beyond the workday population.

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About Life Time® – Healthy Way of Life

Life Time champions a healthy and happy life for its members across 143 destinations in 39 major markets in the U.S. and Canada. As the nation’s only Healthy Way of Life brand, Life Time delivers an unmatched athletic resort experience and provides a comprehensive healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment experience that goes well beyond fitness to encompass the entire spectrum of daily life for individuals, couples and families of all ages. Life Time currently operates nine clubs in the Houston market with three additional clubs planned in the coming years (Greenway, GreenStreet and Shenandoah).

About GreenStreet

GreenStreet is the new model of urban lifestyle, in the heart of Houston’s central business district. With its flagship tower and four-city-block span, GreenStreet is a mixed-use district unlike any other downtown. The northern anchor of the emerging innovation corridor, GreenStreet links directly to the Sears Innovation Hub, Midtown living, the Museum District, Rice University and the Texas Medical Center via the METROrail Red Line. With a perfect Transit Score of 100, Walk Score of 88 and Bike Score of 77, GreenStreet offers effortless commuting and an attached1,450-space parking garage. GreenStreet’s 420,000 square feet of office space and AT&T SportsNet broadcast studio are complemented with world-class hospitality in the 223-key Hotel Alessandra, live entertainment at House of Blues, a collection of casual and fine-dining restaurants, shops and an ever-changing lineup of art installations and free events on The Lawn. Visit GreenStreet at www.greenstreetdowntown.com and follow on social media @greenstreethou

About Lionstone Investments

Lionstone Investments is a data-analytics driven real estate investment firm that conceptualizes, analyzes, and executes national investment strategies using proprietary algorithms and advanced analytics to understand the changing ways people in America want to live and work — Places for Productive People.® Lionstone Investments is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. Please visit our website at: lionstoneinvestments.com

About Midway

Houston-based Midway is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate investment and development firm that has provided the highest level of quality, service and value to our clients and investors for more than 50 years. Our portfolio of projects completed and/or underway consists of approximately 45 million square feet of properties ranging from mixed-used destinations, office, industrial facilities, and master-planned residential communities. Midway continues to develop projects of distinction, aesthetic relevance and enduring value for our investors, our clients, and the people who live, work, and thrive in the environments we create.

MEDIA CONTACT for Midway:

Ann Taylor, [email protected]
O 713.568.5257 / M 281.702.3111

MEDIA CONTACT for Life Time:

Natalie Bushaw, [email protected]
PH 952.229.7007

HOUSTON, (February 5, 2019) — Creative, flexible workspace pioneer, Spaces, is expanding with two new locations, joining Houston’s Innovation Corridor at GreenStreet in downtown at 1201 Fannin, and the CITYCENTRE district in West Houston at CITYCENTRE One, 800 Town & Country Boulevard. Spaces GreenStreet will be in a 63,000 square-foot space, and Spaces CITYCENTRE will be 60,789 square feet. Both of the new Spaces locations will be centered around the concept of community and shared ideas.

“Spaces is redefining the way work is done, providing a contemporary, social and creative environment with a real focus on community,” said Michael Berretta, VP of Network Development, for IWG, which owns Spaces. “Houston is a vibrant city with a global business hub and an entrepreneurial attitude. Spaces gives Houston’s talent pool an inspiring place to work and meet with other people who believe in the power of collaboration to drive a business forward.”

Fernando Urrutia, Vice President, Real Estate Asset Management for Lionstone Investments, owner and operator of GreenStreet in partnership with Midway, says Spaces GreenStreet will be a destination for innovative, nimble and collaborative companies migrating to Houston’s Innovation Corridor, an area connecting the Texas Medical Center and Rice University to Downtown via the MetroRail Red Line on Main Street. “Dynamic, fast-growth companies seek the flexibility and collaborative community Spaces offers, and GreenStreet is attractive to these companies,” Urrutia says. “GreenStreet gives Spaces an office campus with a Main Street location.” 

A recent report from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network identified the disruptive, creative potential in innovation ecosystems like Houston’s, where emerging technology entrepreneurs collaborate with established industry leaders. GreenStreet is a meeting ground where major companies and investors in Houston’s downtown central business district can collaborate with leading edge technology startups, sparked by Houston’s academic, medical and energy communities.

Spaces CITYCENTRE will be ideally positioned to serve the growing community of companies clustering at the intersection of energy and technology in and around Midway’s CITYCENTRE development.

Spaces originally entered the Houston market in another Midway development, Kirby Grove. “We are excited Spaces has selected two more Midway properties after launching in Houston at Kirby Grove on Levy Park,” said Chris Seckinger, Vice President, Investment Manager for Midway. “Spaces fits perfectly in GreenStreet, a mixed-use district that is being redeveloped as the new model of urban lifestyle. And CITYCENTRE gives Spaces an ideal platform to serve businesses, whether they are collaborating globally or locally, in the midst of West Houston’s concentration of energy, technology and engineering firms.

Spaces GreenStreet will offer over 63,000 square feet of modern workspace community with collaborative areas, team rooms, co-working space, phone booths, meeting rooms, fully furnished private offices and a 3,000-square foot rooftop patio. The GreenStreet Lawn also offers an outdoor community gathering place for live music, alfresco dining and relaxed networking. In addition to restaurants, shops, local art installations and an ever-changing lineup of events, GreenStreet is home to upscale, award-winning Hotel Alessandra and the House of Blues concert hall.

Spaces CITYCENTRE will be located in almost 61,000 square feet in the CITYCENTRE One office building, in the heart of a mixed-use environment of retail, restaurants, fitness, offices, residences and welcoming green space. The award-winning CITYCENTRE district has been honored as “People’s Choice Development of the Decade” by the Urban Land Institute.
Spaces members also will enjoy access to a global network of more than 3,300 flexible workspace locations worldwide.

With a culture of interesting people doing interesting things, Spaces GreenStreet and Spaces CITYCENTRE will partner with local community members to host a vigorous calendar of networking events and educational workshops.

Spaces was represented in both leases by brokers Mike Cleary, Sr. Vice President, Kevin Saxe, Sr. Vice President, and Kevin Kushner, Sr. Vice President, with CBRE. GreenStreet was represented by Damon Thames, Vice President, Connor Saxe, Director, and Vince Strake, Leasing Representative with Colvill Office Properties, and CITYCENTRE was represented by Michael Anderson, Executive Vice President, and Connor Saxe, Director, with Colvill Office Properties.

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About Spaces

Spaces offers an inspiring work environment for professionals and growing businesses. In addition to office space, there are memberships and meeting rooms to help you think, create and cooperate with like-minded people. Spaces’ goal is to offer inspirational surroundings with an entrepreneurial spirit where ideas are born, a company can evolve and valuable relationships are built. Spaces has locations in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Africa, Australia and Asia. For more information, visit www.spacesworks.com or call 1-844-6-SPACES.

About GreenStreet

GreenStreet is the new model of urban lifestyle, in the heart of Houston’s central business district. With its flagship tower and four-city-block span, GreenStreet is a mixed-use district unlike any other downtown. The northern anchor of the emerging innovation corridor, GreenStreet links directly to the Sears Innovation Hub, Midtown living, the Museum District, Rice University and the Texas Medical Center via the METROrail Red Line. With a perfect Transit Score of 100, Walk Score of 88 and Bike Score of 77, GreenStreet offers effortless commuting and an attached1,450-space parking garage. GreenStreet’s 420,000 square feet of office space and AT&T SportsNet broadcast studio are complemented with world-class hospitality in the 223-key Hotel Alessandra, live entertainment at House of Blues, a collection of casual and fine-dining restaurants, shops and an ever-changing lineup of art installations and free events on The Lawn. Visit GreenStreet at www.greenstreetdowntown.com and follow on social media @greenstreethou

About CITYCENTRE

Developed by Midway, Houston’s 47-acre CITYCENTRE district is a thoughtfully planned and meticulously executed, self-contained community. CITYCENTRE encompasses two million square feet, including 350,500 square feet of sophisticated retail and dynamic dining, 625,000 square feet of Class-A office, 35 luxurious brownstone residences, 1,155 upscale apartment and loft units, the 171-room Four Points by Sheraton–CITYCENTRE and 266-room, world class Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE. Activated by European-style, open-air plazas, and beautifully designed green spaces, CITYCENTRE is also home to Life Time Athletic, a 140,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art urban fitness facility with a full-service spa. The district’s 54,000 square feet of entertainment offerings include Studio Movie Grill theater and Bowl & Barrel, plus 75,000 square feet of premier meeting and event space within Norris Conference Center, Texas A&M Mays Business School, and Hotel Sorella’s dedicated Meetings & Event Centre. CITYCENTRE is served by four parking garages with more than 4,000 parking spaces. For more information, please visit www.citycentrehouston.com.

About Lionstone Investments

Lionstone Investments is a data-analytics driven real estate investment firm that conceptualizes, analyzes, and executes national investment strategies using proprietary algorithms and advanced analytics to understand the changing ways people in America want to live and work — Places for Productive People.® Lionstone Investments is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. Please visit our website at: lionstoneinvestments.com

About Midway

Houston-based Midway is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate investment and development firm that has provided the highest level of quality, service and value to our clients and investors for more than 50 years. Our portfolio of projects completed and/or underway consists of approximately 45 million square feet of properties ranging from mixed-used destinations, office, industrial facilities, and master-planned residential communities. Midway continues to develop projects of distinction, aesthetic relevance and enduring value for our investors, our clients, and the people who live, work, and thrive in the environments we create.

MEDIA CONTACT for Midway:

Ann Taylor, [email protected]

O 713- 568-5257 / M 281-702-3111

MEDIA CONTACT for Spaces:

Kim Thornton, [email protected]

O 917-566-7928

Global startup accelerator is second Texas program

HOUSTON, TX —(FOR RELEASE Jan. 30, 2019)—At a press conference at GreenStreet in downtown Houston today, MassChallenge, Central Houston, the City of Houston and Midway announced that MassChallenge, a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, will locate its newest Texas program at GreenStreet. The first MassChallenge Texas startup cohort will begin in the summer of 2019, supporting up to 25 startups.

MassChallenge Texas, which launched in Austin in 2018, is the second domestic and seventh international location in the MassChallenge’s network, which includes Boston, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, and the UK. To date, 1,900 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $4 billion in funding, generated more than $2 billion in revenue, and created over 120,000 total jobs.

“MassChallenge is a perfect fit for GreenStreet,” said Jonathan Brinsden, CEO of Midway, owner and operator of GreenStreet with partner Lionstone Investments. “We are creating the new model of urban lifestyle at GreenStreet, a place in Downtown for business people in a wide range of industries to collaborate and find inspiration. Houston’s welcoming, can-do spirit nurtures start-ups and fast-growth companies, and makes our city ideal for established firms on the leading edge.”

By expanding to Houston, MassChallenge Texas is continuing its commitment to strengthening and growing the innovation ecosystem across the Lone Star State, working to make Texas the best place in the world to innovate.

“The success of the inaugural MassChallenge Texas accelerator proves that the MassChallenge model works in Texas,” said John Harthorne, CEO of MassChallenge. “Houston has a strong emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem and is home to technology-advanced legacy industries—such as energy, life sciences and aerospace—that can be leveraged to help startups at their earliest stages. We are excited to bring MassChallenge to Houston.”

The City of Houston, along with business and innovation leaders, has recognized the need to bolster the local innovation ecosystem by helping to build a concentration of innovation activities and attracting talent to the region.

“In March 2017, a task force formed by the City released a report titled Innovation in Houston. In this report, we realized that Houston has a thriving innovation economy, but its potential is limited by the absence of a flourishing startup community,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “A key recommendation was to create critical mass in a few key areas with access to ‘legacy industry’ and institutional players as well as an unparalleled array of amenities. The four-mile-long section of Main Street, now termed the ‘Innovation Corridor’ was identified, anchored by Downtown to the north, Rice University’s investment in Midtown and the Texas Medical Center to the south.”

Moving this framework forward and facilitating the creation of a collaborative Innovation District within Downtown was a key recommendation in the 2017 Plan Downtown, a 20-year vision for planning, development and design, and is a major priority for both Central Houston and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority.

“MassChallenge is an opportunity that we pursued in earnest,” said Bob Eury, president of Central Houston and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority. “The Downtown Redevelopment Authority has approved an agreement with MassChallenge for an economic development grant to operate this program within Downtown, an investment that we believe will garner long-term results for the GreenStreet development, Downtown and the Houston region.”

With its Main Street location on the Innovation Corridor, GreenStreet is in the path of progress, where downtown Houston’s financial, legal and business consulting powerhouses connect with the next generation of Fortune 500 Companies. In close proximity to approximately 67,000 residents and 158,000 employees, a short walk to Houston’s newest urban park, with growing businesses moving in, and Hotel Alessandra raising the standard for luxury hospitality and fine dining, GreenStreet’s future is bright. The amount of the grant is not to exceed $2,500,000 to be paid over a five-year period.

###

About GreenStreet

GreenStreet is the new model of urban lifestyle, in the heart of Houston’s central business district. With its flagship 260,000 square foot Innovation Tower at GreenStreet, AT&T SportsNet broadcast studios, and four-city-block span, GreenStreet is a mixed-use district unlike any other downtown. As the northern anchor of Houston’s emerging Innovation Corridor, GreenStreet links directly to the Sears Innovation Hub, Midtown living, the Museum District, Rice University and the Texas Medical Center via the METROrail Red Line. GreenStreet offers effortless commuting with a perfect Transit Score of 100, Walk Score of 88, Bike Score of 77, and an attached 1,450-space parking garage. Offering world-class hospitality in the 223-key Hotel Alessandra, live entertainment at House of Blues, a collection of fine-dining restaurants and shops, GreenStreet also hosts an ever-changing lineup of art installations and free events on The Lawn. Visit GreenStreet at www.greenstreetdowntown.com and follow on social media @greenstreethou

About Lionstone Investments

Lionstone Investments is a data-analytics driven real estate investment firm that conceptualizes, analyzes, and executes national investment strategies using proprietary algorithms and advanced analytics to understand the changing ways people in America want to live and work — Places for Productive People.® Lionstone Investments is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. Please visit our website at: lionstoneinvestments.com

About Midway

Houston-based Midway is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate investment and development firm that has provided the highest level of quality, service and value to our clients and investors for more than 50 years. Our portfolio of projects completed and/or underway consists of approximately 45 million square feet of properties ranging from mixed-used destinations, office, industrial facilities, and master-planned residential communities. Midway continues to develop projects of distinction, aesthetic relevance and enduring value for our investors, our clients, and the people who live, work, and thrive in the environments we create.

About Central Houston, Inc.

Central Houston, Inc. is the steward of Houston’s vision for the redevelopment and revitalization of Downtown. Central Houston has contributed to the momentum of this exciting revitalization by enhancing collaboration among public officials, developers and businesses and has facilitated many of the public and private projects that have transformed downtown over the past 30 years.

Today, Central Houston’s leadership and oversight continue to play a critical role downtown. Priorities focus on the image of the city, quality of life, strengthening Houston’s economic base and continued collaboration with the City, County, METRO and downtown property owners to improve our central city. For more information, visit www.centralhouston.org.

About MassChallenge

MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, Texas, and the UK, MassChallenge is committed to strengthening the global innovation ecosystem by supporting high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world. To date, 1,900 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $4 billion in funding, generated more than $2 billion in revenue, and created over 120,000 total jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at masschallenge.org.

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Media Contacts

Ann Taylor / Midway
[email protected]
O 713-568-5257
M 281-702-3111

HBJ – Throughout much of its time in Houston, London-based recruiting firm Spencer Ogden catered largely to the oil and gas industry. It served them well – Spencer Ogden opened its Houston office in 2011, and by 2012, the firm moved from CityCentre to 811 Main and doubled its staff.

Now, Spencer Ogden’s tripling the size of its Houston office, but the growth isn’t tied to work coming directly from the energy sector, according to David Bumby, head of Spencer Ogden’s Houston operations.

In August, the firm will move into 12,000 square feet in GreenStreet at 1201 Fannin St., Bumby told the Houston Business Journal. It’ll vacate its 4,000-square-foot space at BG Group Place at 811 Main when its lease expires that same month.

Specific revenues weren’t disclosed, but Spencer Ogden’s year-over-year revenue increased by $10 million in 2016, he said, due to demand from power generation businesses, private equity firms and other financial institutions that work within the energy industry. If oil and gas used to account for 65 percent of the firm’s work, it’s now responsible for around 15 percent, Bumby said.

“Genuinely, we’re just doing well,” Bumby said. “We saw growth in other areas.”

Spencer Ogden was founded in London in 2010; its Houston office was its first U.S. location and serves as its U.S. corporate headquarters, Bumby said. It’s also the largest office Spencer Ogden has in the U.S., he said.

The firm will move into a former nightclub space, Bumby said. Spencer Ogden’s open-concept offices are known, among other things, for featuring AstroTurf; its new Houston office will be “industrial cowboy,” he said, and will include polished concrete floors, cowhide furniture and have an “old world Texas feel.”

“It’s going to be pretty crazy,” Bumby said.

Houston-based Midway has been working since 2013 on $5 million in upgrades to GreenStreet, formerly known as the Houston Pavilions, in downtown Houston. Midway developed a new flex office concept, dubbed “The Concept,” that allows GreenStreet tenants to customize their workspace. GreenStreet will be anchored by Hotel Alessandra, which is set to deliver later this year. Midway couldn’t be reached for comment.

The building permit filed for Spencer Ogden’s move indicated the cost of construction as being $650,000.

HOUSTON – (By Michelle Leigh Smith) – Alchemy and amenity-rich environments were showcased by four heavy hitters in the design/development world at GreenStreet – the mixed-use project developed by Midway Cos. in downtown Houston.

Midway’s CEO Jonathan Brinsden welcomed John Lewis of WeWork, Dean Strombom, a principal of the Gensler architecture firm, and Mark Motonaga, a principal with Rios Clementi Hale Studios to share perspectives on the national trends and the creative forces behind them. Motonaga, of Los Angeles, has done much of the re-imagining for GreenStreet’s conversion to a downtown corporate campus at the nexus of the most traveled METRO rail line and a newly redesigned signature retail corridor.

Brinsden, in a panel discussion last week, introduced his co-panelists and models that “serve users, not just house them.”

Lewis flew in from New York, exhibiting the contagious energy that has come to be synonymous with WeWork. He explained how WeWork achieves a level of activation to engage employees. “We de-couple the requirements of having a lot of cash and signing long-term leases,” Lewis said.

He cited the Ace Hotel at 20 W. 29th in NYC – a place that is alive with ideas and fun to be in – as indicative of the kind of “space as service” they offer. The four-star hotel’s initial description reads, “steps from the Museum of Sex and minutes from the Empire State Building.” He showed another example where only half the space was actually for work and the rest was soft seating, storage, circulation. “By opening it up to be used by many, there’s an alchemy and people are getting more amenities and paying less. That’s magic for a CFO. We are working with 20 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.”

“We are setting the tone for how people work,” Lewis said about WeWork. “This is about placing the human back into the workplace.”

Strombom, an Energy Practice leader at Gensler whose specialty is workplace performance said, “We’ve seen it in every one of the industries we work in. The conventionally designed office often holds people back from working at their highest levels,” He showed signature hallmarks, including the Air BNB and Facebook headquarters in San Francisco, The Garage at Northwestern in Evanston, IL, a collaboration between the university and the community where the parking lot stripes are still on the floor and the ETSY headquarters, which has its roots in Brooklyn. Gensler’s open concept has been implemented recently at the Houston Chronicle’s new suburban digs at 4747 Southwest Freeway. Office space as well as printers, the sleek kitchen and coffee haven is designed for utility and journalistic collaboration.

“Our C3 Culver City spec office building is an example of what we’ll be doing in the future,” says Strombom. “Every other floor has 20-ft. ceilings, allowing tenants on those floors to add mezzanines to accommodate growth; and there are a series of interior and exterior stair ideas to connect floors in interesting ways.”

Brinsden shared some highlights of Midway’s new development at Century Square in College Station on University Drive near Texas A&M University. Brinsden, by the way, holds a Master of Science in Land and Real Estate Development, a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design, all from Texas A&M. The 60-acre Century Square in College Station, upon completion, will be a walkable environment with retail, restaurant and entertainment outlets, with 60,000-SF of office space and two hotels adjacent to the A&M campus.

The mixed-use, walkable environments favored by the millennials, was the definite direction each of the four panelists shared. Midway’s GreenStreet, a four-level, 570,000 SF example of natural connectivity in the heart of downtown Houston set the scene for this interesting exchange.

GreenStreet covers three major blocks in downtown Houston – between Dallas, Polk, Caroline and Main streets – near Randall Davis’ new Marlowe condo tower. Midway’s partner in GreenStreet is Lionstone Investments.

GreenStreet has a central open green space called The Lawn, 90,000 SF of office space and restaurant and retail options including The House of Blues, McCormick & Schmick’s and III Forks. The 223-room Hotel Alessandra will be completed there later this year, adding a hospitality element to GreenStreet.

Jan. 16, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017

HOUSTON (January 16, 2017) – Those who remember the late 1980s television drama “thirtysomething” will recall the two main male characters who worked for an advertising agency. At the office, they often sat around a table, sometimes with their feet up, and threw around basketballs as they crafted clever ad campaigns.

That kind of relaxed workplace design spread throughout more than just the creative industries and is now reaching a fever pitch.

“We’ve seen it in every one of the industries we work in,” Gensler architect Dean Strombom said last week during a panel discussion on the changing workplace.

Strombom said the conventionally designed office often “holds people back from working at their highest levels.”

The panel discussion, held on the second floor of downtown’s GreenStreet development, was hosted by the property’s owners Midway and Lionstone.

One of the panelists was from WeWork, the young real estate company that started in New York City as a co-working provider and has mushroomed into a global provider of office space.

John Lewis, the company’s vice president of real estate, cited the lobby in Manhattan’s Ace Hotel as an inspiration for modern workplace design.

“It’s an average hotel with an exceptional lobby with lots of places to land, eat, drink, work, etc.,” he said. “You just have this constant crisscrossing of people.”

WeWork recently opened in Dallas and Houston is also on its radar.

‘Creativity on the loose’

Lewis explained why now might be a good time to enter this market: “We launched in 2010 in New York City — not go-go economic days of New York or anywhere — and there were a lot of people that had been separated from their companies and needed somewhere to land.

There was a lot of creativity on the loose,” he said. “There’s a lot of creativity on the loose in Houston. There’s a lot of talent.”

The company’s business model is to lease space, redesign it and rent it to users with flexible terms. Many of its customers are entrepreneurs.

Hard to predict needs

Planning office space 10 or 15 years in advance is nearly impossible, Lewis said.

“There’s not a company in Houston that doesn’t have excess space right now, which means whenever they signed their lease their headcount projections didn’t prove to be correct,” he said.

Panelist Mark Motonaga, a partner with design firm RCH Studios in Los Angeles, said offices today are about “placing the human back into the workplace.”

“Life is now more complicated,” he said. “We’re blending our outside lives with our work lives. There is no distinction. The mobile device has completely broken down our barriers.”