Houston Pavillions Off to a Good Start

From: Houston Chronicle
By: David Kaplan // July 18, 2009

Depending on where people view it, they could make a case that the 9-month-old downtown Houston Pavilions is either succeeding or hurting.

Stand on the corner of Dallas and Caroline, and you'll see a lively scene at the House of Blues.

But on the second level, between Fannin and San Jacinto, there are vacant retail sites.

Sixty-two percent of the massive Pavilions is leased, and about 50 percent of it is occupied.

Although it's still half-empty, the project is off to a very good start, retail analysts say, when you factor in the economic downturn and gloomy state of retail.

But if the project were to fail, it would be a major blow to the downtown area near the George R. Brown Convention Center. The three-block-long Pavilions was designed to be that district's entertainment hub and make downtown Houston more of a nighttime and weekend destination.

The $170 million Pavilions is a mixed-used development combining retail, entertainment and office space.

MORE