Tall & Urban News

Construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2019 on Innovation Tower, a 48-story mixed-use tower slated for Main Street in the Texas Medical Center.

Houston-based Medistar plans to develop the building in two phases, the first including 476,500 square feet (44,268 square meters) of medical and life science office space, with 35,000-square-foot (3,251-square-meter) floor plates atop a 1,700-car parking garage. A retail component will be included as well.

The second phase will be determined by the market, possibly including 410 luxury residential units or additional medical, biomedical and life science office space, according to an announcement from real estate brokerage Transwestern. Justin Brasell, a Transwestern executive vice president, and Senior Vice President Lisa Bovermann are providing health-care leasing services for the project.

The tower, which ultimately could house 1.6 million square feet (148,644 square meters) of space, will be connected to the recently completed InterContinental Houston Medical Center hotel at 6750 Main St. and the 35-story Latitude Med Center apartment tower at 1850 Old Main St.

“Once completed, Innovation Tower will be the first Class-AA tower in the Texas Medical Center, offering world-class building amenities to create a distinct live/work/play environment,” Brasell said in the announcement. “Innovation Tower will be an iconic building and a great complement to the Texas Medical Center. It will truly revolutionize the district with unmatched prominence and walkability to local hospitals and universities.”

For more on this story, go to The Houston Chronicle.