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TheAllen Center is a mixed-use skyscraper complex inDowntownHouston,Texas, United States. It consists of three buildings,One Allen Center (500 Dallas Street),[1]Two Allen Center (1200 Smith Street),[2]Three Allen Center (333 Clay Street).[3] The complex has about 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) of space.[4]
The area that became the Allen Center was originally considered to be an eastern portion of theFourth Ward. The opening ofInterstate 45 in the 1950s separated the eastern portion from the rest of the Fourth Ward; that portion became the Allen Center and is now considered to be a part ofDowntown Houston.[5][6]
TrizecHahn Properties acquired the Allen Center in 1996.[7] Trizec defeated 16 other real estate companies so it could purchase the center for an amount reported by Tanya Rutledge of theHouston Business Journal as $270 million.[8]
When Trizec acquired the Allen Center in November 1996, the complex had a 76 percent occupancy rate. By 1997, Trizec had convinced several tenants of theCullen Center, also owned by Trizec, to relocate to the Allen Center. Paul Layne, a vice president of the office division of Trizec, said that the shifting of tenants would lead to Allen Center having an occupancy rate of 92 percent in 1998.[4]
In 2001, whenEnron collapsed, it vacated 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of space in the Allen Center andCullen Center complexes inDowntown Houston.[9]
In 2010Devon Energy was trying to sublease about 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2) of space that it occupied in the Allen Center complex.Hess Corporation announced it would vacate approximately 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of space in the complex when a new office tower in the east side of Downtown Houston opened.[10]
Major renovations to the property were completed in March 2021; these included new lobbies, bike storage, and a suite of rooms designated for breastfeeding mothers.[11]
| One Allen Center | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 500 Dallas Street,Houston,Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°45′27″N95°22′13″W / 29.7575°N 95.3704°W /29.7575; -95.3704 |
| Completed | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| Height | |
| Roof | 452 ft (138 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 34 |
| Floor area | 1,083,759 sq ft (100,684.5 m2)[12] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Wilson Morris Crain and Anderson |
| Structural engineer | Ellisor Engineers Inc. |
One Allen Center is a 452 ft (138m) tall skyscraper. It was completed in 1972 and has 34 floors. It is the 31st tallest building in the city. One Allen Center employs a compositestub-girder steel frame floor system, originally developed in part byJoseph Colaco then ofEllisor Engineers Inc., currently ofCBM Engineers, Inc.[13]
Macquarie Bank houses its Houston representative office in Suite 3100 of the building.[14]
Houston Public Library (HPL) maintains its Booklink facility there.[15]
Two Allen Center was previously known as theCiticorp Building.
| Three Allen Center | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 333 Clay Street,Houston,Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°45′27″N95°22′19″W / 29.75738°N 95.37183°W /29.75738; -95.37183 |
| Completed | 1983; 42 years ago (1983) |
| Management | Brookfield Properties |
| Height | |
| Roof | 685 ft (209 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 50 |
| Floor area | 1,447,729 sq ft (134,498.4 m2)[16] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Lloyd Jones Brewer & Associates |
Three Allen Center is a 685-foot (209 m) tall skyscraper completed in 1983 with 50 floors. It is the 12th-tallest building in the city.
One Allen Center
Two Allen Center
Three Allen Center
At one point theConsulate-General of Switzerland in Houston resided in Suite 1040 of Two Allen Center;[25] the mission closed in 2006.[26]
