1500 McGowen, is a 30,000 square foot two-story office building that was purchased in 2017.  It is located in what is known as “Midtown” or the area between the central business district of Houston and the Texas Medical Center.

Over the last 10 years, Midtown has seen explosive growth in high-rise residential, towers, multifamily, and mixed-use developments with attendant retail.  Land prices can generally be found in the $75 per square foot to $150 per square foot range necessitating vertical development, of some sort.

The City of Houston has specifically targeted Midtown as an important urban area of Houston that distinguishes itself by walkable neighborhoods, bike trails, public parks, and collaborative technology development with resources dedicated to it by, the City of Houston, Rice University, and other noted universities in the city.

To this end, the city has relaxed development constraints, such as onsite parking, and surface detention to name a few, and has awarded tax credits and ad valorem tax abatement to certain preferred developments to incentivize rapid development.

The McGowen building will be converted into retail on floor 1 and possibly floor 2 if demand is sufficient, and the remaining space will continue as office. Davis Holdings took occupancy in the building in January of 2019 for its home offices as a noted architect was hired to brand the building specifically for creative type tenants that befit the Midtown market.

The building is set to be reskinned using modern building materials, and unique architectural elements to create an urban mixed use development of office and retail in Midtown.