The Allen Center is a mixed-use skyscraper complex in

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. It consists of three buildings, One Allen Center (500 Dallas Street), Two Allen Center (1200 Smith Street), Three Allen Center (333 Clay Street). The complex has about of space.Zehr, Leonard. "TrizecHahn nabs U.S. leasing deal Continental Airlines enticed to move head office to downtown Houston from suburbs." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. September 11, 1997. Report on Business B7. Retrieved from

LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...

on April 1, 2010.

History

The area that became the Allen Center was originally considered to be an eastern portion of the Fourth Ward. The opening of

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

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 of

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...

.Study Area 11
." ''City of Houston''. Accessed October 21, 2008.Best Event That No One Thought Would Ever Happen
" ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. Accessed October 23, 2008 TrizecHahn Properties acquired the Allen Center in 1996. Trizec defeated 16 other real estate companies so it could purchase the center for an amount reported by Tanya Rutledge of the ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

'' as $270 million. 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 the

Cullen Center Cullen Center is a skyscraper complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex is now managed by Brookfield Properties. Previously Trizec Properties owned all four office buildings. The complex includes the headquarters of the Houst ...

, 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. In 2001, when

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...

collapsed, it vacated of space in the Allen Center and

complexes in

.Bivins, Ralph.
SURVIVAL OF THE NEWEST / OCCUPANCY DOWNTOWN TUMBLING, BUT THREE TOWERS DEFY TREND
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Sunday July 27, 2003. Business 1. Retrieved on November 11, 2009. In 2010

Devon Energy Devon Energy Corporation is an energy company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States. It is organized in Delaware and its corporate operative headquarters are in the 50-story Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its ...

was trying to sublease about of space that it occupied in the Allen Center complex.

Hess Corporation Hess Corporation (formerly Amerada Hess Corporation) is an American global independent energy company involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. It was formed by the merger of Hess Oil and Chemical and Amerada Petrol ...

announced it would vacate approximately of space in the complex when a new office tower in the east side of Downtown Houston opened. 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.

One Allen Center

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 composite stub-girder steel frame floor system, originally developed in part by Joseph Colaco then of Ellisor Engineers Inc., currently of CBM Engineers, Inc.

Macquarie Bank Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia's ...

houses its Houston representative office in Suite 3100 of the building.Contact directory United States
."

. Retrieved on February 24, 2011. "One Allen Center 500 Dallas, Suite 3100 Houston, TX 77002" and "Suite 4550, 333 Clay Street Houston, TX 77002"

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

(HPL) maintains its Booklink facility there.

Two Allen Center

Two Allen Center was previously known as the

Citicorp Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

Building.

Three Allen Center

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. * Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. has an office in Suite 4200. *

Oil States International Oil States International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation. It focuses on providing services to oil and gas companies. It is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. History The company was founded as an oilfield supply ...

() has an office in Suite 4620.

Tenants

One Allen Center * Don Patron Bar and Grill - Lobby ** Operated a sit-down restaurant and a breakfast and lunch taco bar. The restaurant was active for around 20 years, servicing local office workers and catering corporate office parties. Phaedra Cook of the ''

'' wrote that Don Patron "hasn't been a critical darling of food writers in a long time" but that "it has been an important part of work life for thousands of people who work in" the complex and that "it's been treasured for good Tex-Mex plates and as a convenient spot for business lunches ..nd was great for indulging in an after-work margarita or two, also."Cook, Phaedra.
Tex-Mex Stalwart In Allen Center Is Closing On Friday
" ''

''. Monday February 29, 2016. Retrieved on February 29, 2016. In 2016 the management revealed plans to remodel the lobby area of One Allen Center; Don Patron's dining hall was closed by February 29, 2016, and the taco stand is scheduled to close on Friday March 5, 2016. The owners of Don Patron will continue to operate Tejas Grill & Sports Bar. * Coastal Water Authority - Suite 2800 Two Allen Center *

Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...

, Suite 1600 *

Chamberlain Hrdlicka Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, PC, known as Chamberlain Hrdlicka, is a tax-focused American law firm founded in Houston, Texas with offices in Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Antonio. Founded in 1965, Chamberlain Hrdlic ...

law firm in Suite 1400 on the 13th and 14th floors. Three Allen Center *The headquarters of

Plains All American Pipeline Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. is a master limited partnership engaged in pipeline transport, marketing, and storage of liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum in the United States and Canada. It owns interests in of pipelines, storage capacity ...

, Suite 1600 *

EOG Resources EOG Resources, Inc. is an American energy company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It is organized in Delaware and headquartered in the Heritage Plaza building in Houston, Texas. The company is ranked 186th on the Fortune 500 and 337th on th ...

had space in Allen Center; in 2006 it announced that it was moving to the

Heritage Plaza Heritage Plaza is a postmodern skyscraper located in the Skyline District of downtown Houston, Texas. Standing at , the tower is the 5th-tallest building in Houston, the 8th-tallest in Texas, and the 60th-tallest in the United States. The ...

. It planned to move 400 employees there by early 2007. When it occupied portions of Three Allen Center, EOG had of space occupied scattered throughout Three Allen Center. At one point the

Consulate-General of Switzerland in Houston A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

resided in Suite 1040 of Two Allen Center; the mission closed in 2006.Hodge, Shelby.
MIXERS , ELIXIRS AND IMAX SUMMER SOCIALS / Party animals drink with the dinosaurs
" ''

''. Star 3. June 22, 2006. Retrieved on January 10, 2009. See "Fond farewell" section below.

History

One Allen Center

Two Allen Center

Three Allen Center

Tenants

See also

References

External links