The Energy Corridor is a business district in
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 ...
, located on the west side of the metropolitan area between
Beltway 8
Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County.
Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texas ...
and the
Grand Parkway
State Highway 99 (SH 99), also known as the Grand Parkway, is a ring road in the U.S. state of Texas. Its first section opened on August 31, 1994. When the route is completed, it will be the longest beltway in the U.S., the world's seventh-long ...
. The district straddles a stretch of
Interstate 10 (the Katy Freeway) from Kirkwood Road westward to Barker Cypress Road and extends south along Eldridge Parkway to Briar Forest Drive.
Parts of the district overlap with the
Memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
area of
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 ...
. The district is located north of
Westchase, another major business district of Houston, and east of
Greater Katy
Greater Katy Area is the term often used to refer to a suburban region on the west side of the Greater Houston metropolitan area roughly corresponding to the boundaries of the Katy Independent School District. Many people and businesses in this ar ...
.
Many energy sector companies have major operations in the Energy Corridor, including
BP America,
Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...
,
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas.
The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
, Nouryon and
Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
.
Non-energy firms also have a presence;
Sysco
Sysco Corporation (short for Systems and Services Company) is an American multinational corporation involved in marketing and distributing food products, smallwares, kitchen equipment and tabletop items to restaurants, healthcare and education ...
and
Gulf States Toyota Distributors
Gulf States Toyota, founded in 1969, is a private distributor of Toyota vehicles in the United States. They are franchised by Toyota Motor Sales, USA to sell vehicles to car dealerships in the five states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Okla ...
are both headquartered in the district.
The Energy Corridor contains over of office space, with an employment capacity of over 105,000.
Over of
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
area borders the Energy Corridor, including
George Bush Park
George Bush Park is a county park in Houston, Texas, United States, located on the far west side of the city. Situated entirely within Barker Reservoir, a large flood control structure, the park covers , most of which is undeveloped forest used f ...
and
Bear Creek Pioneers Park
Bear Creek Pioneers Park is a park located in the U.S. city of Houston, Texas at 3535 War Memorial Drive. It is sometimes called "Harris County Bear Creek Park", or simply "Bear Creek Park."
History
Between 1946 and 1948, the Addicks Reservoir ...
.
These parks are located within
Barker Reservoir
Barker Reservoir is a flood control structure in Houston, Texas which prevents downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou, the city's principal river. The reservoir operates in conjunction with Addicks Reservoir to the northeast, which impounds Mayd ...
and
Addicks Reservoir
The Addicks Reservoir and Addicks Dam in conjunction with the Barker Reservoir prevent downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou in the City of Houston, Texas. Both reservoirs were authorized under the Rivers and Harbors Act of June 20, 1938, which wa ...
, respectively, which comprise a major
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
system for
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
.
History
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy indu ...
corporations began moving to west Houston in the 1970s, seeking land for suburban office campuses and proximity to new housing developments.
Browning-Ferris Industries
Browning-Ferris Industries was a North American waste management company that was bought out in 1999.
History
BFI was founded in Houston, Texas. The company was initially known as American Refuse Systems, and it opened its first landfill in 1968 ...
(BFI) had its headquarters in the district until its acquisition by
Allied Waste
Allied Waste Industries, Inc. was a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. A vertically integrated company that owned and operated solid waste collection businesses, recycling facilities, and landfills, it was a leader in the ...
in 2000.
In 2001, the
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...
created the
Energy Corridor Management District. In Texas, management districts are special government entities empowered to levy commercial taxes within their boundaries to support investments in infrastructure,
urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
, district branding and advertising, and public safety. Since then, the district has been actively involved in the creation of new infrastructure in the area, including road widening and the addition of bicycle lanes and sidewalks, and operates an extensive
tree-planting and beautification program.
Between 2001 and 2013, the district more than tripled its total property value, from $600 million to over $2 billion.
The amount of new office space added to the Energy Corridor between 2005 and 2015 is equivalent to the amount added during the preceding three decades. However, the
2010s oil glut
The 2010s oil glut is a significant surplus of crude oil that started in 2014–2015 and accelerated in 2016, with multiple causes. They include general oversupply as unconventional US and Canadian tight oil (shale oil) production reached crit ...
put a damper on this growth, causing office and apartment vacancy rates in the area to rise significantly. Despite this slowdown, the district saw a significant increase in hospital construction during the mid-2010s, including new facilities for
Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked, freestanding 973-bed, acute care women's and children's hospital located in Houston, Texas. It is the primary pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is located wit ...
,
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston Methodist Hospital is the flagship quaternary care hospital of Houston Methodist academic medical center. Located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, Houston Methodist Hospital was established in 1919 during the height of the ...
, and the
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...
.
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
operated a large chemical facility in the district until 2013, when it consolidated operations in its new corporate campus in
Spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
.
The Energy Corridor experienced extensive inland flooding from
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...
in August and September 2017 after historic rainfall exceeded the retention capacity of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs. The
was forced to maximize discharge out of the reservoirs into
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
to protect the structural integrity of the dams, causing extensive downstream flooding of residential and commercial areas throughout the district, particularly along the Eldridge Parkway corridor.
Economy
Historically, the Energy Corridor has been one of Houston's strongest office markets.
[Sarnoff, Nancy.]
Atlanta REIT buys former BFI buildings
" ''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 ...
''. Friday October 20, 2000. Retrieved on February 8, 2010.
The district is the second-largest employment center in the region with more than 94,000 employees and over 300 companies.
The Energy Corridor is home to the national or international headquarters of the following companies:
*
*
BP America at
Westlake Park Westlake Park can mean:
*Westlake Park (Seattle), a park in Seattle, Washington
* MacArthur Park, formerly Westlake Park, in Los Angeles, California
*Westlake Park (Houston)
Westlake Park is a office complex located in the Energy Corridor, Housto ...
*
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas.
The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
*
Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...
*
Equinor
Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...
*
Foster Wheeler
Foster Wheeler AG (formerly Foster Wheeler Inc.) was a Swiss global engineering conglomerate with its principal executive offices in Reading, UK and its registered office in Baar, Canton of Zug, Switzerland. Foster Wheeler was added to the NASDA ...
*
Gulf States Toyota
Gulf States Toyota, founded in 1969, is a private distributor of Toyota vehicles in the United States. They are franchised by Toyota Motor Sales, USA to sell vehicles to car dealerships in the five states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Okl ...
[2013 Inventory and Database CDS Market Research]
Archive
. Energy Corridor. p. 1 (Boundary Map). Retrieved on April 30, 2014.
*
McDermott International
McDermott International, Ltd is a global provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott has more than 40,000 employees, as well as a diversified fleet of specialty marine co ...
*
PCL Construction
The PCL family of companies is a group of independent general contracting construction companies in Canada, the United States, Australia and the Caribbean. PCL has headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with the United States head office in D ...
*
SBM Offshore USA
*
Sysco
Sysco Corporation (short for Systems and Services Company) is an American multinational corporation involved in marketing and distributing food products, smallwares, kitchen equipment and tabletop items to restaurants, healthcare and education ...
*
Technip USA
*
Wood Group
John Wood Group plc, commonly known as Wood, is a British multinational engineering and consulting business with headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as being a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. ...
*
WorleyParsons
WorleyParsons Limited, branded as Worley after completing the acquisition of Jacobs' Energy, Chemicals & Resources (ECR) division, is an American Australian engineering company which provides project delivery and consulting services to the ...
*
Kiewit Corporation
Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...
Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
, the fifth-largest employer in the Energy Corridor, operates a large campus in the district.
[Map](_blank)
(). ''Energy Corridor''. Retrieved on February 5, 2009.[Land Use and Demographics]
" Energy Corridor District. March 2009. 3 (7/53). Retrieved on January 16, 2010. Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world.
Dow manufactures plastic ...
and
Sonangol USA have offices in the area.
Transportation
The
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (stylized as METRO) is a major public transportation agency based in Houston, Texas, United States. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service (u ...
(METRO) provides public transportation to the area. Line 75, originally known as the Energy Corridor Connector, operates during weekdays. Commuters from
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, ...
and
Midtown Houston
Midtown is a central neighborhood of Houston, located west-southwest of Downtown. Separated from Downtown by an elevated section of Interstate 45 (the Pierce Elevated), Midtown is characterized by a continuation of Downtown's square grid street ...
can connect to the 75 connector via 228 Addicks and 229 Kingsland/Addicks through the Addicks Park and Ride. The 75 connector also connects with routes along
Westheimer Road
Westheimer Road () is an arterial east–west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in Downtown and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, stretching about long. The street was n ...
and
Memorial Drive. In January 2011, the name of the route was changed to 75 Eldridge Crosstown, and the southern terminus of the line was extended to Mission Bend Park and Ride, enabling more convenient connections with the
Westchase district and the
New Chinatown area.
Two general aviation airports serve the Energy Corridor:
West Houston Airport
West Houston Airport is a privately owned, public use airport in Harris County, Texas, 15 miles west of Downtown Houston in the Greater Katy area. It opened in 1962 and was known as Lakeside Airport until the early 1980s due to its location near ...
, near
Addicks Reservoir
The Addicks Reservoir and Addicks Dam in conjunction with the Barker Reservoir prevent downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou in the City of Houston, Texas. Both reservoirs were authorized under the Rivers and Harbors Act of June 20, 1938, which wa ...
, and
Houston Executive Airport
Houston Executive Airport is a public-use airport in unincorporated area, unincorporated Waller County, Texas, Waller County, Texas, United States. The airport is located 28 nautical miles (52 km) west of Downtown Houston, Downtown Houston, ...
in
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Waller County
Waller County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,794. Its county seat is Hempstead. The county was named for Edwin Waller, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first mayor of A ...
. The latter was built to serve employees of firms in the Energy Corridor.
[Lee, Renée C., Helen Eriksen, Eric Hanson, Ruth Rendon, Harvey Rice, and Richard Stewart.]
TRANSPORTATION / A flurry of airport expansions in the Houston region can serve corporate customers who don't like the hassles of airline travel
" ''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 June 17, 2008. Business 1. Retrieved on October 18, 2009.
Two-thirds of the district's employees live within a "commute zone" spread across northern
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days.
The ...
, western
Harris County, and southern
Waller County
Waller County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,794. Its county seat is Hempstead. The county was named for Edwin Waller, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first mayor of A ...
.
Education
Public schools
The southern, western and eastern areas of the Energy Corridor are served by
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...
,
Katy Independent School District
The Katy Independent School District (KISD) is a public school district based in Katy, Texas, United States with an enrollment of over 85,700 students. As of August 2009, the district was rated as "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.
...
, and
Spring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States in Greater Houston. The district serves portions of western Houston,Morales, Katherine.Residents working to retain superintendent ...
, respectively.
Houston ISD residents are zoned to Ray K. Daily Elementary School, West Briar Middle School (with Revere Middle School, a STEM Magnet, as an option), and
Westside High School. Residents zoned to Westside may transfer to
Lamar High School.
Katy ISD residents are zoned to Wolfe Elementary School, Mayde Creek Junior High School,
Mayde Creek High School
Mayde Creek High School (MCHS) is a public high school located on Groschke Road in unincorporated area, unincorporated Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, and is part of the Katy Independent School District. Mayde Creek serves the portio ...
, Memorial Parkway Junior High School, and
James E. Taylor High School
James E. Taylor High School (THS) is a public high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Harris County, Texas, in Greater Katy. The school, in Nottingham Country, which serves grades 9 through 12, is part of Katy Independent School Distr ...
.
Spring Branch ISD residents are zoned to
Nottingham Elementary School,
Spring Forest Middle School, and
Stratford High School.
Private schools
The Village School is near the Energy Corridor. In 2016, the
British International School of Houston
The British International School of Houston (BISH), formerly the British School of Houston (BSOH), is a non-sectarian, co-educational college preparatory day school in the Greater Katy region of the Houston area. BISH, which opened in September 2 ...
opened in
Greater Katy
Greater Katy Area is the term often used to refer to a suburban region on the west side of the Greater Houston metropolitan area roughly corresponding to the boundaries of the Katy Independent School District. Many people and businesses in this ar ...
to serve the district's large population of British
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s.
[Kirk, Bryan.]
Katy-area campus set to open in fall '16
" ''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 ...
''. June 9, 2015. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
Public libraries
The
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 ...
operates the Kendall Neighborhood Library on Eldridge Parkway.
Of all HPL branches the Kendall Library received the most severe damage during
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...
in 2017; the damage, which affected the electronic system and elevator, but not most of the books as the majority were on the library's second floor, included mold and was so severe that HPL employees re-entered the branch several days after the flood. The total level of water ranged from to . The library afterward enacted a $4 million project post-Harvey renovation program with a tentative 2019 opening.
Parks and recreation
The Energy Corridor is intersected by
Terry Hershey Park
Terry Hershey Park is a county park that runs parallel to a roughly stretch of the Buffalo Bayou in western Houston, Texas. The park is named after Terry Hershey, a conservationist who campaigned to keep the banks of Buffalo Bayou from being pa ...
, a
linear park
A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear p ...
which runs east to west along Buffalo Bayou from
Beltway 8
Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County.
Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texas ...
to Barker Reservoir. The district is connected to a wider trail system by
trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...
s at the intersection of Eldridge and Enclave and at Mayde Creek as it passes under Interstate 10. These trails connect the district to
George Bush Park
George Bush Park is a county park in Houston, Texas, United States, located on the far west side of the city. Situated entirely within Barker Reservoir, a large flood control structure, the park covers , most of which is undeveloped forest used f ...
to the southwest.
Ray Miller Park, a
neighborhood park Neighborhood parks, which generally range in size up to , serve as a social and recreational focal points for neighborhoods and are the basic units of a park system. Many include a playground.
Neighborhood parks provide relief from the built envir ...
, is located at the southern end of the district on Eldridge Parkway.
In 2015 Energy Corridor Cricket, a children's
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
club, was established.
Notes
External links
Energy Corridor Management District webpageEnergy Corridor Lodging webpage
{{coord, 29.77, -95.63, type:city_region:US-TX, display=title
Geography of Houston
Neighborhoods in Houston
Economy of Houston