From oil-giant HQ to eco-friendly development

Conversions of underutilized office buildings to multifamily and mixed-use developments are already underway in Houston, aMidway wants to do the same with an entire corporate campus bear the coty’s “Energy Corridor.”

The Houston firm has plans to develop oil giant ConocoPhillips’ former corporate headquarters in west Houston into a mixed-use project dubbed the Watermark District at Woodcreek.

Located four miles west of Midway’s high-end mixed-use development CityCentre and 17 miles west of downtown Houston, ConocoPhillips’ old campus was purchased by Midway from Howard Hughes in March in December 2021 for $25 million. Howard Hughes reported a $7 million loss on the deal.

ConocoPhillips’ old campus was designed by architect Kevin Roche to resemble a Japanese fishing village, with 16 three-story office pavilions connected by bridges above ponds and grassy areas, which will now be defined by waterfront views and outdoor walkways.

Midway will preserve more than 500 existing trees and the surrounding landscape of the 70-acre campus in a walkable mixed-use development.

The developer plans to repurpose portions of the property’s existing 1.3 million square feet of office space while preserving its low-rise, low-density work environment that the post-pandemic workforce is increasingly seeking, the release noted.

Midway plans to introduce a new Class-A office building, luxury apartments, high-end retail, restaurants and a boutique hotel. To the site, which is near Houston’s “Energy Corridor,” where many U.S. and international oil majors have their headquarters.

There will also be a repurposed “innovation hub” to attract “cutting-edge” companies to the area.

“It’s urbanization of the suburban experience in one of the fastest growing regions in Houston, ” said Midway chairman and CEO Brad Freels in a press release. “We look forward to introducing a thoughtful and environmentally friendly mixed-use environment that not only sets the stage for future growth and innovation in the area but also brings the West Houston community together for generations to come.”

Midway is partnering with North Carolina-based “cleantech social impact company” 374Water to provide a first-of-its-kind onsite, fully integrated sustainable wastewater management system at Watermark, according to the release.

Wastewater and food waste produced by the development will be transformed into clean water and energy to power Watermark.
When completed, Watermark’s 650,000 square feet of “future-oriented” office space will offer tenants workspaces with lots of natural light, flexible floorplans and direct access to surrounding amenities.

OJB Landscape Architecture, Jacobs and PDR are among some of the vendors Midway will use to develop the project which will break ground in the first half of 2023. Neither construction costs nor expected lease rates were disclosed by Midway.

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