Rebees Plans $10 Million Renovation of Houston’s GreenStreet

A Dallas firm’s $10 million renovation of GreenStreet, a 610,000-square-foot mixed-use development in downtown Houston, will include spec office suites and Japan-inspired retail updates.

The project covers four blocks at 1201 Fannin Street and is part of Rebees’ vision to transform the 15-year-old property’s retail, dining and office spaces, the Houston Chronicle reported. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in about a year.

Rebees, led by founder and managing partner Tristan Simon, plans to rework the former Forever 21 building at GreenStreet into a 22,000-square-foot restaurant space with a rooftop patio. The redevelopment will include an alleyway with storefronts and signage that guide visitors.

“We think that this project is just screaming for what could be like this alleyway experience,” said Matt Ragan, Rebees’ director of repositioning. “You want to find just the best damn dumpling shop there and then bounce to a cool little speakeasy tucked behind it.”

An 11-story office building in the development, which is 44 percent vacant, will get patios and speculative suites to attract tenants. With 183,000 square feet available for lease, filling those vacancies will be key to the project’s success.

The retail lineup will build on existing restaurants like Guadalajara and Tom’s Watch Bar. Punch Line, a recently opened comedy club, is part of this refresh, leaving 41,000 square feet of retail space still available.

Rebees also plans to install solar panels and make GreenStreet carbon-neutral.

GreenStreet was developed as Houston Pavilions in 2006 by Texas Real Estate Trust and Entertainment Development Group. Midway, formerly a part-owner, renovated and rebranded it in 2013. It hit trouble in 2018 when NRG Energy moved out of its 260,000-square-foot headquarters.

“GreenStreet has had a little bit of a kind of checkered history, but we’re really excited about diving in and bringing something that is culturally unique, culturally relevant and can make a difference for downtown and for Houston,” said Tom Paterson, managing partner at Rebees.

— Andrew Terrell