Continental Center I
| 1600 Smith Street | |
|---|---|
1600 Smith Street (formerly Continental Center I)
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Downtown Houston, Texas, United States |
| Coordinates | 29°45′19″N 95°22′22″W / 29.75518°N 95.37275°WCoordinates: 29°45′19″N 95°22′22″W / 29.75518°N 95.37275°W |
| Completed | 1984 |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| Management | Brookfield Properties |
| Height | |
| Roof | 732 ft (223 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 53 |
| Floor area | 1,097,960 sq ft (102,004 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Morris Architects (formerly Morris Aubry) |
1600 Smith Street, (previously named Continental Center I and also known as Cullen Center Plaza) is a 51-story, 732-foot (223 m) office tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The building houses offices of United Airlines, and it was Continental's headquarters prior to its merger with United Airlines. At one point it also served as the headquarters of ExpressJet Airlines. It is a part of the Cullen Center complex.
The 51 story building has about 1,098,399 square feet (102,044.6 m2) of rentable Class "A" office space. The design architect was Morris Architects, the general contractor was Linbeck Construction Company, the mechanical engineer was I.A. Naman, and the structural engineer was CBM Engineers. The building was completed in 1984.
The tower stands as a postmodern-style building. It is currently the 8th-tallest building in Houston.
Bruce Nichols of The Dallas Morning News said that in early 1984 1600 Smith Street "was so vacant it became a symbol for overexpansion in Houston". By 1987 the Canadian company Trizec Group bought debentures carrying an option to buy portions of the Cullen Center, including 1600 Smith Street. In 1997 subcommittees of the University of Houston System Board of Regents held meetings at 1600 Smith Street.
In September 1997 Continental Airlines announced that it would consolidate its Houston headquarters in what would become Continental Center I. The airline scheduled to move around 3,200 employees in stages beginning in July 1998 and ending in January 1999. The airline consolidated the headquarters operation at the America Tower in Neartown and three other local operations into Continental Center I and Continental Center II in the Cullen Center. Continental anticipated taking 15 floors at Continental Center I. In addition it planned to add a company store, a credit union, and an employee service center in the street-level lobby of Continental Center I. The airline agreed to lease 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of space in the Cullen Center for 11 years initially and 20 years if it takes renewal options.
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