Houston's economic diversity Thread .. (River Oaks, Post: hotels, stores, foods)

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Which Houston suburb is best fit to be headquarters if a large corporation? Woodlands, Katy and Sugar Land are the main that come to mind

Katy has Igloo, Academy, and the Wood Group US headquarters

Sugar land has Minute Maid, Imperial Sugar, Nalco, and TimeGate Studios

Woodlands has Woodforest National Bank, Huntsman Corp, Conn’s, Lexicon and GeoSouthern

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Which Houston suburb is best fit to be headquarters if a large corporation? Woodlands, Katy and Sugar Land are the main that come to mind

Katy has Igloo, Academy, and the Wood Group US headquarters

Sugar land has Minute Maid, Imperial Sugar, Nalco, and TimeGate Studios

Woodlands has Woodforest National Bank, Huntsman Corp, Conn’s, Lexicon and GeoSouthern

The number one factor for a company would be access to their desired workforce, followed by a combination of a physically appropriate site, access to other regional features like airports or seaports, access to clients, and general image. This combination tends to be different for each company.

Springwoods Village was left off your list. I'd put Pearland on there also.

For companies that want young (as in fresh out of college or grad school) knowledge-economy workers, they're more likely to want good access to the urban core where lots of those folks live. That doesn't mean locating within the City of Houston, it just means being an easy commute from the urban core. That works against suburbs outside the Grand Parkway for those kinds of employers. I'm sure lots of folks will jump in and say that major corporations in Houston should all locate on or outside the Grand Parkway, because this forum is very new affluent suburb oriented and full of people who are resentful that they have to commute into Westchase, Uptown, Downtown, TMC, Energy Corridor etc. when it was their choice to move out there anyway instead of living in an inner or middle suburb.

Another thing going on right now is that major corporations have been showing a preference for locating within mixed-use walkable neighborhoods or districts (see: Springwoods Village for example), so suburbs which offer this will have an advantage. This is where Katy is kind of weak, as La Centerra can't accommodate a major corporate occupant, and there's nothing else there except maybe (eventually) the Boardwalk? Kingwood / New Caney has this issue also.

Bridgeland Town Center may have a chance for competing once it's clearly developing. Generation Park maybe too, though I think Atascocita / Lake Houston will have to elevate its profile further as a premier suburb for the affluent. Pearland Town Center maybe, but it still feels a lot like a "mall with the roof off".

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Another thing going on right now is that major corporations have been showing a preference for locating within mixed-use walkable neighborhoods or districts (see: Springwoods Village for example), so suburbs which offer this will have an advantage. This is where Katy is kind of weak, as La Centerra can't accommodate a major corporate occupant, and there's nothing else there except maybe (eventually) the Boardwalk? Kingwood / New Caney has this issue also.

Katy is strong for companies that require mass retail distribution hence Igloo and Academy being there. Also a major distribution center for other places like IKEA.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Katy is strong for companies that require mass retail distribution hence Igloo and Academy being there. Also a major distribution center for other places like IKEA.

Yes different industries and business with different classes of occupations will have different locational preferences. However, wholesale / retail distribution centers serving primarily the local / SE TX market don't really qualify as a "relocation" or "headquarters" unless it actually is their HQ, like Academy. Not to dismiss the jobs that those places contain, of course.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Another company that's extremely important to Houston's diversity is real estate giant Hines. They have properties all over the world but I barely hear them mentioned here.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Another company that's extremely important to Houston's diversity is real estate giant Hines. They have properties all over the world but I barely hear them mentioned here.

Camden too.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Camden too.

Just took a look at some of their selected portfolio. Didn’t realize it was that large. Definitely not Hines, as Hines has has a large presence everywhere from China and beyond, but definitely more than I thought.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Just took a look at some of their selected portfolio. Didn’t realize it was that large. Definitely not Hines, as Hines has has a large presence everywhere from China and beyond, but definitely more than I thought.

Weingarten is also national.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

I almost wonder what Houston would look like if Gerald D Hines hadn't existed. He's the creator of so many iconic Houston structures like the Galleria, Transco Tower + Waterwall, Hilton Americas. And obviously the mammoth amount of modern skyscrapers plus more under construction. In an alternate universe where Gerald D Hines didn't exist, what would Houston look like?

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I almost wonder what Houston would look like if Gerald D Hines hadn't existed. He's the creator of so many iconic Houston structures like the Galleria, Transco Tower + Waterwall, Hilton Americas. And obviously the mammoth amount of modern skyscrapers plus more under construction. In an alternate universe where Gerald D Hines didn't exist, what would Houston look like?

Yes Houston would look very very different. Hines was also important globally for promoting cutting-edge architecture as a development formula. The Galleria was also a very important statement of mixed-use during an era when it was not otherwise popular.