Tax Credit Program Highlights: Texas Company Building

Houston, Harris

1915, 1936, 1959

Designation	Individually list in the National Register of Historic Places
Historic Use	Offices, company headquarters
Current Use	Apartments, restaurant
Total Rehabilitation Cost	$138,166,199
Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses	$119,041,716
Date Certified	October 10, 2017
	Also seeking Federal Historic Tax Credits
Project Contact	Rusk at San Jacinto Partners, LP, MacRostie Historic Advisors, HBG Design

History

The Texas Company, later known as Texaco, was headquartered in this building from 1915 until 1989. The original 13-story tower was enlarged with another tower in 1936 and another in 1959. The entire building takes up half a city block, with over 460,000 square feet. Each of the three sections has a distinct appearance—reflective of the time in which each was built—but feature stylistic similarities. The 1915 and 1959 buildings feature a ground-floor arcade with remarkable Guastavino tile vaulting. There are ornate terra cotta details throughout the exterior of the buildings. The building has remained vacant since 1989, while multiple previous attempts to rehabilitate it were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the building was almost entirely gutted on the interior and few historic features remain.

Rehabilitation Project

The rehabilitation project has converted the building to luxury apartments. All apartments and spaces on the upper floors are new. The single remaining historic space is the entry lobby in the 1959 building, with decorative bronze elevator doors and unique terrazzo floors, all of which have been restored. Exterior work also included extensive restoration of terra cotta and other masonry details. A future phase of work will involve construction of a rooftop deck, amenities spaces, and finish out of a first-floor restaurant space.