Arena Place facts for kids
Arena Place is a large group of buildings in Houston, Texas. It includes two tall office buildings and a special theater called the Arena Theatre. This complex is located in an area of Houston known as Sharpstown.
The two office buildings are called One Arena Place and Two Arena Place. Each building is 19 stories tall. They have a lot of office space, about 39,000 square meters in each. The Arena Theatre is a place where live shows happen. It has 2,850 seats. All the seats are close to the stage, no more than 20 meters away. This is because the theater is shaped like a circle. There are also two large parking garages with 2,200 parking spots. Arena Place is close to a shopping mall called PlazAmericas. It is also near major roads like 610 Loop and Beltway 8.
History of Arena Place
The Arena Theatre was built a long time ago, in 1965. A famous comedian named Bob Hope was one of the first people who invested in it. The two black office towers were built later, in the early 1980s. A developer named Melvin Lane Powers built them. He even built a special apartment, called a penthouse, on top of one of the towers. This penthouse had a helicopter pad and a swimming pool on the roof!
Later, the ownership of the buildings changed. In 1989, a real estate developer named Lawrence Wong bought Arena Tower I. The next year, in 1990, he bought the second tower. When Mr. Wong bought the buildings, many of the offices were empty.
By 1997, more offices were rented out. Companies like Houston Cellular and Houston Allstate had offices there. At that time, experts said the buildings were worth about $30 million. They also said the buildings needed some updates.
For many years, a company called H'Town Arena managed the Arena Theatre. In 2004, a new group of owners bought the entire Arena Place complex. The theater stopped operating for a short time. At that point, about 70% of the office spaces were rented. Many large call centers used the offices.
In 2006, a company called Boxer Property bought part of the complex. After this, all the buildings were renovated, which means they were updated and improved. By 2007, about 70% of the office towers were rented again. Many different types of businesses moved in, including law firms, medical offices, and radio stations. Westwood College also had several floors in the complex. Over $6 million was spent to renovate the towers.
The Arena Theatre also got a big renovation. It reopened on November 9, 2007. The theater got new carpet, new lights, and new sound systems. The seats were fixed, and the restrooms were updated. The ceiling was changed to make the sound better. A new company, Arena Theatre Inc., started managing the theater.
In 2009, a company called Affiliated Computer Services added 120 new jobs to its call center in Arena Tower II. After this, they planned to have 400 employees working there. As of 2016, Xerox Business Services (which bought ACS) manages a call center for CVS Pharmacy in Arena Tower II.
Who Has Offices Here?
Several businesses and schools have offices or campuses at Arena Place:
- The College of Health Care Professions has a campus at One Arena Place.
- China Airlines has a small office in Suite 204 of Two Arena Place.
- Westwood College used to have its Houston South Campus in One Arena Place.
