Houston City Council approved an ordinance July 24 to purchase a plot of land in downtown Houston to expand the George R. Brown Convention Center.

What you need to know

Council members unanimously approved the acquisition July 24 based on a proposal from the Houston First Corporation. Houston First manages the city’s entertainment venues, including the George R. Brown Convention Center.

According to the agenda item, the land is intended to be used to construct a new building that could include parking, exhibition halls, ballrooms and/or meeting spaces.

The parcel of land spans two downtown city blocks between the convention center and the Toyota Center.

  • Block 309 is bounded by Clay Avenue, Hamilton Street, Bell Avenue and Chenevert Street.
  • Block 310 is bounded by Clay Avenue, Chenevert Street, Bell Avenue and Jackson Street.

Both sites are currently the location of two privately-owned, ground-level parking lots.



A representative of Houston First said the corporation hopes to negotiate the purchase and price of the property directly with the owners of the two blocks. According to the agenda packet, the company would be authorized to use eminent domain to acquire the land for the project, if needed.

Eminent domain, according to The Institute for Justice, gives the government the power to take private property without consent for public use.

Houston First Corporation intends to negotiate a price and purchase of the two city blocks that are currently occupied by ground-level parking lots. (Cassandra Jenkins/Community Impact)
Houston First Corporation intends to purchase two land tracts in Downtown Houston currently occupied by ground-level parking lots. (Cassandra Jenkins/Community Impact)Caption

Taking a step back

The proposed expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center is the result of Senate Bill 1057, which passed during the 88th Texas Legislative Session in 2023.

S.B. 1057 authorized local government corporations to collect a portion of hotel-occupancy taxes in excess of the amount collected in 2023 for up to 30 years. The bipartisan bill was authored by former state Sen. John Whitmire, who is now the mayor of Houston.



The revenue collected from the new tax will provide approximately $2 billion in funding, according to the state comptroller's office, which the city can use to expand and improve the convention center as well as other downtown attractions.

Going forward

Houston First said in a statement the corporation is still in the planning stages and does not have specific details on what the expansion project will look like yet.

“Houston First looks forward to beginning work on the previously announced transformation of the George R. Brown Convention Center and surrounding convention and entertainment district,” a spokesperson for the corporation said. “The agenda item before council is a critical step to commencing this project, which will ultimately mean billions of dollars of economic impact in the years ahead.”


More information is expected to be released on the project in late 2024 with a ground breaking anticipated for 2025.