Mayor Whitmire Joins Houston First to recognize milestone in Convention District construction  

The new GRB South Garage at 1835 Bell Street near the intersection of Chenevert Street is initially being used for Houston Rockets games, concerts and other events at the nearby Toyota Center. The garage adjoins GRB South, the 700,000-square-foot extension of the George R. Brown Convention Center that is the cornerstone of the project’s first phase. The garage will eventually open to guests of the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel and other public use once construction activity in the immediate area allows.

“Houston is a can-do city, and this is demonstration of Houston going forward,” Mayor John Whitmire said. “The Convention District Transformation has been a priority of my administration since day one and I’m pleased to see the progress that we celebrate today. The best is yet to come. Let’s go to work.”

The opening of the GRB South Garage has allowed for the reopening of Avenida Central, the 660-space garage underneath Discovery Green to public parking. That garage had been used exclusively by Hilton valet since the closure of the previous Avenida South garage in May. Avenida Central is mainly used by visitors to Discovery Green, the GRB and nearby restaurants and businesses. During peak valet periods at the Hilton, Avenida Central will still be used by the hotel for overflow parking until a new tunnel between the Hilton and the new garage is completed next year.

“Replacing the garage on the south end of the convention campus in this timeframe was a complex challenge for our team and I’m glad we can celebrate this critical milestone in this generational project,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First. “It was important that we minimized the time between the demolition of the previous Avenida South Garage and the opening of this new GRB South facility. Our team did a great job of keeping that downtime to just a few months while getting streets around the project reopened to traffic, which is important to our neighbors like Toyota Center.”

“We’re proud to be part of the collaborative effort to enhance and transform downtown Houston,” said Gretchen Sheirr, President of Business Operations for the Houston Rockets and Comets. “As we continue to reimagine Toyota Center and elevate the experience for our fans, projects like the new GRB South Garage complement those efforts by making it easier for residents and visitors to enjoy everything downtown has to offer. Together with Houston First, we’re helping create a more vibrant downtown that our city can be proud of, where people can come together, enjoy new experiences and make lasting memories.”

Phase One, By the Numbers
Work on phase one of the project began in April 2025. Since then, the project has entailed:

• Labor hours worked:
  • Total Onsite Man hours total – 485,295
  • Total Offsite Manhours – 245,000
  • Total Hours Through 10/22 – 730,295
• 10,562 tons of steel fabricated
• 8,140 tons of steel erected
• 33,737 yards of concrete poured
• Project costs to date (through September) total $389 million
• Dirt
  • 161,892 cubic yards of dirt hauled off
  • 48,300 cubic yards of dirt imported
• 50% of glass has been fabricated

Hines serves as the project manager on the development which was designed by Populous and is being constructed by a joint venture between Gilbane Building Co. and Flintco Construction.