The Mayor’s Deal
This may very well be H-Town Mayor John Whitmire’s signature project or big deal. He carried and passed the legislation last session that is allowing this to happen. See this from the Chron:
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Houston First head Michael Heckman on Thursday unveiled plans for a $2 billion overhaul of the George R. Brown Convention Center, a project they said would “transform” the city’s downtown and east side while boosting Houston’s conventions business, entertainment industry and broader economy.
The project, which has been in development since 2023, calls for the convention center to be expanded and modernized to aid the city in the competition for events such as the World Cup, coming to the city in 2026, and the Republican National Convention, coming in 2028. Whitmire and Heckman argued that a reanimated convention center district would have a sweeping impact beyond the immediate area.
“Jobs, jobs and jobs. Guests. Land values. Revenue to the city, to use for affordable housing,” Whitmire said in an interview earlier this week. “It’ll impact every facet of Houston governance, and our quality of life issues. It’s a rebirth in downtown.”
And this:
Funding for the project comes from a bill that Whitmire carried as a member of the Texas Senate in 2023, his final term in the state legislature. He said that he had been asked to carry the legislation by Sylvester Turner, his longtime colleague and predecessor as Houston mayor, who died this week. The measure, Senate Bill 1057, called for the city of Houston and Houston First to receive a certain portion of hotel occupancy taxes, which would otherwise flow to the state, for up to 30 years.
Here is the entire Chron read: Whitmire, Houston First unveil plans for convention center expansion.
I don’t think folks appreciate Mayor Whitmire’s contribution to the redevelopment of H-Town’s East End. I’ve written about it before. It was then State Sen. John Whitmire who urged then Astros owner Drayton McLane, Jr., and Downtown business leaders to build the baseball stadium in Downtown H-Town back in 1996. Whitmire let them know his political support for the effort was conditioned on building the stadium Downtown. Sen. Whitmire carried the legislation that created the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority.
In less than three weeks, we will start season number 26 at now Daikin Park. The residential, retail, and office venues that now can be found just east of Downtown don’t happen without Mayor Whitmire’s leadership. He was the key player in all this major economic redevelopment. In my book, he doesn’t get enough credit.
This planned Convention Center expansion will certainly give all of Downtown H-Town and the surrounding community a huge boost.
Nice job, Mayor Whitmire.
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“We are the World” was released 40 years ago today. See the featured photo. A great tune. Some of the participants are no longer with us like Quincy Jones, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, Ray Charles, and Harry Belafonte.
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Have a safe weekend and a nice Spring Break.
