Midway gives old campus new life
It would appear Midway’s super power is transforming massive parcels of aging commercial real estate into dynamic mixed-use districts. Their newest redevelopment, just announced last week, is Watermark District at Woodcreek. It will bring new life to the former ConocoPhillips headquarters. The 70-acre site is one of the largest in Houston’s Energy Corridor District, 18 miles west of downtown.
Midway’s scheme calls for new Class A office and multifamily space, high-end retail and restaurants, an innovation hub, and a possible boutique hotel. PDR will handle architectural design. Jacobs Solutions and OJB Landscape Architecture round out the team. PRISM worked with Midway in the early phases of this exciting project to develop the marketing rendering.
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche designed the original campus in 1978 to evoke a Japanese fishing village. It encompasses 16 three-story buildings with deep eaves connected by bridges above meandering ponds and trails through dense vegetation. Pickard Chilton designed a large expansion in 2007 to include a 100,000 s.f. fitness center. Midway plans to preserve and repurpose some of the existing buildings. They plan to add a unique sustainability feature – a wastewater management system that will convert wastewater and food waste generated onsite into clean water and energy that can be reused throughout Watermark District. Midway stated the project is a prime example of their future-oriented mindset, designed to endure and with sustainability at the forefront.
