Rice University and Lincoln Property Company are doubling down on the Ion District in Midtown Houston, unveiling plans for a 196,400-square-foot research, lab and office hub.
The project, dubbed The Arc at the Ion District, is slated for the site of a parking lot, adjacent to the original Ion building at 4201 Main Street, the Houston Business Journal reported. Rice Real Estate and Lincoln expect to start construction next spring and deliver in early 2028. The project cost was not disclosed.
Rice will anchor the building with a 30,000-square-foot lease for office and lab space, focused on energy, artificial intelligence, data science, robotics and computational engineering. The university framed the project as a way to further commercialize academic research by colocating with corporate partners, investors and startups.
Designed for flexibility, The Arc will feature large floor plates up to 31,000 square feet, 15-foot ceiling heights, high-capacity HVAC and power systems, and amenities like a gym and outdoor event plazas. The developers are targeting LEED Gold certification. Tenants will also have access to the Ion’s amenities, including shared conference spaces, restaurants and the forum stairs amphitheater.
Located 3 miles from downtown, 1 mile from the university and near a light-rail station, The Arc will add to the Ion District’s momentum as one of Houston’s highest-profile innovation hubs. The Ion is 90 percent leased to a mix of Fortune 500s and high-growth startups. Tenants include Chevron, Microsoft, Aramco, Oxy, Shell and United Airlines, alongside younger firms like Persona AI and Liongard.
“The Arc represents a rare opportunity to help grow a nationally significant innovation hub right here in Houston,” Lincoln’s Gabe Lerner told the outlet.
Rice is positioning the Ion District as an extension of its campus and a driver of Houston’s broader innovation economy. The university also has plans to add an incubator building and to relocate its development office into the Ion.— Eric Weilbacher
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