Houston Chronicle: Beltway 8 Landscape Continually Changes as Generation Park, FMC Technologies Progress
By Jennifer Summer, Houston Chronicle
Several buildings now stand tall on the plot of land that used be unnavigable more than 20 years ago by anything other than horseback or helicopter.
On a 4,000 acre piece of land located along Beltway 8, the development of Generation Park continues and one of their largest companies to buy into the business park, FMC Technologies, plan to finish up Phase 1 of construction by December 2015.
By the number, FMC Technologies currently has 20,000 employees at 24 facilities around the world and in their current eight to 10 year plan, they hope to transition all of their 3,700 Houston-area employees to the facility located in Generation Park spanning approximately 173 acres equaling around 1.4 million square feet of concrete and they have already poured one million square feet.
The official groundbreaking for Generation Park was held in May 2014 and almost a year later significant progress and development can be seen on the site. McCord Development, Inc., the developer of Generation Park, first starting acquiring land along the beltway 25 years ago.
The Generation Park project continued to gain momentum, capping off with the deal with FMC Technologies in 2012.
“We have Phase 2 in design but with the oil and gas industry where it’s at right now, we will delay the construction on Phase 2 until the economics improve a little bit,” Bob Houlgrave, FMC Technologies project manager, said during the Summer Creek BizCom meeting June 11. “Right now, we are working on 71 acres including a large office building, five industrial buildings and a parking garage. Things are progressing quite well; we’re 60-70 percent complete with Phase 1.”
Though the FMC Technologies campus is mostly industrial and administrative, the developers worked to make the facility resemble a college campus with landscaping, walking trails and open social areas between the buildings.
They have also worked closely with the employees who will move to the FMC Technologies campus in Generation Park to ensure they know more about the area, the amenities and are familiar with the culture of the area such as hosting tours on the weekend and sending out newsletters.
Additionally, San Jacinto College recently closed on 57 acres at Generation Park, just across Lockwood Road from the 173-acre FMC Technologies Corporate Headquarters currently under construction.
As a reflection of McCord Development’s commitment to education and desire to show this by providing San Jacinto College with a prominent location to further their mission, the developer donated 3.8 acres situated at the intersection of West Lake Houston Parkway and Lockwood Road.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of what’s going on at Generation Park, San Jacinto College and even more broadly, in northeast Houston,” Dr. Brenda L. Hellyer, Chancellor of San Jacinto College, said in a press release. “Now more than ever, students are looking for the kind of practical, real-world education that can open doors for them, wherever their life goals take them.”
“San Jacinto College recognized the value of not just our location, but also the benefits of being part of a truly master-planned enterprise park,” Ryan McCord, President of McCord Development, said in a recent press release about the acquisition. “We can offer them something nobody else can: direct relationships with world-leading companies who want to work together to develop Houston’s next generation high-tech workforce – particularly in the subsea and downstream energy industries.”
To enhance mobility in the area, developers widened North Lake Houston Parkway to four lanes with a median from Beltway 8 to Lockwood Rd., turning the intersection at Lockwood into an intersection with a light and widening the road to four lanes from the railroad tracks until they reach North Lake Houston Parkway.
“We want to create the area’s business hub,” John Flourney, McCord Development vice president of sales and leasing, said about Generation Park. “This area is changing with the increase in mobility and businesses coming into the area; it is going to be so much better. We’re excited to see how Generation Park continues to progress.”
By the number, FMC Technologies currently has 20,000 employees at 24 facilities around the world and in their current eight to 10 year plan, they hope to transition all of their 3,700 Houston-area employees to the facility located in Generation Park spanning approximately 173 acres equaling around 1.4 million square feet of concrete and they have already poured one million square feet.