A ULI Advisory ServicesReport Panel A ULI Houston Astrodome Harris County, Texas December 15–19, 2014 Advisory ServicesReport Panel A ULI Astrodome2015_cover.indd 2 3/16/15 12:56 PM The Astrodome Harris County, Texas A Vision for a Repurposed Icon December 15–19, 2014 Advisory Services Panel Report A ULI A ULI About the Urban Land Institute THE MISSION OF THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE is ■■ Sustaining a diverse global network of local practice to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in and advisory efforts that address current and future creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. challenges. ULI is committed to Established in 1936, the Institute today has more than ■■ Bringing together leaders from across the fields of real 34,000 members worldwide, representing the entire estate and land use policy to exchange best practices spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. and serve community needs; ULI relies heavily on the experience of its members. It is through member involvement and information resources ■■ Fostering collaboration within and beyond ULI’s that ULI has been able to set standards of excellence in membership through mentoring, dialogue, and problem development practice. The Institute has long been rec- solving; ognized as one of the world’s most respected and widely ■■ Exploring issues of urbanization, conservation, regen- quoted sources of objective information on urban planning, eration, land use, capital formation, and sustainable growth, and development. development; ■■ Advancing land use policies and design practices that respect the uniqueness of both the built and natural environments; ■■ Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media; and Cover: Urban Land Institute © 2015 by the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW Suite 500 West Washington, DC 20007-5201 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission of the copy- right holder is prohibited. 2 An Advisory Services Panel Report About ULI Advisory Services THE GOAL OF THE ULI ADVISORY SERVICES program able to make accurate assessments of a sponsor’s issues is to bring the finest expertise in the real estate field to bear and to provide recommendations in a compressed amount on complex land use planning and development projects, of time. programs, and policies. Since 1947, this program has as- A major strength of the program is ULI’s unique ability sembled well over 400 ULI-member teams to help spon- to draw on the knowledge and expertise of its members, sors find creative, practical solutions for issues such as including land developers and owners, public officials, downtown redevelopment, land management strategies, academics, representatives of financial institutions, and evaluation of development potential, growth management, others. In fulfillment of the mission of the Urban Land community revitalization, brownfield redevelopment, military Institute, this Advisory Services panel report is intended to base reuse, provision of low-cost and affordable housing, provide objective advice that will promote the responsible and asset management strategies, among other matters. A use of land to enhance the environment. wide variety of public, private, and nonprofit organizations have contracted for ULI’s advisory services. ULI Program Staff Gayle Berens Each panel team is composed of highly qualified profession- Senior Vice President, Education and Advisory Group als who volunteer their time to ULI. They are chosen for their knowledge of the panel topic and screened to ensure their Thomas W. Eitler objectivity. ULI’s interdisciplinary panel teams provide a holis- Vice President, Advisory Services tic look at development problems. A respected ULI member Daniel Lobo who has previous panel experience chairs each panel. Director, Awards The agenda for a five-day panel assignment is intensive. Beth Silverman It includes an in-depth briefing day composed of a tour Director, Education and Advisory Services of the site and meetings with sponsor representatives; Kathryn Craig a day of hour-long interviews of typically 70 to 100 key Senior Associate, Education and Advisory Group community representatives; and two days of formulating James A. Mulligan recommendations. Long nights of discussion precede the Senior Editor panel’s conclusions. On the final day on site, the panel makes an oral presentation of its findings and conclusions Laura Glassman, Publications Professionals LLC to the sponsor. A written report is prepared and published. Copy Editor Betsy Van Buskirk Because the sponsoring entities are responsible for Creative Director significant preparation before the panel’s visit, including sending extensive briefing materials to each member and Deanna Pineda, Muse Advertising Design arranging for the panel to meet with key local community Graphic Designer members and stakeholders in the project under consider- Craig Chapman ation, participants in ULI’s five-day panel assignments are Senior Director, Publishing Operations The Astrodome, Harris County, Texas, December 15–19, 2014 3 Acknowledgments ON BEHALF OF THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE, the ideas, experiences, and input in writing to the more than panel thanks the sponsors the Harris County Sports and 75 persons who volunteered their time for interviews. With- Convention Corporation and the National Trust for His- out such commitment, many of the ideas proposed in this toric Preservation for their invitation to address questions report would not have been possible. As such, the pan- regarding the future of the Astrodome as an indoor park. el thanks them all for their contributions and compliments The panel is honored to have been given a rare opportunity their collective enthusiasm. to participate in such a monumental undertaking. In ad- dition, the panel would like to extend its sincerest thanks to the community: from the Houstonians who offered their 4 An Advisory Services Panel Report Contents ULI Panel and Project Staff ...............................................................................................................................6 Background and the Panel’s Assignment ..........................................................................................................7 The Vision .....................................................................................................................................................10 Development Program and Design ..................................................................................................................15 Development Strategy ....................................................................................................................................21 Capital and Operational Financing ...................................................................................................................24 Implementation ..............................................................................................................................................29 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................31 About the Panel .............................................................................................................................................32 The Astrodome, Harris County, Texas, December 15–19, 2014 5 ULI Panel and Project Staff Panel Chair Tom Murphy Senior Resident Fellow/Klingbeil Family Wayne Ratkovich Chair for Urban Development President Urban Land Institute The Ratkovich Company Washington, D.C. Los Angeles, California David Panagore Panel Members Executive Director Park New Haven Amy Barrett New Haven, Connecticut Vice President Permar Inc. Douette Pryce Charleston, South Carolina Founder Pryce Resource LLC Peter Hasselman Sewall’s Point, Florida Owner Peter M. Hasselman Kevin Rieger Orinda, California Senior Vice President, Real Estate Development Anschutz Entertainment Group Cary Hirschstein Los Angeles, California Partner HR&A Advisors Inc. New York, New York ULI Project Staff Tom Eitler Todd Mead Vice President PWP Landscape Architecture Advisory Services Berkeley, California Kathryn Craig Robert Mills Senior Associate Education and Advisory Group Principal Commonwealth Architects Richmond, Virginia 6 An Advisory Services Panel Report Background and the Panel’s Assignment THE WORLD’S FIRST MULTIPURPOSE, domed sports stadium, once nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Astrodome is a cultural icon and engineering marvel built in 1964. Its legacy extends far beyond its revolution- ary structural design as the host to thousands of events from Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Foot- ball League (NFL) to rodeo and live music performances. The Astrodome and the adjacent NRG Stadium. Today, however, the Astrodome is a shadow of its former self, and it is a future point of contention for the voters in Study Area the region who originally funded its construction. Over the 35W 67 77 NRG 45Park—NRG Stadium, NRG Center, NRG Arena, and RED years, the Astrodome has been subject to many propos- RIVER 81 NAVARRO HENDERSON 69 PANOLA DE SOTO NRG Astrodome—spans 350 acres in the heart259 of Harris 84 COMANCHE als—from reuse and revitalization to redevelopmentNorth Fork to de- 79 287 71 67 BOSQUE L. WhitneyHILL NavarroCounty Mills and L. providesANDERSON parking for up to 26,00084 automo- molition. Despite dozens of proposals