Although you will find retail throughout downtown, our major activity centers are located in the Historic District, a quirky mix of dining and nightlife establishments, and Main Street Square, home to GreenStreet (fomerly named Houston Pavilions). Just two blocks from Main Street Square is The Shops at Houston Center, an indoor mall that recently received a $12 million re-do with slick new signage, lighting and furnishings. High profile dining is located in Discovery Green park and downtown's first grocery store, Phoenicia Specialty Foods, opened last year in One Park Place.

Downtown is a place to start, grow and expand your business. Home to unique, independent retailers like The Tipping Point, iFly the Angler’s Edge, Treebeards, Les Grivals Khave, Josephine's, and Shay McElroy’s Pub, downtown is a proven market for a thriving venture!

In addition to one-of-a-kinds, franchise and chain retailers such as Sambuca Jazz Cafe, Flying Saucer Draught Emporium and Cafe Express are also a perfect fit and tremendously successful. Downtown is a also a draw for destination retailers with heavy hitters House of Blues , Books-A-Million and Forever XXI opening at downtown's new Houston Pavilions.

A diverse and extensive customer base
Approximatley 20,000 people live in downtown, and a rapidly increasing 380,000 people live within a 5 mile radius. Over 140,000 people work downtown, 17,000 students attend downtown colleges and approximately 30 million people visit downtown annually for conventions, sporting events, and entertainment purposes. No other area in the city offers a more diverse, extensive customer base than downtown.

Affluent demographic with high disposable income and active lifestyle
When creating a customer profile, we are not necessarily looking at age, race and other common demographics but behavior and lifestyle patterns. The downtown customer is open to new experiences, civic and cultural-minded, social, adventurous, intellectual, enjoys film and music, laid-back and loves to spend time with friends and family.

Availability and cost retail space
A number of downtown's property owners share the Downtown District’s vision of creating a vibrant mix of sustainable retail establishments. In order to get the right tenant, many property owners are willing to negotiate special lease terms & rates and offer generous tenant allowances for build-out. This is a rare opportunity, and with demand for retail on the rise, it won’t last long!

Best access to METRO’s transit system
More than 70% of METRO's bus lines lead to and from downtown, including all of METRO's Park and Ride services and the METRORail, which carries about 45,000 passenger-trips each day.

You could be investing in Houston’s history
With architecture dating back to the 1800’s, downtown Houston has some of the most of stunning historic structures in the region. Within the Historic District and along Main Street particularly, many historic buildings have been renovated and offer customers a one-of-a-kind shopping, dining, or entertainment environment.  

For more info on downtown Houston, contact Heather Hinzie at heather@downtowndistrict.org or call 713.650.3022.