Central Houston champions a thriving Downtown by connecting influential leaders through initiatives that advance the future of business and community for all.
State of Downtown 2024
Claim your place among leaders shaping the future of Downtown at Central Houston, Inc.'s annual signature event. Gain insight on the big moves and market trends creating opportunities in the heart of our region.
About Central Houston, Inc.
For more than four decades, Central Houston, Inc. (CHI) has been a champion for Downtown, connecting leaders and advancing the future of business and community for all.
Champion
CHI advocates policies and projects that improve Downtown.
- Applying lessons from the Downtown Living Initiative that sparked a residential renaissance over the last decade, now we're working to expand housing options for Downtown's essential workforce.
- To stitch communities back together while shaping opportunities for parks, trails, flood mitigation and more, CHI is a trusted partner on the massive north highway rebuild and realignment.
- Building on a legacy of championing Buffalo Bayou as a world-class public amenity, we are shaping Houston's next great public gathering space on Main Street, encouraging activation of our historic waterfront, and weaving Downtown together with adjacent neighborhoods.
Connect
CHI convenes key decision makers and influential stakeholders to build alignment and commitment, we are:
- Supporting ongoing innovation and collaboration that made Houston a national model of helping homeless people access permanent housing, and ensuring Houston remains at the forefront.
- Uniting public agencies and property owners, managers and tenants to immediately identify urgent needs, coordinate response, and get Downtown back in business after major storm damage.
- Bridging Downtown's diverse stakeholders to inform better decisions on issues from expanding Entertainment District boundaries and increasing parking access, to enhancing Downtown's attractions for visitors on game days and everyday.
Advance
CHI provides leadership and expertise to shape a compelling vision of Downtown's future:
- Aligning three entities (CHI, Downtown Management District, Downtown Redevelopment Authority) under a shared mission, vision, and strategic plan amplifies Downtown place management organizations' effectiveness and resources.
- As the "voice of Downtown," CHI produces the annual State of Downtown event to promote Downtown as a thriving and welcoming place, a connected and attractive hub of culture, business, and recreation.
Central Houston's legacy of bold moves and the persistent pursuit of excellence
CHI is the only organization that unites thought leadership with focused action, turning visionary ideas into reality. And the results speak for themselves:
- Growing the residential population of Downtown by 3X
- Attracting professional, major league sports franchises to galvanize Downtown visitation
- Planting the seeds of world-class open spaces and parks
- Seizing opportunity to relocate the nation's premiere performing and visual arts magnet school to Downtown, welcoming 800+ talented, creative students + families every school day
- Encouraging beloved grocer, Phoenicia to open Downtown and feed a diverse array of tastes with fresh and prepared foods
- Advancing Downtown's future through adaptive reuse of historic properties, like the Barbara Jordan Post Office and its five-acre rooftop garden, reviving Union Station as part of Minute Maid Park, and converting obsolete office buildings into hotels, lofts, and apartments
Central Houston Members are passionate about ensuring a bright future for Houston's urban core. By supporting Central Houston, your organization can help advance policies and lead decisions to keep the center of our city vital and growing.