MICRO CENTER WILL MOVE SOUTH, GIVE UP WEST LOOP SITE FOR AMEGY BANK HQ 
Confirming a pair of reports published on Swamplot last month, Amegy Bank announced today that it is buying the 4-acre lot currently occupied by computer retailer Micro Center at 1717 West Loop South, just north of San Felipe, to build a new corporate headquarters. The designer of the coming 350,000-sq.-ft. Amegy complex is Pickard Chilton, the New Haven architect behind downtown’s BG Group Place, among other Houston structures. Amegy will keep its downtown offices, but move its corporate offices and Galleria banking center across the freeway to the new building. But Micro Center won’t be exiting Houston. It’ll move later this year to an unspecified new location “near the 610 Loop and Highway 59 Southwest Freeway interchange.” [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]Â Photo: Nick Juhasz
Sign up for the Newsletter
Should be interesting to see their new location.
Now let speculation begin as to where a place the size of MicroCenter will fit around 59/610. There’s that large parcel across Richmond from Best Buy, maybe displace Zone D’ Erotica (in Uptown Management District’s dreams), The large land parcels on Rice on the Bellaire side are pretty inaccesible for retail.
Can’t wait to see the design–huge fan of Pickard-Chilton–I’m jazzed they’re doing so much work in Houston; lucky us!
Good thing that interchange is never congested, it will be a breeze to get there!
Wut.
Glad to see Micro Center is staying around.
Maybe they will build it in here…
http://www.newquest.com/Property/Details/291/Uptown-Crossing
I am guessing the new location will be South Rice @ 69 across from the Sam’s where they were planning to build the soccer stadium
What the hell is wrong with you people? That’s now two posts on a new skyscraper being built in Uptown and all anyone can talk about is what will happen to poor pitiful MicroCenter. I thought this was a development/architecture fanboy blog?
Well, you just knew the land Micro Center was occupying was too valuable for single-story retail to remain there much longer….. I am just glad they are sticking around the area. Placing their new store within the area of the proposed Westpark Transit Center http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/bellaire/news/uptown-s-westpark-transit-center-endorsed-by-bellaire/article_62ae5a8c-ebe3-11e1-8e7f-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=image&photo=1 is a good bet. They might even get a tax deal from the City of Bellaire. Here is to their new location wherever it may be!
I knew it!
@duh lol! Swamploters, what can you say?
Unless the floor plates are over sized, seems like there will be a garage next door or lots of landscaping around. Or am I overestimating the size of this lot?
20 + stories in total w/ a parking garage pedestal. The remainder will await future users. C’mon people!!
before they do anything on south rice, that whole street from gulfton to 59 needs to be redone. currently, there are too many places where people are making left turns and blocking the lane. the problem is that the right lanes going both north and south are full of potholes and torn pavement and appear to be too small to allow two vehicles side by side heading in the same direction.
they would also need to resolve the problem that elementary school causes with traffic heading south into the school sitting on and creating a back up on s. rice.
until those issues are addressed, i can’t see very much retail being successful. currently, the businesses (other than sam’s) are destination businesses, you go there because you need to (Houston Gymnastics Academy, Cheveron Info technology on Fournace, PV rentals, Paradigm MMA training).
any sort of regular retail doesn’t seem to do well.
I really don’t understand how Micro Center has stayed in business all these years. I guess there are a lot of people who like to pay too much for outdated computer parts.
Roy: I haven’t been there much, but I was always impressed with their selection and prices. They were very competitive with the online shops. Close enough where I’m sure a lot of people found value in being able to talk to someone and pick something up right there on the spot. I can tell you that their only competition was online since if they option is micro center or Frys, micro center was much better.
@Roy:
You obviously know nothing about computer parts then, Microcenter has the most up-to-date and extensive collection of parts anywhere in Houston and at prices that are consistently lower than online. I used to buy everything online, but when I need to build a computer the first place I go is Microcenter. The building is very outdated (lol at the netscape logo outside), but the stuff inside is always the best and cheapest available.