Rice University Plans $75M Research Facility in Houston's Ion District

Rice University will develop a $75 million, 200,000-square-foot research, laboratory and office facility in Houston's Ion District, expanding the school's role as a commercial real estate player. The building, dubbed The Arc, is scheduled to break ground on Nov. 5 and be completed by March 2028. Rice is the lead tenant but will occupy only 30,000 square feet, with the remainder earmarked for outside companies. Scott Irby, director at Rice Real Estate Company, is handling preleasing at 4151 Main Street, adjacent to the original Ion building at 4201 Main Street, which is more than 90 percent leased to energy tenants including Chevron, BP, Aramco, ExxonMobil, Shell and Microsoft. The university is also acquiring land in Rice Village and planning the $120 million Gateway Project, a renovation and pedestrian initiative connecting the shopping center to the west portion of campus, alongside stadium renovations and green space and water system upgrades.