Business View Magazine | May 2019

43 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MAY 2019 huge upgrade to our carpet in the public space about seven years ago and all of the carpet tiles in the building were then repurposed to other city properties throughout the Houston area.” Going forward, Gonzalez elaborates on some of the conceptual study opportunities related to the GRB’s five-year Master Plan to repurpose space within and surrounding the building: “One thing we’d like to do in the near future is to repurpose about 124,000 feet of space into flex space, where we envision a 60-70,000-square-foot ballroom, flanked by multi-purpose meeting space with an overview to a new deck park that’s being built directly behind the building. The Master Plan study includes adding 300,000 square feet of contiguous, column-free space that would give us about 825,000 square feet on the ground level, while being anchored by a total of four hotels, one at each corner of the 1.8 million-square foot facility.” Gonzalez believes that people are now thinking about Houston more and more as an exciting and inviting city in which to hold its conventions and trade shows. “We speak over 99 different languages in the city,” he notes. “And it’s the culinary capital of the United States. The diversity and vibrancy of our community, including our rich and inspired culinary landscape, sets us apart and makes Houston an attractive destination for visitors.” And with Avenida Houston, now a thriving entertainment district complete with dining, hotels, and nightlife, he intends that the George R. Brown Convention Center will be right in the middle of it all. GEORGE R . BROWN CONVENT ION CENTER