Members advanced significant investments, expansions and milestones across business, education, energy, healthcare, innovation and transportation. Highlights include Baylor College of Medicine’s $1 billion philanthropic campaign, the Houston Astro’s awarded for preserving and enhancing Houston’s architectural heritage, and NASA’s Artemis II crew concluding their post-mission activities in Houston.
Business Moves
Growth, Investment & Expansion
Emancipation Park Conservancy
Emancipation Park Conservancy completed renovations to the historic Cultural Center in Houston’s Third Ward, adding digital storytelling features, updated audiovisual technology and a gift shop. The improvements are part of an $18.5 million park investment that also includes the Jacqueline W. Bostic Stage, a 5,000-square-foot outdoor performance venue. The renovated center will support community gatherings, educational programs and arts and cultural events.
Chord Energy
Chord Energy renewed and expanded its headquarters lease at 1001 Fannin in downtown Houston, increasing its office footprint by 20% to approximately 157,000 square feet. The company, which has maintained a presence in the building for nearly 20 years, added about 27,000 square feet to accommodate its office needs.
Awards & Recognition
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros received a 2027 Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston for restoring all 163 exterior windows at Union Station, the historic downtown building constructed in 1911. The project was among 12 recognized for preserving and enhancing Houston’s architectural heritage. The awards highlight restoration efforts that maintain historic structures while allowing them to continue serving the community.
Education
Rice University
Rice University launched One Giant Leap Ventures Fund I, an early-stage investment fund supporting startups founded by Rice alumni, students or faculty, as well as companies using university-licensed technology. The fund will invest up to $500,000 per eligible company and has already made its first investment in Motif Neurotech, a Rice spinout developing brain-computer interface technology. The initiative also connects entrepreneurs with Rice’s alumni network for mentorship and support.
University of Houston
The University of Houston secured $5 million in philanthropic gifts to strengthen engineering and healthcare education. Manmohan Singh Kalsi and Marie-Luise Schubert Kalsi donated $4 million to the Cullen College of Engineering to fund two endowed professorships, graduate fellowships and research. The Hamill Foundation contributed $1 million to establish an endowed professorship in community care nursing and support efforts to address nurse shortages.
Energy
Entergy
Entergy Texas placed its Orange County Advanced Power Station into service, adding a major source of electricity to support growing energy demand across Southeast Texas. The 1,215-megawatt natural gas facility can generate enough power for more than 230,000 homes and is expected to deliver over $1 billion in long-term customer savings through improved fuel efficiency and lower operating costs.
Enbridge
Enbridge is advancing plans to expand its Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline system, connecting the Katy Hub near Houston to growing energy markets in southwest Louisiana. Developed in partnership with Mustang Express Pipeline, the proposed project would add transportation capacity to serve liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, industrial facilities and power generation. The companies are targeting an early 2031 launch, pending customer commitments and regulatory approvals.
Healthcare
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine launched Tomorrow’s Medicine Today, a $1 billion philanthropic campaign to advance medical education, research and innovation. The institution has already raised $800 million toward its goal. Funding will support curriculum modernization, scholarships, earlier disease detection, personalized treatments and the use of artificial intelligence and data science to improve healthcare.
University of Houston
The University of Houston broke ground on a $77.5 million Medical Research Building that will expand its medical research capabilities and support the university’s UH Health initiative. The 57,000-square-foot facility will include wet laboratories, computational research spaces, a clinical trials unit and a virtual reality behavioral health suite. Located beside the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, the building is expected to open in 2028.
Innovation
NASA
NASA’s Artemis II crew celebrated the conclusion of their post-mission activities at a public event in Houston, marking their first public appearance in the city following their historic journey around the Moon. The four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—shared reflections on the mission, which advanced human spaceflight and set the stage for future lunar exploration.
Harris County
Harris County commissioners unanimously approved three measures to improve oversight of data center development amid concerns about electricity demand, utility costs and neighborhood impacts. The measures require county offices to notify commissioners of major data center permit reviews, direct staff to assess the county’s existing regulatory authority and support potential changes to state law. Harris County has 46 operating data centers, with at least six more in development.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
HPE secured a $1.2 billion order from cloud infrastructure provider Vultr to deploy its AMD Helios AI systems at data centers across the United States. The deal marks HPE’s first order for the new AI platform and builds on its acquisition of Juniper Networks. HPE is also expanding its networking partnership with Oracle to support the company’s global AI data center infrastructure.
Transportation
METRO
METRO approved its fiscal year 2027 budget for over $1 billion, while maintaining current bus and rail service levels while addressing rising operating costs. The plan relies on projected sales tax revenue and federal grants while reducing capital spending and scaling back some vehicle purchases and expansion projects.
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