Historic Tax Credits
$26.3 Million Federal
Project Partner
Lovett Commercial
Impact
Economic Development
Project Size
525,000 sq ft
History
Franklin Street Post Office
The original Franklin Street post office headquarters and processing center was built in 1936 and provided the vast majority of postal distribution services for the Houston area. In 1960, the building was renovated and expanded in the Brutalist style that defines the majority of the existing building by Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, the architects who spearheaded the creation of the Houston Astrodome. In 1984, the building was named after Barbara Jordan, the first African American state senator since 1883 and the first black woman to serve in that body. The USPS put the building up for sale and issued an RFP for its redevelopment during the peak of the 2009 financial crisis. Lovett Commercial, the project sponsor, purchased the building in 2015 and began the revitalization efforts.
Revitalization Efforts
A Hub in Houston
POST Houston converted the 525,000 square foot former headquarters of the Houston Post Office into a mixed-use cultural and entertainment epicenter for the downtown area. Designed by OMA, the world-renowned architecture firm founded by Rem Koolhaas, the space includes Houston’s largest food hall, co-working and tech incubator space, a music and entertainment venue, designer retail, office, and one of the world’s largest rooftop parks and farms.
The project worked with local nonprofits to utilize the food hall to provide employment opportunities within the foodservice industry to residents of surrounding underinvested communities. The community center helps connect interested individuals with restaurant tenants, as well as provide on-site job training and career planning opportunities. The partnership focuses on low-income residents of Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood, an underserved and distressed area adjacent to POST Houston.
The rooftop farm is operated by a local for-profit provider of sustainable and organic farm solutions in Houston and yields roughly 50,000 pounds of organic produce per year. The farm offers agricultural education, year-round collaboration with the food hall chefs, resulting in a true farm to fork experience for guests. The rooftop space also provides a unique event location in downtown Houston that hosts weddings, farm dinners, sunset yoga classes, and more.
Community Impact
For Houston, By Houston
POST Houston produced over 670 jobs during construction and over 870 full-time positions upon completion. The project sponsor partnered with local nonprofits to provide members of nearby low-income communities interested in employment within the foodservice industry with on-site job training and career planning services.
The locally owned business and proprietor of the rooftop farm also
partnered with local non-profit organizations to provide job training and educate the community about sustainable, organic farming. In addition, a portion of the basement is used as makerspace, offering startup companies a place to innovate, develop prototypes, and manufacture products.
525,000 sq ft
of Space
670
Construction Jobs Created
870
Permanent Jobs Created
NTCIC & Progress
Economic Impact
Tax credit financing, including both federal and state Historic Tax Credits (HTC) and New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), provides POST Houston’s local farm operator with substantially discounted rental fees, allowing the organization to offer significant impacts to the community, including organic produce, for the community, employment opportunities, and farming education.
To create the capital stack for the development, the project sponsor used a variety of financing tools, including NTCIC’s investment in the $23.7 million in federal historic tax credits generated by the project, as well as additional state tax credits, Opportunity Zone equity, and low-cost EB-5 debt. Project financing also included NMTC allocation provided by four CDEs.
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