Houston City Council voted Wednesday to try to sell two longtime municipal towers downtown, a move that could generate a windfall for the city and, in time, perhaps remake the Houston skyline.

Both buildings, built in the 1960s as offices for energy companies, have steadily deteriorated after several decades under public ownership, city leaders have said. Maintenance costs for the police headquarters had grown to $20 million annually by 2024, while rehabilitating 611 Walker – which has significant water pipe, electrical and elevator issues – would have cost an estimated $323 million, the city found in 2025.

Some 4,400 city staff across the two buildings have already begun moving into 1600 Smith Street, the former Continental Airlines headquarters less than a mile away, which the city purchased for $55 million in 2024. 

The contract agreement does not mention a desired sale price, and it isn’t clear what the towers are worth. Any sale would require a final vote by the city council.

Council Member Edward Pollard said he would prefer for the city to seek a long-term land lease with a developer rather than give up such large parcels of downtown real estate. 

Public Works director Randy Macchi said such a lease is possible in theory. But several developers are “highly interested” in 611 Walker, he said, and the city believes the blocks could eventually host “skyline-redefining” developments on “arguably one of the most desirable sites in all of downtown.”

“The reality is it’s unlikely we are going to find a new partner that will want to invest a billion dollars without owning the land underneath,” said Macchi. 

The city also needs cash now to help pay for the buildout of its new tower, which will cost $300 million, said Mayor John Whitmire.

Still, economic headwinds and high vacancy rates for downtown office buildings may make the towers “very hard to sell”, said Houston commercial real estate broker Mark Davis. The city last tried and failed to sell the police headquarters in 2012. 

“The market for older office buildings is kind of the worst it’s ever been in Houston,” Davis said. “There’s just a lot of things that are going against these older office buildings that, at the end of the day, make retrofitting them into something else really cost prohibitive.”

611 Walker occupies one whole city block, while 1200 Travis sits on half a block with an attached parking garage.