Rice Management Co., which manages Rice University’s endowment, is spearheading The Ion renovation project in Houston. Construction begins in May.
The renovation project consists of the historic Sears building on Houston’s Main Street, which will transform a local landmark into the centerpiece of a thriving innovation district.
The 270,000-square-foot project is designed to bring students, professors and entrepreneurs together with corporate leaders and investors, and to provide the centerpiece for a 16-acre innovation district in midtown Houston. Besides classrooms for students and workspace for start-up companies, there will be areas for lectures, conferences, hack-a-thons, demonstrations, job training, and networking events, as well as restaurants and other amenities. A network of the area’s institutions of higher learning — including Rice, the University of Houston, UH-Downtown, the University of St. Thomas, Houston Community College, Te
