Mayor Whitmire promises big investment to make downtown Houston a destination

HOUSTON — Big changes are coming to downtown Houston.

Mayor John Whitmire revealed a plan to invest billions of dollars to make the city even more of a destination. The announcement was made Friday

Whitmire wants to pump life back into downtown.

“$3 billion in the next 30 years,” he said.

He said they’ll use the hotel occupancy tax to make improvements.

“The entertainment district will be going 3 miles in each direction. It will reach the arts and theater district,” Whitmire said.

He said plans are in place to expand the George R. Brown Convention Center to compete with other convention centers.

“We are going to have larger conventions,” he said.

And they want to attract big things, possibly even another professional sports team.

“Yes, Toyota Center will get ready for hockey,” he said.

Most importantly, the mayor said the purpose is to clean up downtown. Problems that Carol Churchill said she’s just seen grow over the years.

“If he improves everything … cleans up the streets. The roads need to be paved … not so bumpy. Help the homeless people not live on the streets,” Churchill said.

She’s one of the owners of Chinar Garden in downtown. The restaurant has been a staple in the community. They’ve been downtown for 54 years.

“We have seen a lot,” Churchill said.

But after the pandemic, they went from having busy lunches to only being open one day a week for lunch.

“It’s not as busy. The downtown buildings are not full like they used to be,” Churchill said.

Churchhill hopes that with the new plan one day her family restaurant can return to the busy lunches once again.

“It’s super exciting. It’s something that needs to be done,” said Churchill.