Total Plaza -- formerly known by several names including the Entex Building, Louisiana Place, and United Gas Building -- is a 35-story, 518 ft (158 m) tall skyscraper in downtown Houston, Texas. Originally completed in 1971, the International Style office tower was the first skyscraper in Houston to be outfitted with mirror-finished reflective glass.
The building includes approximately 847,200 sq ft (78,710 m2) of office space and is named after its current major tenant, Total Petrochemicals USA. Its original architects were Lloyd, Morgan, and Jones. In 1996, the firm of Ziegler Cooper Architects finished a major renovation project to revatilize the building and make it more competitive against its newer construction neighbors, entirely revamping the ground floor and mezzanine lobby area.
Below is a brief history of the building, per Wikipedia: (
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"The building, located at 1201 Louisiana, opened in 1971. The building was the headquarters of Entex. In 1975 Mercure Co. N.Y., a Dutch company, bought the Entex Building for US$40 million. The plaza, which had Class B space, was sold in 1984.
In 1994 the main offices of the University of Houston System were in the Entex Building. In 1996, after a renovation, the building was renamed from the Entex Building to the Louisiana Place. During that year brokers Jay Bonano and Jesse Amundsen left Koll Real Estate to start their own company. The leasing contract for Total Plaza was taken with Bonano and Amundsen.
Previously the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) headquarters were in the Louisiana Place. The agency occupied 10 floors in the building and did not receive any federal funds to cover the US$3.8 million annual rent. The METRO Board Room was located on the 16th floor. By 2002 the agency announced that it was moving into a new administration building, scheduled for completion in 2004, owned by the agency. METRO's lease of 193,000 sq ft (17,900 m2) expired in April 2005.
In early 2005 Total Petrochemicals USA, a subsidiary of Total S.A., signed a lease to occupy space in the Louisiana Place. In late 2005 Total Petrochemicals USA moved hundreds of employees into the building. The building's name changed to the Total Plaza. The company signed a 15 year lease for 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) and had scheduled to relocate 250 employees by November 2005. It had an option for an additional 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2). The space that Total Petrochemicals USA moved into was previously occupied by METRO, which planned to move into a new administration building in January 2005. In addition Total Holding U.S., a 20 person office representing Total S.A.'s North American holdings, was scheduled to move to Downtown Houston. Before METRO moved out, the building had a 96 percent occupancy rate. After METRO left and after Total moved in, the occupancy rate was 86 percent.
In 2006 the building was 88 percent occupied. During that year Hilcorp Energy Company signed a lease to stay in the building and increase its space. Hilcorp previously leased around 72,000 sq ft (6,700 m2) on three floors. After it re-signed its lease, it will take an additional floor. In 2007 Coast Range Investments, a privately held company in San Francisco, sold the Total Plaza to Brookfield Properties, previously known in Houston as Trizec Properties, for an undisclosed amount. During that year the building was 88 percent occupied. During that year, aside from Total S.A., its tenants included Hilcorp Energy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Reliant Energy Retail Services."