One of downtown Houston's earliest "skyscrapers" is back in the game. NewForm Real Estate has wrapped a multimillion-dollar restoration of 917 Franklin, also known as the Commerce National Bank Building, bringing back its limestone facade and original marble while refitting the interior for 21st-century office tenants.
The six-story, early-20th-century tower, which opened in 1904, now anchors NewForm's Main & Co. block. Developers say the overhaul blends painstaking preservation, including restored staircases and a period accurate elevator indicator, with fresh finishes such as terrazzo floors and upgraded audiovisual wiring.
According to the Houston Business Journal, the multiyear project revived historic detailing while modernizing office suites and street-level retail. The outlet reports that the work included cleaning the facade, repairing windows and rethinking interior layouts so they line up more closely with the building's original period design.
"The restoration has made the building significantly more competitive in the downtown office market, particularly for tenants looking for character and differentiation from newer product," NewForm president Dan Zimmerman said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. The Chronicle reports that NewForm acquired the property in December 2022 and finished the latest round of work this spring.
What Was Restored
Work at 917 Franklin included facade restoration and masonry cleaning, window repairs and careful reconstruction of damaged plaster and moldings to match original profiles, according to City of Houston landmark documents.
New interior finishes and some of the more granular preservation moves are laid out in NewForm Real Estate's project listing. The firm notes new terrazzo with brass inlay in the common areas, the preservation of an original mail chute and the rebuilding of a staircase. Andres Construction led the construction work, and M.Naeve handled interior design.
The city's landmark report also calls out the building's neoclassical three-zone composition and its long-standing role in downtown Houston's financial scene, which is part of why this particular restoration carries more than a little symbolic weight for preservation-minded locals.
Main & Co and Leasing Outlook
The 917 Franklin project folds into NewForm's broader Main & Co. corridor, a stretch of adjacent restored buildings that the company hopes will lure a mix of restaurants, galleries and office tenants. The Houston Chronicle reports that the roughly 42,000-square-foot tower is a designated City of Houston landmark and is about 88% leased. Rebel Retail Advisors is handling retail leasing, while Stream Realty oversees office leasing.
NewForm says the combination of historic architecture and updated amenities across the block has already sparked stronger leasing interest, as tenants chase space that does not feel like every other glass box downtown.
Why Developers Are Betting On Old Buildings
The 917 Franklin revival slots neatly into a broader adaptive reuse trend that has developers leaning into character instead of tearing it down. National coverage in Forbes has highlighted how cities like Houston are increasingly repurposing older buildings to attract tenants who want something with history and texture.
Local public investments are giving the area a boost as well. Efforts to make Main Street more pedestrian friendly, including the Main Street Promenade, are reshaping the corridor into a more walkable, retail-ready stretch, according to Downtown Houston materials. That cocktail of street improvements and sensitive restoration helps explain why a historic office building can hold its own in a crowded downtown market.
The 917 Franklin project is part of NewForm's broader push to assemble and restore nearby properties at 108, 110 and 114 Main, a multiyear effort aimed at stitching together an enlivened downtown cluster. NewForm's earlier purchase and plans for 917 Franklin were covered in 2023, when industry outlets noted that the building contained about 35,000 square feet of office space and roughly 5,000 square feet of retail, per REBusinessOnline.
