UT HEALTH JJL 3RD FLOOR RENOVATION in Houston, TX

The Jesse Jones Library at 1133 John Freeman Blvd. in Houston is undergoing a third-floor renovation filed under the project name UT Health JJL 3Rd Floor Renovation. This alteration covers 4,860 sq ft on Level 03 within the Medical Center Area of Harris County. The scope involves demolishing the existing auditorium to convert the space into two new office suites. The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System is the owner of record for this work, which is privately funded on private land for private use.

Project Scope and Cost

SmithGroup serves as the design firm of record for this renovation. The estimated cost is $720,000, resulting in a computed cost of $148 per square foot. This figure is above the Harris County median of $80 per square foot for similar renovation and alteration filings. The total project cost is also above the county median of $250,000, placing it in the top quarter of comparable projects in the area. The scheduled build window was 126 days, which is longer than the county median of 92 days for this type of work.

William T Winning is the registered accessibility specialist associated with the filing. The project was registered with TDLR in June 2025, and plan review was completed in the same month. Construction was scheduled to begin in July 2025 with a completion date of November 2025. Since that date has passed, the timeline is important for understanding the current state of the site.

TDLR has not yet recorded a final inspection, so the current state of the site is not confirmed in the public record. The status remains Review Complete, but without a final inspection on file, the specific outcome of the scheduled November 2025 completion is not verified in the TDLR database. Readers should note that the absence of a final inspection does not confirm whether the work is finished or if the new office suites are operational.

SmithGroup has worked on six other TDLR-registered projects totaling $25,839,969, including the UT Tyler College of Business and the Pohl Recreation Center. In the same Medical Center Area, other registered renovation projects include Amegy on Main, Houston Methodist Neurosensory building, and Hilton Medical Center. The local labor market in Harris County shows an unemployment rate of 5 percent in August 2026, which is lower than a year earlier. These contextual factors help situate the Jesse Jones Library renovation within the broader construction activity in Houston.