The 1.2-million sf Bank of America Center is part of more than 10.1 million sf in Hines properties that had sustained some damage of some form. The portfolio also consists of the 1.1-million sf Chase Center; 483,000-sf Howell Building; 1.7-million sf Chase Tower; 1.3-million sf 1100 Louisiana; 1.4-million sf Pennzoil Place; 624,000-sf Two Shell Plaza; 1.6-million sf One Shell Plaza; and 700,000-sf 717 Texas.

Mayor Lee Brown had asked CBD building owners to remain closed yesterday as part of the recovery effort. Lancaster says the Hines buildings had been shut down to pump out floodwater and weather power outage problems that dovetail with such a disaster. Hines will be open its buildings today, save for the Bank of America Center and that will reopen in a week. Lancaster estimates one third of the CBD had been shuttered Monday.

As recovery work continues, damage assessments are being calculated. The preliminary $1 billion estimate in Harris County could be too low, says Todd Mason, senior vice president of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.'s Houston office and president of the Houston Association of Realtors. Harris County officials have evenly split the preliminary estimate for residential and commercial properties. Lancaster tells GlobeSt.com that Hines' damage estimate will be available next week.

Weingarten Realty Investors, a Houston-based REIT, reports minor damage from the floodwaters at several of its properties as well as its corporate headquarters at 2600 Citadel Plaza, a 121,000-sf structure. The Weingarten holdings also include 7.5 million sf of retail space and about 3.4 million sf of industrial space. A Weingarten source says all buildings are "operational" and an estimate will be tabulated within 48 hours.

Only low-interest loans are available for commercial rebuilding. FEMA is setting up a joint office with the Texas Division of Emergency Management to process disaster claims.

At the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Houston office, a backup generator is keeping the facility operational. Federal Reserve officials say there is a malfunction of a transformer at its building. Many businesses did just what American General did yesterday and that was to shut down for the protection of employees. American General, which employs about 3,000 in Houston, closed its corporate headquarters and local offices.

One of the few to escape the storm's wrath was a WiredZone data center at 5959 Corporate Dr. A company source tells GlobeSt.com that the high-tech facility is supported by high-powered pumps that kept water at bay and sensitive electrical equipment dry at all times.