With major tenants, a Houston-first mentality, and big-name chefs at the ready, it holds promise. By Timothy Malcolm 5/14/2021 at 9:53am The Ion and its entrance plaza in Midtown Houston. When standing on a concourse at The Ion, the 266,000-square-foot building rising above city lots as the first step of many in creating a 16-acre Midtown Houston innovation district, it's easy to imagine all the activity that's expected in the future. Look up, and Microsoft workers might scramble from one doorway to another. Entrepreneurs and makers from places like TX/RX Labs may converse over coffee while sitting at concourse table, while down on the ground floor, a NASA official might be conducting a keynote speech. In other rooms and open spaces tucked along the perimeter of the building, you could find workshops, team meetings, and what folks in the innovation sector call "collisions," or random conversations between people that possibly lead to professional collaboration.