[1] The district's central hub and first building is the Ion, which opened in 2021 after owner Rice Management Company (RMC) converted it from a former Sears store.

The district also includes Greentown Labs Houston, a business incubator focused on climate technology and sustainable energy, and a large outdoor plaza.

[5] The district is anchored by the Ion, which serves as a central "hub for startups, corporations, venture capitalists, business accelerator programs, academics and others", according to the Houston Chronicle.

[6] The district's Greentown Labs Houston is the largest climate technology and sustainable energy incubator in North America,[7] housed in a building that was previously leased to a Fiesta Mart supermarket.

[17][18] Eateries include Late August (a collaboration involving retired professional athlete and chef Dawn Burrell),[11] The Lymbar (by David and Michael Cordúa),[19][20] Second Draught,[21][22] and Common Bond On-the-Go, an outpost of a bakery located in Houston's Montrose neighborhood.

The retrofitted building was previously operated and vacated by Fiesta Mart and has community spaces, labs, concrete floors, loading docks, and a trash compactor.

[8][30][31] In July 2019, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, Rice University president David Leebron, and representatives of the city attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ion's redevelopment.

[36] The grand opening ceremony was livestreamed and had limited in-person attendance because of the pandemic, which also forced Greentown Labs Houston to scale back programming temporarily.

[57][58] In addition to being a tenant, Capital Factory formed a programming partnership with the Ion in October 2021 to offer events and resources on-site for startups.

[60] In September 2020, the district received $1.5 million from the Economic Development Administration's Build to Scale program to support the Accelerator Hub's creation.

[60][55] The district received a $1.4 million federal grant from the Minority Business Development Agency in October 2020 to establish an aerospace engineering accelerator in partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center and DivInc.

[3] In January 2020, representatives of 17 student groups wrote a letter to university president Leebron asking RMC to guarantee community benefits to local residents.

[68] After Turner and Rice agreed to negotiate a development agreement, RMC and the City of Houston organized a workshop series which included a presentation of the district, a panel discussion of community experts, and breakout sessions for public input.

[2] Following the series, RMC convened a working group of civic and community stakeholders to help identify commitments to be documented in the development agreement between Rice and the City of Houston.

[2][69] After several months, the working group produced a report that recommended commitments for both Rice and the City of Houston in three focus areas of economic opportunity: housing affordability, inclusive contracting, and hiring.

After the working group released its report, the City of Houston and Rice began negotiations and presented a proposed development agreement to the City Council for approval that included $15.3 million dollars in direct community investments to affordable housing, community capacity building, and support for underrepresented entrepreneurs as well as project-based contracting and investment opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and underrepresented individuals.

[73][74] A board member for the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which had recently approved a $65 million reimbursement deal for the project, voiced concerns that Rice was “not putting enough money into the pot” with regard to affordable housing preservation in the district and clarified that "the community benefits agreement should include a local group, not the city.

[80] The Ion's executive director at the time, Gaby Rowe, was invited to give a presentation on the innovation district and field questions before the public forums held by Rice and the City of Houston in September 2020.

[81] In addition to a CBA, student members of the coalition seek a Racial Equity Impact Assessment, as well as public transparency about Rice's community engagement efforts and neighborhood survey.

[83] The City of Houston facilitated online informational webinars alongside RMC in September and October 2020 on job-training, housing affordability, and hiring opportunities.

[87] The Rice University Student Association Senate passed a resolution on February 17, 2020, in support of a community benefits agreement process for the Innovation District.

[88] Allison Thacker and Ryan LeVasseur, RMC's president and director of real estate respectively, argued against the resolution, stating that HCEDD does not have legal authority to enter into a CBA contract and that the large coalition represents a substantive portion, but not the entire community.

Local benefits may include but aren't limited to tax abatement, permitting fee waivers, publicly-owned buildings transferred below market cost, and low-interest loans.

[93] These census tracts were nominated by Governor Greg Abbott, seeking to address issues including risk of economic disrupters such as hurricanes, relatively low population density, and persistent unemployment.

[75] In exchange for leading infrastructure improvements and building a new parking garage within the Innovation District, the TIRZ will provide $65 million in cost reimbursements for RMC's investment.