HOUSTON—Developers are hoping the Houston Pavilions will give residents and tourists alike another reason to visit downtown.

William Denton, a developer for the project, promised it would look nothing like a shopping mall.

“I decided no more food courts, and no more roofs,” he said.

And now it’s quickly grinding toward opening day.

There’s plenty to see, including an ornate private dining room inside the House of Blues and a concert hall ready to hold 1,500.

“The Houston Pavilions I believe has been mischaracterized as a downtown project only. The fact is, the Pavilions is an inner-loop project that serves a much greater market area,” developer Geoffrey Jones said.

The development is three blocks from the convention center and a block from Discovery Green.

It will be hard to miss, thanks in part to the “sky rings” over Fannin and San Jacinto.

In the next few nights, the rings will begin to glow.  Developers are hoping they’ll become new landmarks for the City of Houston.

“A lot of people don’t even know what it is quite yet. But we’re about to ramp up and turn up the volume right now,” Denton said.

Opening day for the first wave of shops and restaurants is next Thursday – just hours before hundreds of travel writers arrive in Houston for a convention.

Hurricane Ike didn’t help the schedule.

“We’re probably about two weeks behind schedule. We had hoped to open at the beginning of October, but Ike cost us basically about two weeks,” Denton said.

Late or not, they’re hoping the 5 years and $170 million spent on the project will pay off in a big way for the Bayou City.