HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – A partnership of M-M Properties of Houston and Baupost Group of Boston is expected to purchase the 41-story Marathon Oil Tower on the northwestern side of Houston’s Galleria area, according to Real Estate Alert.
With a $175 million offer, the partnership appears to be the top bidder for the 1.2 million-SF building.
The seller, CBRE Global, hired HFF’s Jeff Hollinden, Scott Galloway and Trent Agnew to market the property. This HFF trio, along with Mark Gibson, just wrapped up another major Houston deal early this week – the $875 million sale of Houston Center in downtown.
The Marathon Oil Tower is 90 percent leased. The Marathon building is 62 percent leased by its namesake tenant until 2021, Real Estate Alert said. Other tenants include Aon, Baker Hughes and Duke Energy.
The Marathon Oil building is located at 5555 San Felipe between Sage Road and Chimney Rock.
CBRE Global Investors bought the building in 2013. The next year oil prices started into a steep decline and office vacancy skyrocketed. CBRE Global Investors had been marketing the building off and on since 2015, but investors shied away from Houston deals until the ice broke earlier this year.
