HOUSTON – CBRE Group, the largest commercial real estate firm in the world with annual revenues in excess of $13 billion, is moving its offices out of downtown Houston.
CBRE, which has maintained offices in both downtown and in Uptown Houston area for many years, has leased 77,000 SF in Williams Tower for a new innovative work space.
The new space in Williams Tower will be part of CBRE’s worldwide Workplace360 initiative, which feature a variety of work settings – a balance of both collaborative and private spaces.
CBRE intends to sublease its soon-to-be vacated downtown office, a 20,000-SF space on the 27th floor of Bank of America Center, a 1.3 million-SF tower at 700 Louisiana. The B of A building is also losing its anchor tenant – Bank of America, which will move into the new Skanska skyscraper that is under construction in downtown.
As part of the consolidation into Williams Tower, CBRE will also move its other offices out of 2700 Post Oak Boulevard, a 1974-vintage building that is connected to The Galleria.
“Moving our Houston professionals into one office will allow them to better interact and collaborate in an amazing workplace environment,” said Cody Armbrister, senior managing director, CBRE. “We look forward to demonstrating a new way of working to our clients and to the broader business community in the Houston area.”
With the new lease, CBRE will occupy a portion of the 2nd and 4th floors, as well as the entire 5th floor, of Williams Tower, a landmark 64-story tower that many long-time Houstonians still call the “Transco Tower.”
These new floors CBRE will occupy have large-scale floor plates, which will allow CBRE to accommodate a majority of its professionals on a single floor. The new space which has exceptionally high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass offers views of the Hines Water Wall Park, direct connectivity to the Houston Galleria area, and easy accessibility to major freeways – all factors that motivated CBRE’s decision to select Williams Tower.
“In today’s Houston market there are numerous, high-quality office buildings for tenants of our size to consider,” Armbrister said, “In the end, remaining a Williams Tower tenant, and continuing our alliance with Invesco, was the best solution for us.”
CBRE’s Charles Gordon and Jon Lee negotiated the lease on behalf of CBRE. CBRE’s Dave Hanusa, Bonnie Kelley Dienna and Jason Presley represented the landlord, Invesco. CBRE’s in-house Workplace Strategy and Project Management teams will lead the implementation of the new Workplace360 space from initiation through move-in.
“Better business performance begins with better workplace performance, and at CBRE, we practice what we preach,” said Cicily Dostalek, program manager for CBRE’s Workplace360 initiative. “The concierge services in our new Houston office will free up time for our employees to spend with their families and on personal interests, which will make them happier and more productive, and will further serve to make the workplace a desired destination.”
June 21, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017