HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The 1.5 million-SF CityWestPlace office campus in west Houston has reached 98 percent occupancy, according to the Parkway real estate firm.
The CityWestPlace is a 39-acre campus with four office towers on the west side of the Sam Houston Tollway, just north of Westheimer Road.
In the latest lease transaction, Empyrean, a leader in technology-enabled benefits administration services, has secured 41,667 SF at 2103 CityWestPlace Blvd (Building 4), and plans to occupy two full floors by early 2025.
The Empyrean lease, alongside recent leases with Bechtel Energy and Noble Corp. has contributed to CityWestPlace’s exceptional occupancy rate in Houston’s difficult office market.
“These leases and the campus’s blue-chip tenant roster are clear indicators of the market demand for best-of-the-best office environments, as well as the ongoing trend of businesses seeking immersive, amenity-rich workplaces in prime locations, said Eric Siegrist, Parkway’s Managing Director of Leasing for Houston. “When the decision makers of these major corporations lay eyes on the experiential nature of the CityWestPlace campus coupled with its convenience to the key commuting centers in Houston, they see an immediate advantage in recruiting and retaining talent.”
The Rarified Air of 98 Percent Occupancy
Overall office vacancy increased in the second quarter in the Houston area, according to the Colliers real estate firm. In the second quarter of 2024, the city’s overall vacancy rate increased to 26.9 percent, up from 26 percent in the second quarter of 2023.
Only a handful of Houston’s major office buildings have attained occupancy rates of 98 percent of higher. Top performing buildings in the Colliers 2Q report included One Briarlake Plaza, which reached 98.3 percent occupancy; 945 Bunker Hill, which reached 100 percent occupancy; and 609 Main at Texas which has 97.7 percent occupancy rate.
Lease negotiations for the new CityWestPlace leases with Empyrean, Bechtel, and Noble were managed by Parkway’s JP Hutcheson and Rima Soroka.
Parkway was formed when Orlando-based Parkway Property Investments and Houston-based Midway. In Houston, in addition to CityWestPlace’s leasing success, Midway’s new East River has achieved 95 percent occupancy in its office buildings.
Located in the Westchase District, CityWestPlace was extensively renovated in 2020, and in 2022, Parkway was awarded The Houston Office Leasing Brokers Association’s “Deal of the Year” for Bechtel Energy’s 15-year lease at CityWestPlace 3 and 4.
CityWestPlace leasing details:
Empyrean: Mark O’Donnell, President of Savills’ Texas region, and Senior Managing Director Jennifer Meehan facilitated the lease negotiations on behalf of Empyrean.
Bechtel, a global leader in engineering, procurement, construction, and project management, has expanded its footprint by an additional 108,724 SF at 2103 CityWestPlace Blvd (Building 4), spanning four floors, with move-in slated for the third quarter of 2024. CBRE’s Kevin Kushner and William Padon brokered this expansion. In total, Bechtel’s 394,000-SF Houston presence now extends across Buildings 3 and 4 at CityWestPlace.
Noble, a global offshore drilling contractor, is relocating operations from a Houston suburb into 110,250-SF of space at 2101 CityWestPlace Blvd (Building 1), occupying three floors by early 2025. Savills’ Mark O’Donnell, Jim Bell, and Jennifer Meehan represented Noble. Savills’ Corporate Managing Director Ed Bowerman will handle design and construction consulting services for Noble and Empyrean.
Headquartered in Houston, Parkway has a presence in 13 markets across Texas, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, and California. Parkway has 30 million SF of assets under management, including developments in progress.
In Florida, Baldwin Point in Orlando recently reached 100% occupancy following significant enhancements, including a lobby renovation and new amenities. At 1111 Brickell in Miami, Parkway’s major repositioning increased occupancy from 74% in March 2020 to 98% as of December 2023.
July 23, 2024 Realty News Report Copyright 2024
Photo credit: Parkway
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