HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Cheniere Energy, the first American company to export liquefied natural gas, is moving its headquarters offices to the new 47-story Texas Tower in Houston’s central business district.
The 151,490-SF Cheniere Energy lease is one of the most significant office leases in recent years in downtown Houston, where leasing has been sluggish.
The Texas Tower, a 1.2 million-SF, Class AA office tower, has now achieved the occupancy milestone of 70 percent leased.
The newest skyscraper to enter the Houston skyline, Texas Tower, 845 Texas Ave., was developed by Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge, two global real estate firms with long track records.
A spate of new leasing activity has occurred at the Texas Tower this year.
With multiple restaurants, sky terraces, a health club, and plenty of spaces for impromptu conferences, Texas Tower represents a new breed office tower loaded with what commercial real estate people call “amenities” that make new buildings stand out over older competition.
In addition to Cheniere Energy, Chicago Title, Charter Title Company, Novak Druce and a trading company have also signed new leases to occupy over 55,000 SF of space.
“We are hearing consistently from our new tenant occupants that Texas Tower’s curated amenities and tailored programming come together to create new energy and exciting experiences that are ultimately enticing employees back to their workplace,” said Hines senior managing director John Mooz. “The leasing success would appear to prove that the project’s community-centric, highly experiential offering speaks to Houston’s top tenants as they bring employees back to the office, and to our shared vision that an engaging, hyper-amenitized workspace continues to drive talent engagement, retention and development. We look forward to welcoming our new tenants and their employees to Houston’s most advanced new office workplace.”
Texas Tower will feature Hines’ 18,000-SF flexible office facility, The Square, which allows companies to expand on a short-term basis.
The Square overlooks the building’s lobby, which has furnishings designed to resemble a hotel lobby with a number of seating areas, intended to create additional places for tenants’ employees to gather.
Adding another skyscraper with a slanted top, the Texas Tower brightens the northern end of the city’s downtown skyline with this gleaming contribution designed by the Pelli Clarke & Partners architecture firm.
The office tower opened in December, meeting a 2021 deadline – a noted accomplishment considering the catastrophic emergence of Covid and the worldwide supply chain crisis. The new office building includes stone from Italy and Turkey.
Located on floors 12-16, Cheniere’s new global headquarters will include 16,000 SF of private gardens and a 700-SF outdoor terrace exclusively for Cheniere employees and visitors.
“Through the years and through the pandemic, Cheniere has remained committed to retaining a downtown Houston presence that provides the best working environment for our team,” Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s President and CEO, said in a press release.
Cheniere is moving out of Pennzoil Place, a masterpiece landmark developed by Mr. Gerald D. Hines about two blocks away from Texas Tower site.
Cheniere requires its employees to work full-time in the office, unlike some companies who allow people to telecommute or work from home for a portion of their work week.
“We believe that our teams best collaborate and innovate when we are together,” said Michael Dove, senior vice president of shared services for Cheniere.
The Former Chronicle Site
The Texas Tower sits on a block bounded by Texas Avenue, Milam, Travis and Prairie streets. It’s the site of the former Houston Chronicle building, which was acquired for $50 million in 2015 and demolished. The Chronicle property included a 10-story office building, and a nearby 560-space parking garage on a half-block at Prairie and Milam. Hines is completing a 46-story residential tower on the Chronicle parking garage site, catty-cornered from the new office tower. The residential building, called Brava, will be introduced soon.
Hines, which has developed hundreds of towers around the world, will move its own global headquarters into the Texas Tower, where it signed a 15-year lease for 180,000 SF covering five floors.
Leasing Brokers
Chris Oliver, Trey Strake, David Guion with Cushman and Wakefield represented Cheniere. Don King with JLL and Erik Ozolins with Orion Realty represented Chicago Title. Chip Horne of Cushman and Wakefield and Ryan Tiernan of Orion Realty represented Charter Title. Mark O’Donnell of Savills represented Novak Druce. Bryant Lach with JLL represented the trading company. Michael Anderson of Cushman and Wakefield represented Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge in the deals.
Additional tenants that have already moved into Texas Tower include Vinson and Elkins, McGuireWoods, and DLA Piper law firms.
June 27, 2022 Realty News Report Copyright 2022
Image: Courtesy Hines
File: Natural Gas Firm Relocating Headquarters
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.(Natural Gas Firm Relocating Headquarters)