HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) — Younan Properties, which says it plans “an expansion” in the Houston real estate market, has acquired the Two Westlake Park office building in the Energy Corridor.
Two Westlake Park, formerly owned by PIMCO and Hicks Ventures, is a 17-story, 455,000 SF office tower located in a business park that had been dominated by BP. The Energy Corridor submarket was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey and then a downturn in the energy industry.
Recently, the building has been vacant, according to JLL. A few years ago, when energy prices were strong, BP occupied 91,000 SF in the building and Conoco Phillips leased 200,000 SF.
Two Westlake is located within Westlake Park, which boasts 2.8 million SF of office space situated on 58 acres. The site is near to the former Exxon Chemical campus which has been repositioned as Republic Square.
Younan previously owned the Two Westlake building and sold it to KBS Realty Advisors in 2011 for approximately $80 million.
“We owned this asset nine years ago, maintaining a 95 percent occupancy rate, and we are confident that we can achieve the same occupancy with the large investment we are planning to make to reposition this building as one of the best Tier 1 Class A buildings in the market. Our timing couldn’t have been better, as we believe this is a turning point for the Houston oil & gas industry, and this asset will benefit from the increased leasing velocity that we expect to see at the beginning of this year,” said Younan Company Chairman and CEO Zaya S. Younan.
Younan Properties represented itself in the transaction. JLL Capital Markets, led by former Managing Director Dan Miller and Martin T. Hogan represented the seller. “This was an ideal asset for Younan Properties due to the fact that they have owned this asset before and are familiar with the Houston market. Not to mention, they are one of the few investors who have been able to close this transaction so smoothly and within such a short time frame,” stated Hogan.
Miller recently left JLL to open HDM Realty Advisors.
The project, developed by Hines in 1982, is located at 580 WestLake Park Blvd, east of Highway 6, between Interstate 10 and Memorial Drive. Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed the building.
“This is part of our ongoing expansion in the Houston office market with value-added opportunities that possess significant upside potential. Our strategy is to re-position this asset with creative renovation plans and updated amenities for tenants to enjoy,” Younan said.
Jan. 7, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: Younan Buys Energy Corridor
File: (2) Two WestLake. Hicks Ventures. PIMCO. Younan Buys Energy Corridor office building. Hines. Skidmore Owings Merrill. Danny Miller. JLL. Martin Hogan. KBS Realty.