HOUSTON — BBVA Compass held an official groundbreaking to mark the start of construction on its new corporate office building in Houston. The 22-story, 312,000 square-foot LEED Gold certified building, of which BBVA Compass will occupy approximately 150,000 square feet and six floors, will centralize the bank's local executives, multiple business areas and staff units under a single roof.
Located in the Uptown Houston area, BBVA Compass adds to a business center that is also home to more than 2,000 diverse companies. BBVA Compass' current corporate office buildings, which are located throughout the Greater Houston area, were established when BBVA combined its four U.S. subsidiaries — Compass Bank, State National Bank, Texas State Bank and LNB (formerly Laredo National Bank) — under the BBVA Compass banner in 2009.
“This new office represents BBVA Compass' future home here in Houston where our employees can work in one unified location, a place designed for collaboration and the way people want to work today,” said Manolo Sanchez, BBVA U.S. country manager, and president and CEO of BBVA Compass. “It will play a vital role in our strategy to grow our business, particularly here in Texas and in Houston.”
The new BBVA Compass corporate office building is designed to meet all LEED Gold standard requirements. The property will also include two signature restaurants offering outdoor seating on the main level. The company expects to begin occupancy of the building in early 2013, and this project is the first of three corporate building updates for BBVA Compass, with new corporate office buildings also planned in Dallas and Birmingham.
The Redstone Companies and Stream Realty Partners Houston are leading the development as a joint venture. Manhattan Construction has been brought on to manage the overall build, with HKS Architects overseeing all design elements.
“From the day we purchased this land in the early 1990s to the demolition of the long-standing Compass Bank building in 2009, it was always our vision to build a crown jewel in the heart of the Galleria,” said Steve Lerner, president & CEO of Redstone Companies Real Estate.
“We are excited to be involved in such a fantastic project,” added Preston Young, co-managing partner for Stream Realty Partners Houston. “This building will be world class in every sense.”
BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of Compass Bancshares, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA), and operates more than 716 branches, including 380 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 65 in California, 77 in Arizona, 45 in Florida, 36 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top-20 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share.
— Dan Marcec
Pictured above, from left to right: Steve Lerner, President and CEO, Redstone Companies Real Estate; Larry Uhlick, Chairman, BBVA Compass; Manolo Sanchez, BBVA US Country Manager and President and CEO BBVA Compass; Preston Young, Co-Managing Partner, Stream Realty Partners Houston; and John Breeding, President and CEO, Uptown Houston. (PRNewsFoto/BBVA Compass, Drew Donovan)