HOUSTON — Moelis & Co. will open a 30,400-square-foot office in downtown Houston. The space is located on the 22nd floor of the 47-story Texas Tower building, and the global investment bank plans to take occupancy in the fourth quarter of next year. David Guion and Chris Oliver of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Michael Anderson, also with Cushman & Wakefield, represented the landlord, a partnership between Hines, Ivanhoé Cambridge and an affiliate of global investor CDPQ.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Coworking operator Regus has signed a long-term lease for nearly 46,000 square feet in Miami Beach, committing to occupying an entire Class A, boutique office building. Set to move in before the end of the year, Regus will establish its third and largest space in the submarket at 429 Lenox, where the new location will operate under the firm’s Spaces brand. Designed by Miami-based architect Kobi Karp, the property features modern office spaces, a rooftop deck, an onsite parking garage and multiple signage opportunities. Stephen Rutchik and Ana Paula of Colliers’ South Florida office represented the landlord, Azora Exan, in the lease transaction. JLL’s Adam Bernstein represented Regus in the deal.
CHICAGO — Skender has completed interior construction of the new 35,000-square-foot headquarters for architectural firm SCB in Chicago. The company relocated from 625 North Michigan to the historic AMA Plaza building, which was designed by famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. SCB designed its new space on the 25th floor that features a mix of open office, conference rooms, collaboration spaces, a café, library and private executive offices. The build-out also features a shop that enables the firm to create design models for client presentations. A custom 3D model wall in the lobby highlights SCB’s impact on the city’s skyline. The project team also included Syska Hennessy Group as the engineer and JLL as owner’s representative.
WAUKESHA, WIS. — Irgens is underway on the conversion of an office property to healthcare space in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha. The 58,223-square-foot building is part of Stone Ridge Business Park. Irgens recapitalized the project, and construction is set to begin later this month. Renovations will include HVAC upgrades, lobby and common area updates, a new fitness and conference center, and new external signage. EUA is the architect, Catalyst Construction is the general contractor and Summit Credit Union is providing financing. The project, named Stone Ridge Medical Commons, is slated to open in spring 2025. Visage Facial Plastic Surgery and Retina & Vitreous Consultants of Wisconsin have both signed leases at the property and will open offices next year. Ben Anderson of Colliers represented Visage. Markel, the building’s original anchor tenant, is relocating to Research One in the Milwaukee County Research Park.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN), a Philadelphia-based REIT, has sold One & Two Barton Skyway, a pair of office buildings totaling 386,000 square feet in southwest Austin, for $107.6 million. The buildings are located at 1501 and 1601 S. MoPac Expressway within Barton Skyway, an office park that consists of four buildings on a 35-acre site. The City of Austin purchased the properties with plans to utilize them as a consolidated public safety headquarters. Brandywine retains ownership of Four Barton Skyway, which is currently 94 percent leased.
BROOMFIELD AND LOVELAND, COLO. — Prism Places has partnered with McWhinney to develop two separate commercial districts in Northern Colorado’s Broomfield and Loveland. The first project, Center Street, is slated to serve as the business district for Baseline, an 1,100-acre master-planned community in Broomfield. The walkable 312,000-square-foot commercial center will include 80,000 square feet of office space, 116,00 square feet of retail space, 37,000 square feet of grocery space and 78,000 square feet of restaurant space. Additionally, Center Street will offer more than 400 residential units. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture has designed the project, which already has an organic grocer preleased. The second project, Avenue South, will be the business and commercial hub for Centerra, a 3,000-acre master-planned community in Loveland. Totaling 360,000 square feet, Avenue South will include a 128,000-square-foot retail component, a 127,000-square-foot Class A office portion and 1,750 residential units. Architects Orange is designing Avenue South, which has a 37,000-square-foot lease signed with an organic grocer. Center Street is slated to break ground in September 2026, and Avenue South is scheduled to break ground in November 2025.
HOUSTON — JLL has brokered the sale of Energy Crossing II, a 327,404-square-foot office building located in the Energy Corridor area of West Houston. The building was constructed on a 5.5-acre site in 2014 and includes a fitness center. Kevin McConn and Rick Goings of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction and procured the buyer, Austin-based Capital Commercial Investments. Energy Crossing II was 30 percent occupied at the time of sale.
HOUSTON — Sable Offshore Co. will open a 46,500-square-foot office in downtown Houston. The space spans the 28th and 29th floors of the 47-story Texas Tower building, and the upstream energy provider plans to take occupancy in the third quarter of next year. Kevin Kushner, William Padon and Sydnee Hilburn of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Michael Anderson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, a partnership between Hines, Ivanhoé Cambridge and an affiliate of global investor CDPQ.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ) is under contract to acquire Sail Tower, a trophy office building located at 601 W. 2nd St. in downtown Austin. The Atlanta-based REIT agreed to a net purchase price of $521.8 million for the 804,000-square-foot property. Sail Tower was delivered in 2022 and its offices are fully leased to a Fortune 20 company through 2038, according to Cousins. The tenant name was not disclosed, but multiple media outlets report that Google is the occupant. The seller was also not mentioned, but Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. developed the tower, which was formerly known as Block 185. The name “Sail Tower” derives from its curved appearance. The LEED Platinum property is situated near Austin’s Second Street entertainment district and offers unobstructed views of Lady Bird Lake. “We are thrilled to add this iconic office property, with a strong investment grade customer, to our Austin portfolio,” says Colin Connolly, president and CEO of Cousins. “This exciting transaction enables Cousins to enhance the quality of our leading lifestyle office portfolio and is immediately accretive to earnings.” Cousins’ existing downtown Austin office portfolio is situated near Sail Tower and is currently 93 percent leased. The assets include 300 Colorado, …
Atlanta’s office market feels like a story of winners and losers. Tenants continue to pay increasing rents for the best located, highest-quality spaces while the sector overall experiences negative office absorption. Those big, shiny objects, so to speak, offer quite a contrast to the results of continued office sector adversity brought on by reduced office attendance, a downsizing leasing trend and swelling sublet space. Who’s in the best position to win? Well-capitalized owners with stabilized debt (or none) that can meet the increasing tenant demands for skyrocketing tenant improvement costs and other rental concessions. With continued construction cost increases and downward pressure on base rental rates, fiscally sound landlords with longer-term business plans are in the best position to transact. And, of course, the newest buildings with the best location, amenity package and a reasonable commute for the majority of the workforce continue to thrive. CoStar Group reports that during the past 12 months, net absorption in office buildings completed before 2020 was negative 4 million square feet compared to 1.1 million for newer properties. The Atlanta office market has produced some sizable transactions this year, fueling some optimism among landlords with larger blocks of space for lease. The most …