— By Sebastian Bernt and Erick Parulan of Avison Young — The Orange County office market continues to show resilience, particularly compared to urban centers like Downtown Los Angeles. Its suburban environment, coupled with higher office utilization rates, has made it an attractive option for businesses adapting to evolving workplace strategies. As a result, leasing activity has remained steady with availability stabilizing and tenant demand holding firm. Total leasing volume reached 1.6 million square feet in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing the annual total to 7.8 million square feet. Notable transactions included Willow Laboratories, which signed a 63,440-square-foot lease at 121 Theory Drive in Irvine, and Acrisure, which secured 59,409 square feet at 611 Anton Blvd in Costa Mesa. While leasing slowed slightly in the fourth quarter, demand for modern, amenity-rich office spaces remained strong as companies continued implementing return-to-office strategies. This demand has pushed average asking lease rates to $35.05 per square foot, reflecting a broader shift toward high-quality, collaborative work environments that prioritize employee engagement and workplace experience. Orange County’s growing residential appeal has further fueled office demand as young professionals and families increasingly opt for a suburban lifestyle. As a result, companies are prioritizing locations with …
HOUSTON — JLL has brokered the sale of 1255 Enclave, a 171,091-square-foot office building in the Energy Corridor area of West Houston. Completed on 6.7-acres in 1999, the six-story building is situated within a 120-acre, 3 million-square-foot development known as The Enclave and offers amenities such as a fitness center and outdoor dining and gathering spaces. The sale also included a 676-space parking garage. Kevin McConn and Marty Hogan of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer, Harmony Public Schools, plans to house back-office functions within the building.
SAN DIEGO — Pacific Coast Commercial has arranged the sale of a multi-tenant office property located at 9466 Black Mt. Road in San Diego’s Miramar neighborhood. Hindu Mandir Society of San Diego acquired the asset from 9466 BMR LLC for $6.6 million. The two-story, 31,575-square-foot building was constructed in 1977 as a racquetball facility and converted to a multi-tenant office property in 1983. Bo Gibbons, Brian Crepeau and Daniel Goodman of Pacific Coast Commercial represented the seller, while Paul Britvar of Lee & Associates represented the buyer in the deal.
ATLANTA — Swinerton has obtained a $23 million contract for construction at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on behalf of a partnership between the City of Atlanta and WEBMyers Construction. Swinerton will complete three projects at the airport. The first project — which is expected to be completed by the end of the year — will include the $21 million renovation of six pairs of restroom facilities located in the North Terminal and Concourses T, C and F, as well as several family restrooms. The second project, designed by Atlanta-based Brink Design, will include a $1 million renovation of the airport’s Security Badging Office, which is slated for completion in early spring. The space will nearly double in size and feature 15 desk-style, seated stations with data ports, card printers and fingerprinting machines. The final project, a $1.2 million expansion of all TSA breakrooms, will total 42,000 square feet of space and comprise 13 breakrooms upon completion in July. These projects follow the recently completed $600,000 renovation of the Department of Aviation Finance Office at Hartsfield-Jackson by Swinerton and WEBMyers.
The national office market continues to face headwinds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Baltimore is no exception. Shifting tenant preferences and the city’s evolving economic landscape have created challenges, with rising vacancy rates in some submarkets. However, recent trends suggest that Baltimore’s office sector is stabilizing, with positive momentum in key areas. Changing office landscape For decades, Baltimore’s office market was defined by two primary submarkets: the traditional central business district (CBD) that is centered around Charles, Saint Paul/Light and Baltimore streets, and the Inner Harbor. The CBD was home to corporate giants such as Alex. Brown & Sons (now part of Deutsche Bank), USF&G (now part of St Paul Insurance), T. Rowe Price and Maryland National Bank (now part of Bank of America). In the 1980s, the Inner Harbor emerged as a national model for waterfront redevelopment, attracting major tenants and commanding some of the city’s highest occupancy rates. The early 2000s saw another shift with the rise of Harbor East and later Harbor Point, both of which drew high-end office tenants and further pulled demand toward the waterfront. More recently, Baltimore Peninsula has emerged as the next major office and mixed-use submarket. Historically, vacancies created …
HOUSTON — Newmark has arranged a $450 million loan for the refinancing of Texas Tower, a 47-story office building in downtown Houston. Located at 845 Texas Ave. on the former site of the Houston Chronicle newspaper, the tower comprises 1.2 million square feet. A partnership between locally based real estate giant Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge delivered the property in 2021. Jordan Roeschlaub, Jonathan Firestone, Clint Frease, Blake Thompson, Travis Bailey, Peter Mavredakis and Tim Polglase of Newmark arranged the loan on behalf of Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge. Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley provided the CMBS single-asset single-borrower (SASB) loan. “The refinancing for this property was particularly notable as it marked the first time in two years that a multi-tenant office tower outside of New York City was financed in the CMBS single-asset, single-borrower market,” said Firestone. Texas Tower was 95 percent leased at the time of refinancing. Newmark stated that more than 500,000 square feet of leasing has taken place over the past year. Tenants at the property currently include McGuireWoods, Vinson & Elkins, Morgan Stanley, Cheniere Energy Inc. and Clifford Chance. Texas Tower also serves as Hines’ global headquarters. The skyscraper offers amenities such as a lobby, green spaces, …
FRISCO, TEXAS — Toyota Financial Services has signed a 242,000-square-foot office lease in Frisco. The automotive finance company will be the sole occupant of The Offices at Southstone Yards, a seven-story, mass timber building that is part of the 45-acre Southstone Yards development. Designed by Duda|Paine Architects in partnership with Gensler, The Offices at Southstone Yards offers amenities such as a fitness and wellness center, meeting spaces, private terraces on every floor and access to three acres of surrounding park space. CBRE represented the developer, Crow Holdings, in the lease negotiations. JLL represented Toyota Financial Services.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — Atlanta-based Third & Urban has purchased Northridge Commons, a seven-building industrial flex campus in Sandy Springs, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The 470,000-square-foot property is located at 8601 Dunwoody Place near Ga. Highway 400. Dilweg sold the campus for an undisclosed price. Will Yowell of CBRE’s National Office Partners team in Atlanta represented the seller in the transaction. Mike Ryan, Brian Linnihan and J.P. Cordeiro of CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance team arranged $48.5 million in acquisition financing for Third & Urban. Northridge Commons was 83 percent leased at the time of sale to a variety of office, flex and warehouse occupiers, including Inspire Brands and Invitation Homes, a subsidiary of Blackstone. Third & Urban says it will reposition some of the office spaces to attract more flex industrial users.
STAMFORD, CONN. — McCarter & English LLP has signed a 10,993-square-foot office lease in the southern coastal Connecticut city of Stamford. The law firm is relocating from 201 Broad Street to a portion of the 11th floor at 2 Stamford Plaza, a 259,000-square-foot building that is part of a larger, four-building campus. Benjamin Goldstein and Harrison Russell of Newmark represented McCarter & English in the lease negotiations. CBRE represented the undisclosed landlord.
TROY, MICH. — L. Mason Capitani/CORFAC International has negotiated the sale of a 70,000-square-foot office building in Troy for an undisclosed price. The three-story property is located at 950 Stephenson Highway with convenient access to I-75. Amenities include ample parking, onsite property management, day porter service, shared conference rooms, a shared common area kitchen and an auditorium on the first floor. Robert Gojcaj of L. Mason Capitani represented the buyer, which plans to undertake cosmetic improvements.