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, rooftop garden, conference center and a fitness center with space for exercise classes. The tower also includes The Square, Hines’ branded flexible workspace concept that spans 18,000 square feet at Texas Tower. Architect Pelli Clarke & Partners designed the building.
Hines is a real estate investment manager based in Houston. The firm owns and operates roughly $93.2 billion in assets across a variety of property types, including office space.
Ivanhoé Cambridge is the real estate group of CDPQ, a global investment group based in Quebec City, Canada.
— Channing Hamilton