HOUSTON — Motiva Enterprises has agreed to expand its headquarters within One Allen Center, the 34-story tower that will be renamed for Motiva.
Under the new lease, Motiva, a company majority-owned by Saudi Aramco, will occupy 204,500 square feet—an increase of more than 15 percent over its current footprint.
One Allen Center, located at 500 Dallas Street, is a roughly 1 million-square-foot tower owned by Brookfield Property Partners. It is part of the Allen Center complex at the southwest corner of Smith and Dallas Streets, which includes three office buildings.
Brookfield has launched an ambitious redevelopment of the decades-old Allen Center to modernize the property and reinforce its position among downtown Houston’s premier Class A office assets.
Motiva Enterprises was represented in lease talks by Tim Relyea and Joe Peddie of Cushman & Wakefield. Brookfield was represented by John Pruitt, Bubba Harkins and Jessica Ochoa of JLL, along with Paul Frazier and Clint Bawcom of Brookfield.
Downtown Houston’s office market has faced rising vacancy rates and a growing amount of sublease space, while newly completed projects from developers such as Hines and Skanska have intensified competition. Many Class A buildings constructed in the 1970s and 1980s risk slipping to Class B unless landlords invest in significant upgrades.
To avoid that outcome, Brookfield is investing heavily in Allen Center. The company plans approximately $48.5 million of improvements across the seven-acre campus, including removing a skybridge to open retail and restaurant opportunities at street level and engaging the Office of James Burnett, a respected landscape architecture firm, to design park-like public spaces.
Brookfield also acquired the 350-room DoubleTree Houston Hotel at 400 Dallas Street, an out-parcel that sits amid Allen Center. The 20-story hotel acquisition strengthens Brookfield’s control of the campus and will receive upgrades; the hotel may be repositioned under a higher-end Hilton flag.
Brookfield’s redevelopment of Allen Center received recognition in 2016 with Realty News Report’s Legends of Real Estate Award for Redevelopment. The company is also enhancing the campus through a “Brookfield Arts” program that installs public art throughout the project.
“The need to create unique and dynamic workspaces for the next generation of downtown Houston employees is gaining momentum, and Brookfield is thrilled to be at the forefront of that movement with the Allen Center renovation,” said Travis Overall, Executive Vice President and Head of the Texas Region for Brookfield. “Having Motiva Enterprises expand their headquarters at Allen Center further reaffirms this trend, as well as Motiva’s commitment to our complex and to downtown Houston.”
The Motiva lease, which does not involve subleased space, is a positive signal for the downtown office market at a time when vacancy rates have been rising.
“In addition to the naming of the building, Brookfield has worked with Motiva to deliver signature spaces, including a lobby reception center, a dedicated conference floor, and a large private outdoor balcony,” said Travis Capps, Motiva’s vice president of strategy and business development. “Motiva Plaza supports our next chapter as we expand into new areas of growth and development.”