HOUSTON – Bank of America will vacate the 56-story Bank of America Center, but leasing activity at the landmark downtown tower is moving quickly. The building, which totals approximately 1.2 million square feet, is attracting new tenants as the financial institution prepares to relocate.
Energy company TransCanada has agreed to expand its presence in the tower at 700 Louisiana by 82,916 square feet across three floors. With this expansion, TransCanada — which acquired Columbia Pipeline Group in 2016 — will occupy roughly 260,000 square feet in the building.
Designed by acclaimed architect Philip Johnson in partnership with John Burgee and developed by Hines, the Bank of America Center sits in Houston’s Theater District near Jones Hall, Bayou Place, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Wortham Center and the Alley Theatre.
“After careful evaluation of alternatives, consolidating personnel into the most iconic building in Downtown Houston as soon as possible made sense for a number of reasons,” said Louis Rosenthal of JLL, who served as broker for TransCanada.
Rosenthal and Bruce Rutherford of JLL represented TransCanada in the lease negotiations. John Spafford of Houston-based PMRG represented the building owner in the transaction.
Bank of America plans to leave the tower in 2019 and relocate to a new 35-story downtown building under construction by Skanska, which will carry the Bank of America name. That move means the existing Bank of America Center will lose its namesake and the ownership will need to select a new building name. It has not been announced whether TransCanada’s expanded footprint will include naming rights.
John Spafford, executive vice president and director of leasing for PMRG’s Houston corporate office, noted the TransCanada lease is one of several major recent transactions for the property. Recent leasing activity includes:
- Consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal extended and expanded its lease to 49,508 square feet; the firm was represented by John Burke and Louis Rosenthal of JLL.
- Law firm Arnold & Porter moved from subleased space within the building to a direct lease of 21,290 square feet on floors 40 and 41; Arnold & Porter was represented by Kevin Saxe of CBRE.
“This building has always been able to attract a prestigious roster of tenants,” said Ken Moczulski, founder and CEO of M-M Properties, a member of the ownership group. “The challenge is anticipating the evolving expansion needs of our tenant base and planning accordingly. The building’s distinctive architecture has endured and remained attractive even during cycles of new construction.”
Spafford added that the building is currently more than 91 percent leased and that PMRG completed over 192,000 square feet of leasing activity in the past six months. While Bank of America will remain in place for two more years, PMRG has been actively marketing the space and successfully backfilling suites.
Bank of America’s forthcoming departure also presents an opportunity to update the building’s lobby. Plans for lobby modifications are underway and are expected to be announced soon, according to Spafford.