Why Northridge Capital Bought a Major Office Property in North Houston
HP Plaza, a new office development, has been sold to Northridge Capital LLC.
HOUSTON – (By Ralph Bivins, Editor of Realty News Report) – Northridge Capital LLC completed one of Houston’s largest office transactions of 2019, citing the need for companies to attract and retain talent as a key driver behind the acquisition, according to the firm’s acquisitions executive.
Washington, D.C.-based Northridge Capital recently purchased HP Plaza, a 378,000-square-foot office development located in CityPlace within the 2,000-acre Springwoods Village complex north of Houston.
Employee satisfaction is now a central concern in the office market. Research from OfficeBroker.com indicates that 80 percent of job seekers would decline an offer if the workplace quality is poor. Employee retention has become equally critical, and new office developments increasingly feature high-end amenities, diverse food options, wellness facilities, and thoughtfully designed interiors to keep both employees and employers satisfied.
Completed in November 2018, the HP Plaza is a two-building campus designed with amenities aimed at meeting today’s competitive corporate talent needs.
“HP Plaza checks the three boxes Northridge Capital looks for when pursuing single-tenant opportunities: strong credit quality and cash flows; desirable, functional real estate; and a dynamic suburban/urban location that will appeal to the workforce of the future and serve as a recruiting tool for the tenant,” said David Etemadi, Vice President of Acquisitions for Northridge Capital. “We believe more Fortune 500 companies will choose locations like this across the country in the ‘arms race’ for top human capital.”
Northridge Capital’s purchase of HP Plaza was supported by Apollo Global Management, a large investment firm with significant assets under management.
HFF brokers Chris Hew and Cary Abod worked on behalf of Northridge Capital to secure a fixed-rate acquisition loan arranged through Apollo Global Management, which provided financing on behalf of Athene Holding.
HP Plaza was developed by Houston-based Patrinely Group for HP Inc., which occupies the entire property under a long-term lease. The seller was a joint venture among Patrinely Group, USAA Real Estate, and CDC Houston. HFF’s Trent Agnew and Jeff Hollinden represented the joint venture in the sale.
Springwoods Village is a mixed-use development in northern Harris County near the Grand Parkway. When fully built out, Springwoods Village is expected to contain about 4 million square feet of Class A office space, plus hotels, retail, multifamily housing, and a relatively small number of single-family homes.
CDC Houston, part of Coventry Development, held the land for many years as a long-term investment. The large tract beside Interstate 45 remained largely undeveloped for decades, presenting a clear opportunity as the northern Houston suburbs expanded. Around a decade ago, representatives from ExxonMobil quietly evaluated the site under a code name and ultimately purchased roughly 400 acres to build a roughly 3 million-square-foot corporate campus.
Other major tenants have followed: Southwestern Energy and the American Bureau of Shipping now occupy new buildings in Springwoods Village. In another recent move, Patrinely Group broke ground last summer on CityPlace I, a mixed-use project that will include 122,700 square feet of office space and 27,000 square feet of retail.
