HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – CBRE is strengthening its Healthcare & Life Sciences practice in Houston to meet growing demand in the market.
CBRE’s Healthcare & Life Sciences group in Houston has added two experienced professionals: Wesley Hightower and Emily Friedlander. Both bring extensive experience in healthcare and life sciences real estate, and will support the firm’s expanding services for tenants, landlords and investors in the region.
“Our health and life sciences practice has grown significantly over the past few years,” said Mark Taylor, Senior Managing Director. “Healthcare real estate has proven resilient throughout the pandemic. Wesley and Emily’s experience and proven track record will be a tremendous advantage for our team as we close out 2020. We expect additional growth in 2021 for mid‑market investment sale opportunities and life sciences assignments on behalf of both landlords and tenants, and Wesley and Emily will be able to jump right in.”
Hightower and Friedlander join at a time when Houston’s life sciences and healthcare sectors are expanding rapidly. The Texas Medical Center—recognized as the largest medical center in the world—has approximately 9,200 patient beds and roughly 50 million square feet of space, with about $3 billion in construction underway. That ongoing development highlights rising demand for specialized medical office and laboratory space across the region.
CBRE’s life sciences team in Houston, which includes Brandy Bellow Spinks, Scott Carter and Nelson Udstuen, has doubled its occupier business over the past 12 months, reflecting growing interest from research institutions, healthcare systems and private companies seeking life sciences real estate solutions.
A 2016 CBRE report noted that healthcare employment in the Houston area had grown by approximately 42 percent over the prior decade, while construction of medical office space had not kept pace—signaling a clear need for new development. In recent years, that gap has helped drive major medical construction projects both in central Houston and in suburban markets.
Wesley Hightower joins CBRE as a Vice President, focusing primarily on tenant representation and investment sales within the healthcare and life sciences sector. He previously worked at Stream Realty, where he led efforts to grow the firm’s healthcare services platform and handled investment sales, business development, leasing and marketing.
Emily Friedlander joins CBRE as a Senior Associate. She arrives from JLL, where her work concentrated on leasing medical and laboratory buildings, giving her direct experience with the specialized requirements of clinical and research tenants.
Oct. 8, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
File: CBRE Expands Healthcare
File: TMC, Texas Medical Center. Life Sciences. Brandy Bellow Spinks, Scott Carter, Nelson Udstuen, 10-8-20 CBRE Expands Healthcare.