Anchor Tenant Signs Lease for New Downtown Houston Office Tower
Rendering of the Texas Tower in downtown Houston. Architecture: Pelli, Clarke, Pelli
HOUSTON – Texas Tower, the newest office tower reshaping the Houston skyline, has added global law firm DLA Piper to its roster of tenants, the building’s developers Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge announced.
DLA Piper has signed a lease for 31,000 square feet in Texas Tower, the 47-story, one-million-square-foot office high-rise currently under construction on the 800 block of Texas Avenue in downtown Houston. The firm plans to relocate to the building in January 2022 and will occupy the thirty-eighth floor.
Scheduled for completion in the fall of 2021, Texas Tower is currently 40 percent leased. The project sits on Block 58, the former site of the Houston Chronicle building, bounded by Texas Avenue, Milam, Travis and Prairie streets.
Hines will relocate its own Houston headquarters into Texas Tower, taking 180,000 square feet, and law firm Vinson & Elkins has committed to 212,000 square feet.
Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge were represented in the transaction by Michael Anderson of Colvill Office Properties. DLA Piper was represented by Tim Relyea and David Guion of Cushman & Wakefield.
Texas Tower is the only major office skyscraper currently rising in downtown Houston. Skanska’s recently completed Bank of America tower, finished last year, has also seen strong leasing momentum and is nearly fully occupied.
While parts of Houston’s office market remain soft, newly delivered and under-construction buildings have been leasing quickly. Owners of older properties have responded by investing millions in renovations to remain competitive.
Market observers refer to this trend as the “flight to quality.” Corporate tenants, competing to attract and retain top talent, increasingly prioritize high-quality workplaces that offer superior amenities, efficient layouts and improved user experiences.
“We continue to see firms that value their employees as assets looking to relocate to new developments to ensure employee satisfaction, allowing these companies to attract and retain top employment talent,” said Chip Colvill of Colvill Office Properties, which leases several downtown buildings. “The new developments offer a higher-quality environment, greater amenities, more efficient floor plans, better elevatoring and superior parking, causing these new developments to be in high demand.”
Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, Texas Tower will introduce a fresh approach to lobby and common-area design and activation, the developers say. The building is targeting leading sustainability and occupant-focused certifications, including LEED Platinum, WiredScore and WELL Building Standards, reflecting a focus on energy efficiency, wellness and technological readiness.
“Our new offices will reflect the firm’s global brand and provide a highly efficient, modern environment that will complement our ongoing expansion in Houston and in Texas and our ability to serve our clients,” said Jack Langlois, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Houston office. DLA Piper, currently located at Wells Fargo Plaza, signed a lease at Texas Tower for a term exceeding 14 years.
Developer materials describe Texas Tower’s tenant-focused amenities: a lobby inspired by hospitality design; multiple food and beverage concepts; abundant networking and collaboration spaces; a full-service conference facility; public gardens on the 12th level; and a high-performance health club. Ten-foot, full-height windows will provide ample natural light, while an advanced underfloor HVAC system will give occupants greater control over comfort.
Adjacent to the office site, on a block that once contained the Chronicle parking garage, Hines is also developing a 46-story residential tower called The Preston. The 373-unit rental project will occupy a half-block on Block 42, bounded by Preston, Milam and Prairie streets, expanding the downtown residential offering and supporting a mixed-use neighborhood fabric around Texas Tower.
