THE WOODLANDS – (Realty News Report) – Howard Hughes Corp., the developer behind The Woodlands master plan, has secured major leases in its Lake Front North office complex, signaling strong demand for Class A office space in the area.
Entergy, the New Orleans–based electric utility, signed a lease for approximately 54,000 square feet in the Lake Front North property. Exxon Mobil, which already operates a roughly 3 million-square-foot campus in Springwoods Village in north Harris County, also expanded its presence with a 26,000-square-foot lease at Lake Front North.
Howard Hughes Corp. purchased the Lake Front North asset in September 2018 for $53 million. The acquisition included two office buildings—one four-story and one six-story—totaling 257,025 square feet with lakefront views of Lake Woodlands, plus additional land suitable for future office construction. The buildings, completed in 2002 and 2012, were previously owned and occupied by Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I), which was later acquired by McDermott International.
Since the acquisition, Howard Hughes Corp. has successfully leased about 167,000 square feet within the two buildings, raising overall occupancy to roughly 91 percent. Among the recent transactions, Arena Energy committed to 87,231 square feet at Lake Front North to house its headquarters.
Paul Layne, president of the central region for Howard Hughes Corp., noted that the rapid leasing activity underscores sustained tenant demand for high-quality, Class A office space in The Woodlands submarket.
The Lake Front North campus occupies approximately 4.2 acres and sits within the Hughes Landing neighborhood on the edge of the 200-acre Lake Woodlands. The acquisition included about nine additional acres of undeveloped land, providing flexibility for future development or build-to-suit projects to meet tenant needs.
The Woodlands community covers roughly 28,000 acres and is home to about 117,000 residents, with a daytime workforce exceeding 66,000 employees—factors that contribute to the area’s appeal for corporate office occupiers.