Federal Opening at Houston Center, Market briefs

In Houston, Federal American Grill has leased 7,000 SF in a 46-story downtown tower in the Houston Center complex.

The restaurant will be located in the 1221 McKinney Street office tower, a 1 million-SF building owned by Brookfield Properties.

The new restaurant will open March 15th, marking its fifth location in the Greater Houston area.

“Houston is our home, and we are so excited to expand into downtown and be part of the ongoing revitalization of our amazing city,” said Matt Brice, founder and CEO. “We will be just a short walk away from the major sports and entertainment complexes downtown, and we are eager to introduce this community to our obsessed hospitality, scratch cooking and craft cocktails.”

The restaurant lease is a bright spot of news for the 4.2 million SF Houston Center, which was purchased by Brookfield for $875 million. Since then, Brookfield has spent well over $100 million to improve Houston Center.

But about a year ago the 1221 McKinney Street building was the site of troubling news. The LyondellBasell company, which leased 350,000 SF there, it is leaving and moving to the Williams Tower adjacent to the Galleria.

The office building has been called the LyondellBasell Tower. That name will fade as the namesake tenant sets sail.

A major law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, is also planning to move out of Houston Center in May 2024 to become the name tenant in Skanska’s new 1550 on the Green building near downtown’s Discovery Green park. The law firm is taking over 100,000 SF in the 375,000-SF Skanska. tower.

Norton Rose Fulbright is moving out of Brookfield’s 51-story tower at 1301 McKinney Street. The building had been called the Fulbright Tower, a major edifice in Houston Center. But now Brookfield’s website refers to it as Three Houston Center. Construction of the building was completed in 1982.

The Houston Center building where Federal American Grill is opening was opened in 1978.

Landlords like Brookfield Properties have made significant investments to improve properties in the post-Covid era to counter the desire of employees to work from home. Houston has been one of the leading markets in the nation in employees returning to work from corporate offices.

“The decision to bring Federal American Grill to Houston Center speaks to their desire to join the renewed energy and bustle of downtown and aligns with our focus of bringing retail and amenities to our office spaces that create a welcoming work-life balance,” said Travis Overall, Executive Vice President and Head of the Texas Region for Brookfield Properties