Investors Buy Big Office Complex, Market briefs

In Houston, Hertz Investment Group has sold its 806,000-SF Brookhollow Central office complex, the latest sign that investors have accelerated their pursuit of Houston office properties.

Brookhollow Central I, II and III are located at 2800, 2900 and 2950 North Loop West near the intersection of Interstate 610 and U.S. Highway 290, a location that often been overlooked despite its close proximity to downtown, the Galleria area and The Heights neighborhood.

In A Texas joint venture of Meneses Holdings and Texas, based Dominus Commercial purchased Brookhollow Central in June 2025 for $58.4 million, as stated by Bisnow, which attributed the pricing information to a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filing.

A JLL Capital Markets team including Rick Goings, Kevin McConn and Zamar Salas was involved in the sale of the Brookhollow Central buildings. Brookhollow Central is 74.4 percent leased, as stated by JLL.

The Los Angeles-based Hertz organization, founded by Judah Hertz in 1977, purchased the Brookhollow Central about seven years ago $70.5 million price or $87 per SF. An active investor for decades, the Hertz website currently lists a portfolio of 43 buildings in the United States in 17 cities. Hertz has been active in Houston’s office market for about eight years, beginning with the purchase of a 232,000-SF building at 11490 Westheimer for $24 million. In 2017, Hertz took a hard look at the 41-story Marathon Oil Tower on San Felipe, but did not close.

Investors Regain Interest in Houston Office Buildings

In the last year or so, Houston has experienced a marked uptick in deal activity and more sales by investors compared to 2023. The revival of the deals began with mostly suburban buildings measuring around 200,000 or SF. Sales prices have been surprisingly low in many cases, but they established a floor of comparable prices in today’s market.

In recently months, however, some large transactions have been reported.

The 41-story office tower at 5555 San Felipe was sold in April to Energy Transfer pipeline and gas company, in one of the Houston’s largest office transactions in recent years. The 1.2 million-SF tower, formerly known as the Marathon Oil Tower, had been purchased by Starwood Property Trust, had been eyed as a possible conversion to residential. Energy Transfer, a Dallas-based firm, is believed to be considering relocating its offices into the 5555 San Felipe, a buyer motivated by a need for its own office space.

The value of many of Houston’s office buildings have been in decline in the post-Covid era. Dozens of building owners are in default. With so many of the office properties under distress and so much uncertainty surrounding the market, refinancing office properties has been challenging.

The office sector is the weakest property type across the nation. But Houston, with its 24.7% vacancy rate, has one of the highest office vacancy rates in nation, as stated by Colliers.

In May, Houston Center, a significant office complex in downtown, changed hands. An entity led by an Australian lender that financed Brookfield Properties’ purchase of Houston Center, a four-skyscraper complex in downtown, assumed ownership of the 4.6 million SF property. The skyscrapers in Houston Center are located at 1221 McKinney, 909 Fannin, 1301 McKinney, and 1331 Lamar. Stream Realty Partners, which owns a sliver of Houston Center, is marketing Houston Center’s vacant space.

In a separate sale reported this week, a 6-story office building in Houston’s Westchase submarket changed hands, JLL Capital Markets reported. The 108,310-SF building, called Woodlake Plaza, sits on a 3.5-acre site at 2600 South Gessner Road. JLL’s Marty Hogan handled the Westchase transaction.