HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Raymond James & Associates, the wealth management firm, has signed a lease for 60,219 square feet in San Felipe Plaza, a prominent skyscraper in Houston’s Tanglewood neighborhood.
The firm leased three full floors in the 980,000-square-foot building at the corner of San Felipe Street and Augusta Drive.
Raymond James has been a tenant in the recently renovated 46-story tower for nearly 30 years. In the lease transaction, Raymond James was represented by Todd Brandon, David Guion, Joe Rambin and Grant Goodwiller of Cushman & Wakefield. Rima Soroka and Eric Siegrist led the negotiations on behalf of Parkway Property Investments, the building’s owner.
San Felipe Plaza was designed by noted Los Angeles-based architect Richard Keating of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and sits northwest of the Galleria area.
“The long-term lease commitment by Raymond James & Associates to San Felipe Plaza is a testament to the superior quality of the building, the ownership’s dedication to maintaining its physical attributes, and to providing industry-leading service levels to its valued tenants. We are truly humbled to extend this nearly three-decade relationship with Raymond James,” said Eric Siegrist, Parkway’s Managing Director of Leasing.
The building was developed in the early 1980s by Houston multifamily developer Harold Farb, who was well known in local social circles at the time. When Farb completed the project, Houston was in the midst of an economic downturn; he openly acknowledged significant financial strain, once telling reporters he was losing $1 million a month on San Felipe Plaza.
Houston’s office market has softened in recent years, with elevated vacancy rates as companies delay real estate decisions or reduce office footprints due to work-from-home policies. A weakened energy sector has also contributed to higher office vacancy in the city.
Parkway Property Investments also owns the Greenway Plaza office park near the Southwest Freeway and Buffalo Speedway.
Aug. 6, 2021 Realty News Report. Copyright 2021.
Photo credit: Mabry Campbell.
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File: Major Lease Signed in San Felipe Plaza. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
File: Raymond James. Major Lease Signed in San Felipe Plaza. Harold Farb. Cushman & Wakefield. Eric Siegrist. Richard Keating.