Office Building For Sale for $25,352,600, Market briefs

In Houston, The CityNorth 1 building is for sale for $100 per SF or $25,352,600.

“If you wanted to construct a new building of this size and with its features from the ground-up, you’d be looking at a replacement cost of $300, $350 per sq ft,” says Keith E. Lloyd of Marcus & Millichap, who is marketing the property. “It’s an unbeatable value in today’s market.”

Lloyd, a veteran Houston broker, says the building represents a chance for an owner/occupier to secure office space for the long term.

Corporations Looking To Buy Buildings, Instead of Leasing

A number of corporations are scouting the Houston area looking to buy office campus while prices are low, Lloyd said. “I’ve seen two requirements in the last 30 days from brokers looking for large companies that want to buy office buildings, no to lease, but to buy.”

The vacant, CityNorth 1 building is now ready for an owner/operator’s design and buildout, Marcus & Millichap says.

“CityNorth 1 has great bones and a lot of potential to change out finishes and do upgrades,” Lloyd says. “With businesses returning to office spaces, this is a rare opportunity to create the environment that suits your employees best.”

Overall, the Houston office market is soft due to the pandemic and a downturn in the energy business. Houston’s overall office vacancy rate stood at 23.5 percent in February, the highest vacancy rate in the nation, as stated by a report by Yardi Systems Commercial Edge.

The 12-story CityNorth 1 building, 233 Benmar Drive, is part of CityNorth, a 2.1 million SF office park, formerly known as Greenspoint Place. Friendswood Development, the former real estate arm of Exxon, developed Greenspoint Place years ago. In 2017, an investment entity led by Lincoln Property Co. and H.I.G. Realty Partners purchased the project, and performed an $80 million renovation and branded it CityNorth.

Located in an Opportunity Zone, the CityNorth1 building is east of Interstate 45, near Beltway 8, near Bush Airport.