HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – A major suburban Houston office building has changed hands: the 554,000-square-foot Schlumberger office complex in the Westchase area was recently sold, marking one of the largest suburban office transactions in the region in years.
The buyer is a Colorado-based investment group affiliated with Marcel Arsenault, founder of Real Capital Solutions.
Constructed in the 1970s, the low-profile Schlumberger campus occupies a 29-acre parcel on the southwest corner of Richmond Avenue and Briarpark Drive. The property, located at 10001 Richmond Avenue, sits just east of the Sam Houston Tollway and north of the Westpark Tollway.
Schlumberger remains the sole occupant of the building and has roughly ten years remaining on its lease, having been the single tenant for several years.
The seller was New York-based Lexington Industrial Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that previously operated under the Lexington Realty Trust name. Over recent years, Lexington has shifted its strategic focus toward industrial assets, and this disposition aligns with its efforts to reduce office holdings in favor of industrial properties.
Lexington’s Houston Industrial Purchase in 2021
In 2021, Lexington expanded its Houston industrial footprint by purchasing a newly constructed, fully leased, three-building Class A industrial portfolio totaling 738,701 square feet near the Port of Houston, in Pasadena and Deer Park. That 44.6-acre portfolio included Bayport North Logistics Center I (9701 New Decade) and Bayport North Logistics Center II (4100 Malone) in Pasadena, and Underwood Port Logistics Center (4660 Underwood) in Deer Park. The seller of those industrial properties was Triten Real Estate Partners.
Activist Investor Jonathan Litt Eyes Lexington
Lexington itself has drawn the attention of activist investor Jonathan Litt of Land & Buildings Investment Management. Litt has communicated with Lexington’s board and signaled a potential approach that could value the company at roughly $4 billion or more. He has sought a board seat as part of his engagement and has emphasized an interest in expanding industrial holdings; Lexington already manages about 56 million square feet of industrial space.
Feb. 26, 2022. Realty News Report. Copyright 2022.
Photo credit: Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report. Copyright 2022.
File: Schlumberger Westchase Building Acquired
File: Schlumberger Westchase Building Acquired. Lexington Industrial Trust, Triten Real Estate, Bayport, Jonathan Litt, Land & Buildings Investment, Richmond Avenue, Marcel Arsenault