Howard Hughes Project: Transwestern to Lease Huge

In Houston, Transwestern Real Estate Services will handle leasing services for the Downtown Columbia, Maryland office portfolio owned by The Howard Hughes Corp., which is based in The Woodlands.

The Downtown Columbia portfolio extends beyond the existing 12 buildings that total 1.8 million SF.

Howard Hughes Corp. also controls over 3.6 million sq ft of entitled future office development in Columbia.

“We are thrilled to establish this partnership with The Howard Hughes Corporation and to be a part of the tremendous growth the team is creating across Downtown Columbia. We look forward to building on the momentum they have established within this thriving market.” said Transwestern Executive Vice President Alex Hancock.

Howard Hughes Corp. has significant real estate holdings in the Houston area, including the 28,000-acre large-scale planned community named The Woodlands.

Transwestern will manage leasing for the entirety of HHC’s Downtown Columbia office properties, including 6100 Merriweather, One Merriweather, Two Merriweather, and the new office developments in the Merriweather District; the Corporate Row buildings and One Mall North in the Central District; and the Teachers Building and future office developments in the Lakefront District.

At full build-out, the redevelopment of Downtown Columbia is set to include 14 million SF of new development on 391 acres. Merriweather District will make up 4.9 million sq ft of the total multi-use development and will be concentrated on 35 acres of developable land within 100 acres of protected forests, streams and restored wetlands.

“With the Transwestern team leasing our full office portfolio, I am confident that we will continue to attract the major tenants and deliver the results that are integral to our success in fulfilling our vision for Downtown Columbia,” said Greg Fitchitt, President, Columbia, The Howard Hughes Corp.

Hancock’s leasing team was recently recognized for its role in securing a 400,000-SF, long-term tenancy at Reston Town Center. Notably, in 2020, a year in which leasing velocity faced major headwinds from the global pandemic, Transwestern completed 700,000 SF of leasing transactions in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In addition to Columbia and The Woodlands, The Howard Hughes Corp. owns, manages, and develops commercial, residential, and multi-use real estate throughout the U.S. including: the Seaport District in New York; Summerlin, Las Vegas; and Ward Village in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

In In Houston, Howard Hughes is developing Bridgelands, which was the top, selling community in Houston last year with 841 single-family housing starts, as stated by Zonda. The company also is developing The Woodlands Hills in Willis, which ranked 29thin starts in the Greater Houston area.

The Howard Hughes Corporation is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HHC.

The Howard Hughes Corp.’s, Downtown Columbia is located at the center of Columbia, MD, one of the first large-scale planned communities in the U.S., founded by legendary developer James W. Rouse in 1967. Conveniently located between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Columbia is comprised of 14,000 acres including ten completed residential villages and a deep pipeline of commercial development opportunities within its downtown.