Law Firm Ups Downtown Footprint To 139K SF: The Houston Deal Sheet
Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright executed a planned expansion at its namesake tower in Downtown Houston, bringing its total footprint to 139K SF.
Skanska developed the 28-story Norton Rose Fulbright Tower at 1550 Lamar St., which opened in August 2024. The anchor tenant’s expansion brings the tower to 70% leased and 63% occupied.
“This law firm’s decision to expand within the tower speaks to the strength of the workplace environment we set out to create and reinforces the continued demand for thoughtfully designed, amenity-rich environments in Downtown Houston,” Matt Damborsky, executive vice president for Skanska USA Commercial Development in Houston, said in a statement.
The tower has a ground-floor coffee shop, Tenfold, and a Hugo Ortega restaurant called Zaranda. Other tenants that have leased at NRF Tower include Boston Consulting Group, which leased 53K SF, and Third Coast Infrastructure and Hicks Johnson PLLC, each with 21K SF.
The top of the tower houses a venue for meetings, events and collaboration called The Summit.
PEOPLE
Moody Rambin hired Matthew Morrison as executive vice president, industrial and land services. Morrison specializes in owner-user transactions, tenant and landlord representation, investment sales, and sourcing land for users and developers alike.
He was previously a vice president at Transwestern, where he represented clients in industrial leasing and sales, project leasing, property dispositions, tenant and buyer representation, and investment transactions. Before commercial real estate, Morrison worked in the offshore energy industry.
SALES
A local investor sold Seabrook Shopping Center, a 25K SF multitenant retail property at 2100 E. NASA Parkway near Space Center Houston. The property has 19K SF of available space.
Marcus & Millichap’s Scott Jones, Gus Lagos and Alex Wolansky marketed the property on behalf of the seller.
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Finial Group acquired a 21,500 SF tiltwall industrial facility at 15375 Vantage Parkway E. to launch its Eighth Single Tenant Industrial Aggregation Fund. The property is fully leased to a long-term national tenant.
LEASES
GreenStreet, the mixed-use destination in Downtown Houston, announced its first new tenants since launching its redevelopment in October 2024. The new leases total 20K SF.
Real estate firm Keller Williams leased 9,500 SF. John Heard and Eric Anderson of Transwestern represented GreenStreet.
Sandbox VR, an immersive group virtual gaming experience destination, leased 6,200 SF. This will be its second Houston-area location.
An undisclosed all-day dining concept leased 5,100 SF.
FINANCING
Trez Capital made an equity investment in Wildrye North, a 998-lot residential development on 420 acres in Northwest Houston. The project is a joint venture with Land Strategies Management, a Florida-based residential real estate investment firm. The investment is held in Trez Capital U.S. Opportunity Fund #9.
Wildrye North is along U.S. Highway 290 in Waller, adjacent to the established Wildrye master-planned community. The development will be built in three phases, with finished lots sold to homebuilders. About 300 lots are under contract at closing.
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Concord Summit Capital, an intermediary between sponsors and capital providers, arranged $28M in mid-construction financing for The Albritton, a 163K SF mixed-use project at 408 S. Friendswood Drive in Friendswood. The project includes 111 Class-A apartments, 11K SF of ground-floor retail, 9K SF of office space and a 72K SF parking garage.
Concord Summit’s Daniel Eidson and Ben Applebaum sourced the financing on behalf of the sponsor, Tannos Development Group. The project is expected to be completed in 2028.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Maple Development Group, a Houston-based developer, announced the opening of the community center and model homes at Azalea, a 257-acre master-planned community in Pattison, just west of Katy. The public can now tour model homes from DRB Homes, Ashton Woods and Brohn Homes.
With homes priced from the $200Ks, Azalea will feature 867 residential homesites and 15 acres for future commercial development. The amenity center has a pool with an ADA-compliant wheelchair lift, a splash pad, a recreation center and a park.
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The NHP Foundation broke ground on Trinity East Village Senior, a 90-unit affordable housing community for adults 55 and older in Houston’s Third Ward.
Developed by the NHP Foundation in partnership with Trinity East Village Community Development Corp. and Housing Alliance HTX, Trinity East Village Senior will provide affordable apartments designed for older adults with limited incomes. Sixty of the community's 90 apartments will serve as replacement housing for residents of Cuney Homes, which is undergoing redevelopment through the federal Choice Neighborhoods initiative.
Construction will be led by NRP Construction and is expected to be completed in 2027.
