McDermott, an engineering and construction solutions provider for the energy industry, signed a 50K SF lease for new offices at Westgate II in Houston’s Energy Corridor. The company will bring 254 employees to its new space on the top floor of the office building.
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McDermott’s office at Westgate II will feature 162 workstations, 66 offices, two large breakrooms, a wellness room, coffee coves, collaboration spaces and 10 conference rooms. The space will add to McDermott’s established project-focused space in Energy Center 5.
Tyler Garrett and Christian Canion of JLL handled leasing and marketing at Westgate II on behalf of the landlord. McDermott, founded in 1923, operates in more than 54 countries and has more than 30,000 employees.
PEOPLE
Skanska promoted Mark Elpers to vice president and account manager of Skanska USA Building in Houston.
Elpers has more than 30 years of experience in commercial office, light industrial and higher education construction at Skanska, and he has overseen more than $800M worth of projects across Texas. He recently served as project executive on the Norton Rose Fulbright Tower at Discovery Green in Houston.
Before joining Skanska USA Building, Elpers spent 23 years with Skanska's civil division in Evansville, Indiana, rising to vice president of operations.
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Amy Collins, Doug Hellmann and Marc Bellamy are the new co-managing principals of PDR, a Houston-based consulting, design and architecture firm. The announcement follows former President and CEO Lauri Goodman Lampson's retirement.
Collins will focus on design and strategy leadership. She will lead Central Texas out of the company's Austin office. Hellman will oversee operations and select accounts. Bellamy will lead business development and select accounts.
SALES
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Starwood Property Trust sold 5555 San Felipe, a 1.2M SF skyscraper, to Energy Transfer pipeline and gas company, according to Realty News Report.
The building, formerly known as Marathon Oil Tower, was recently considered a candidate for conversion to residential use. Marathon Oil occupied 60% of the building but moved out in 2021.
Starwood gained ownership through foreclosure in 2022. It stopped marketing its 800K SF of vacant space for rent last year, leading CBRE to remove it from its Houston office inventory for analytics purposes.
Energy Transfer is expected to occupy 5555 San Felipe on a long-term basis, according to Realty News Report. Stream Realty Partners represented the energy firm.
LEASES
Westlake Corp., a public chemicals company, is moving its headquarters into eight floors at 5444 Westheimer, about a mile away from its current location, the Houston Business Journal reported. This move will consolidate Westlake’s operations, including two offices on Post Oak Boulevard and nonlab offices in Stafford, the company said in a statement.
Tanglewood Property Group, the owner of 5444 Westheimer, was represented in-house by Dean Wilkens. Partners Real Estate’s Charlie Neuhaus represented Westlake Corp.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
The NHP Foundation, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing, celebrated the grand opening of RoseMary’s Place last week. The $45M community at 3300 Caroline St. in Midtown Houston adds 149 units dedicated to people exiting homelessness.
This milestone marked the completion of a project launched in February 2023 and built through a public-private partnership. The new property features two floors of efficiency apartments and provides permanent supportive housing services in collaboration with Magnificat Houses Inc.
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EastGroup Properties is building a 97K SF Class-A industrial warehouse within the Grand West Crossing business park in Katy. The building, Grand West Crossing Building 2, is expected to deliver in June or July of this year. EastGroup broke ground in January.
The facility is the second of six planned buildings in the Grand West Crossing business park. JLL’s Richard Quarles, Jarret Venghaus, Geoff Perrott and Eliza Klein are handling marketing and leasing at Grand West Crossing on behalf of EastGroup.
FINANCING
Greystone, a commercial real estate finance company, arranged a $14M line of credit to refinance a 68-unit build-to-rent community in Houston. The BTR aggregation facility was arranged by Shaya Ackerman and Steven Treitel of Greystone.
The newly constructed Sandrock Gardens community spans 14.5 acres. The units have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two-car garages.
