White, keynote speaker yesterday at Colliers International's Trends 2004, said he is working hard to sell Citgo's top executive on Houston's low-cost, business-friendly atmosphere. Citgo has hired a Houston team from Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. to explore the market's office space opportunities. Word on the street is the corporation needs about 350,000 sf.

White sees the large blocks of empty space in the CBD as an "economic opportunity"--a message that he is projecting in a campaign to gain jobs by making economic development a top priority for his administration. "The fact that we have available space is a magnet," he told the 400 real estate professionals attending the presentation at the Houston Country Club. "We are seeing people looking for a low tax environment and we actually have the vacancy to accommodate that."

At last count, class A office buildings in the CBD were shouldering a 21% vacancy in a 42-million-sf inventory. Colliers' research team says the citywide vacancy is slightly more than 16%. "It will take at least five years to get the vacant office space rented," said Robert S. Parsley, Colliers' CEO.