Baylor started shopping the Downtown market in November 2005 by exercising a termination option in its 187,998-sf lease at 2001 Bryan St. to get extra room so it could free up space on its main campus to expand clinical patient-care services, Steve Zimmerman, principal with locally based Trammell Crow Co., tells GlobeSt.com. Baylor jumpstarted the search with four years left on its term. At the end of the day, Baylor added 37,509 sf and pushed the term until August 2020.

"There were two or three that were very competitive," Zimmerman says. "By the time we zeroed in on Bryan Tower, we got a deal done very quickly. It was competitive to the very end." Among the options were the under-construction One Arts Plaza, a Billingsley Co. project in the Arts District, and Victory Plaza, an equally high-profile project that Hillwood is developing on the Uptown-Downtown demarcation line. In all, he says eight buildings could have accommodated the size requirement, but only four made the short list for tours.

The 1.1-million-sf Bryan Tower's space, teetering on the class A-B line, is quoted at $21 per sf plus electric. Though the settled rate is off limits, Zimmerman acknowledged "it was a competitive rate" that convinced the healthcare giant to stay in place.