HOUSTON- Rowan Cos. Inc. has renewed its lease for 78,841 square feet in Williams Tower, a 1.5 million-square-foot, 64-story tower located in the Galleria submarket.
The publicly-traded company, which provides international and domestic offshore contract drilling services, has been a tenant in Williams Tower since 1990. Its existing seven year lease was expiring, and it shopped the market extensively before deciding to stay put, according to Trey Strake of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.
Strake and Scott Wegmann of C&W’s local office represented Rowan in lease negotiations. Williams Tower’s owner, Hines, was represented internally by Chrissy Wilson, vice president, and Allison Knight, director of leasing.
Strake tells GlobeSt. that Rowan began its search 18 months ago and included properties in downtown and the Energy Corridor. “Rowan wanted to stay in a class A building and wanted to make sure that a new building would have the same amenity package for its employees,” he notes. The firm also wanted to make sure that a move would be worth its while and that a new building would allow it to enhance space efficiencies and provide attractive economics.
“We test fit three different alternatives, but Hines was anxious to keep us, and the economics were very compelling,” Strake says, adding that the hard costs related to the move plus the soft costs associated with disrupting the business contributed to Rowan’s decision to stay in Williams Tower. “Hines recognized they were in a competitive situation and they made a strong effort to keep Rowan in the building.”
In fact, Rowan has the distinction of being Hines’ longest-term tenant. In 1969, the firm moved into Hines’ Post Oak Tower (5051 Westheimer) and then moved to Williams Tower in 1990.
Since Rowan has been in its current space for 20 years, the company is making some changes to its offices as part of the new lease, Strake says.
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