HOUSTON-Willbros United State Holdings Inc. has chosen Five Post Oak Park for its world headquarters. The publicly-traded company, which provides construction and engineering services to the energy sector, signed a 10-year lease for 87,212 square feet at the class A office building.
The deal, which represents a renewal of existing space and a 44,178-square-foot expansion, consolidates four offices totaling roughly 100,000 square feet across the Houston metro area, according to David Guion of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.
Along with Tim Relyea and Joe Peddie of the same firm, Guion represented Willbros in its evaluation for headquarters space, as well as lease negotiations. Clint Bawcom and Brian McMackin of Capstar Commercial represented the landlord, Shorenstein Properties LLC.
“Willbros wanted more of true headquarters atmosphere,” Guion says. “The CEO also wanted everyone – about 250 people – together under one roof.”
Guion tells GlobeSt.com that he and his team worked with Willbros for 18 months before the company made its decision. The company’s three other offices – two situated in north Houston and one situated in west Houston – were not appropriate for Willbros’ world headquarters because they were located class B buildings.
Willbros considered both leasing and owning, focusing its search on the Galleria and Westchase submarkets. The short-list consisted of four options in the Galleria including Five Post Oak Park, which is located at 4400 Post Oak Pkwy. “The Galleria area works for Willbros because it is convenient for its employees,” Guion notes, adding that Willbros’ lease at the 28-story Five Post Oak Park was coming up for renewal this year.
Guion says a number of elements influenced Willbros’ decision to expand in Five Post Oak Park. Among those elements – the company’s long-term tenancy at the 567,319-square-foot property, as well as rate and concessions including free rent and TI dollars.
“Five Post Oak Park ended up the most cost effective, but all options were fairly close,” Guion notes, adding that Willbros plans to redo its entire space at Five Post Oak Park. The renovation is scheduled for completion no later than November.
The Willbros lease is the largest signed at Five Post Oak Park in the last 10 years, but comes on the heels of a period of intense leasing activity, according to Paul Grafft, senior vice president of asset management for Shorenstein Properties. “Although this is our largest deal to date, there have been 20 smaller leases completed at the building in the last 30 days and tenants have responded very positively to the work we have carried out to keep this building at the top if its class,” he says.
Shorenstein acquired the property in 2008 on behalf of Shorenstein Realty Investors Nine LP, one of its closed-end real estate investment funds. It has allocated $5 million to capital improvements at the property including a completed remodeling of the building’s lobby and public elevator lobbies and upgrades to life safety and HVAC systems.
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