HOUSTON—CBRE Group's new office at Williams Tower will be a part of CBRE's global Workplace360 initiative, the company's approach to workplace strategy designed to promote flexibility, mobility and productivity through technology-enabled 100% free-address and paperless offices. This redevelopment is in tandem with the firm's renewal and expansion of its lease at 2800 Post Oak Blvd.
CBRE has opened approximately 50 Workplace360 offices worldwide and approximately 25 in the United States. The new Houston office will be CBRE's largest Workplace360 office in the world at 77,000 square feet.
CBRE's Workplace360 initiative provides a flexible way of working and a system of places, technologies and behaviors that allow for choice based on an employee's changing needs throughout the day. A free-address and paperless environment with no assigned workstations, Workplace360 offices feature a variety of work settings–a balance of both collaborative and private spaces–from which employees can self-select depending on a particular project. Enhanced technology that supports this mobile way of working is a core element of each of CBRE's Workplace360 offices.
Professionals from CBRE's downtown Houston and 2700 Post Oak Blvd. offices will relocate to Williams Tower, consolidating CBRE's Houston operations under one roof.
“Moving our Houston professionals into one office will allow them to better interact and collaborate in an amazing workplace environment,” said Cody Armbrister, senior managing director, CBRE. “In today's Houston market there are numerous, high-quality office buildings for tenants of our size to consider. In the end, remaining a Williams Tower tenant and continuing our alliance with Invesco was the best solution for us.”
CBRE will occupy a portion of the second and fourth floors, as well as the entire fifth floor of Williams Tower. These floors are unique in that they contain large-scale floor plates, with above-standard ceiling heights all with floor-to-ceiling glass, which will allow CBRE to create a greater sense of space and accommodate a majority of its professionals on a single floor. Views of Water Wall Park, direct connectivity to the Houston Galleria area and accessibility to Interstate 610, Interstate 10 and US 59 were also some of the factors that motivated CBRE's decision to remain in the building.
“We are excited for CBRE Houston to adopt our global workplace strategy initiative. Our new workspace will be supported by leading-edge technology tools and platforms that foster greater collaboration and functionality across all of our lines of business,” Armbrister tells GlobeSt.com. “In addition, the environment will become 100% 'free address,' allowing our professionals to work in an area and environment within the office that best fits the task at hand.”
CBRE's Charles Gordon and Jon Lee negotiated the lease of portions of the second/fourth floors and the entire fifth floor on behalf of CBRE; CBRE's Dave Hanusa, Bonnie Kelley Dienna and Jason Presley represented the landlord, Invesco. CBRE's in-house workplace strategy and project management teams will lead the implementation of the new Workplace360 space from initiation through move-in.
“Better business performance begins with better workplace performance, and at CBRE, we practice what we preach,” said Cicily Dostalek, program manager for CBRE's Workplace360 initiative. “The concierge services in our new Houston office will free up time for our employees to spend with their families and on personal interests, which will make them happier and more productive, and will further serve to make the workplace a desired destination.”
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
