The lobbies were renovated and infrastructure improvements were made at Corpus Christi Medical Tower.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX—There are two primary drivers of medical office demand and healthcare employment growth: an aging population and an increase in the insured population. As a result, many owners are beefing up existing stock to remain in alignment with these demand forces.
This is certainly the case with Corpus Christi Medical Tower's new ownership. David Z. Mafrige Interests recently renovated the lobbies and implemented a host of building infrastructure improvements in an effort to garner interest in the remaining space for lease. Located at 1521 S. Staples St., the building is near Old Town Six Points, a popular shopping location outside of the downtown area, as well as numerous amenities and residential neighborhoods.
The tower consists of approximately 105,000 square feet of medical office space, with available medical office space ranging from 1,000 to 13,328 square feet, with some suites featuring bay views. The updated property includes ample parking, a full-service laboratory, 24/7 key card access and on-site property management.
“The building is a good fit for DZMI. It is our intent to preserve the building as it is a staple to the Corpus Christi community,” said Andrew Clark, president of David Z. Mafrige Interests. “10 years ago, the property was 97% occupied. DZMI has invested considerable resources to show our commitment to the current and future tenants in order to bring Corpus Christi Medical Tower back to its former glory.”
Transwestern Commercial Services has been retained by David Z. Mafrige Interests to provide leasing services for Corpus Christi Medical Tower. Senior vice president Ken Adams and senior associate 'Licia Shreves are providing healthcare leasing services for the medical office building.
“The availability of well-placed medical office space in Corpus Christi is limited, and Corpus Christi Medical Tower is strategically located to serve physicians and patients that may utilize multiple area hospitals,” Shreves tells GlobeSt.com.
Shreves point out that having an ownership group that is investing heavily in building updates will help leasing momentum.
This growing demand for healthcare services fueled the US medical office market in 2018. However, a surge in M&A activity due to a structural shift toward more cost-effective consumer-friendly care tempered supply and demand growth, according to a report by CBRE.
According to RCA, medical office investment sales in Houston totaled some $906.5 million last year, up more than 43% from 2017's $633.3 million total, a testament to how real-estate investors are piling into medical offices and other properties that serve an aging population. The most noteworthy transaction was the acquisition of Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza that set national records. Its hefty price tag of $404.7 million marks the highest price paid for a US medical office building.
As of year-end, there were 15 Houston medical office buildings either under construction or in late planning stages, amounting to more than 1 million square feet. A notable amount of those projects are located in North Houston (Woodlands, Conroe and Kingwood), as well as the Energy Corridor.
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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.
