Bay Plaza Office Complex is a 104,091-square-foot office building with a six-story open atrium located at 711 West Bay Area Blvd. in Houston, also owned and managed by The Richland Companies. It provides access to Interstate 45 and close proximity to Baybrook Mall, downtown Houston, Galveston, Pasadena, Houston Ship Channel and Johnson Space Center. Amenities include a conferencing facility and card-key access, as well as onsite management and engineering.

"While the leases at Bay Plaza may not be substantial, the property is significant due to the activity at Johnson Space Center, by the government, additional growth in area and the increased momentum at the private sector level. Additionally, we were able to get the city to install a traffic light for safety and convenience at the intersection to enter the building. Bay Plaza is also one of the few office buildings in the area with the level of visibility it has and ease of access it provides to Bay Area Boulevard and I-45, which is always an incentive for current and prospective tenants."

She says leasing is particularly active at these two properties due to the preventative maintenance Richland has undertaken.

"Regarding Bay Plaza and SA West Loop II, both buildings are in high demand because they provide great visibility, are situated in high-growth locations, have received recent renovations and our tenant-centric approach to doing business," Meyer-Nelson tells GlobeSt.com. "We're seeing an uptick in leasing activity at these two properties lately because of the recent building improvements we've made. These have all been for pre-emptive upkeep and visual enhancements. It's also worth noting that due to all of our preventative maintenance, none of our properties flooded during Harvey or any of the other recent historic floods Houston and San Antonio have faced."

The Houston metro created 85,500 jobs, a 2.7% increase, in the 12 months ending November 2019, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. By industry, professional and business services had the largest year-over-year increase with 26,400 jobs, followed by 13,000 jobs in education and health services, and then mining, logging and construction at 10,800 jobs. Houston's unemployment rate was 3.6% in November, down from 3.8% in November of last year. For comparison, the Texas and US rates were both 3.3%, not seasonally adjusted. The US Energy Information Administration reported that the closing spot price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate was $61.14 per barrel as of December 31, 2019, up from $45.15 the same time last year. Baker Hughes reported the US rig count at 805 as of December 27, 2019, down -279 from a year ago.