An energy giant reaffirmed its allegiance to Houston in a rare vote of confidence for the city’s downtown office market.
Motiva Enterprises renewed its 221,000-square-foot headquarters lease at One Allen Center, extending its decade-long presence in the Brookfield Office Properties–owned tower, the Houston Business Journal reported.
The lease renewal was brokered by Tim Relyea and Joseph Peddie of Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of Motiva. Bubba Harkins, Kristen Rabel and Jenny Sealy of CBRE, along with Tyler Merritt of Brookfield, represented the landlord.
The Aramco subsidiary first moved into the building at 500 Dallas Street in 2015, consolidating its Houston offices into four floors. Motiva expanded in 2017 to occupy additional space across the third, fourth and fifth floors, ultimately securing naming rights and rebranding the property as Motiva Plaza.
Terms of the renewal were not disclosed, but the deal reaffirms a long-standing relationship between Motiva and Adrian Foley’s Brookfield Office Properties, which completed a renovation of the three-building Allen Center campus between 2017 and 2021.
The overhaul modernized the lobby, replaced skybridges, added retail space and introduced The Acre, a plaza intended to improve outdoor activation and tenant amenities across the campus.
Motiva, Aramco’s downstream energy company, is one of the largest non-governmental employers in downtown Houston.
The renewal stands out as a stabilizing force amid a broadly uncertain downtown leasing environment still grappling with high vacancy and sluggish return to office.
Vacancy edged up to 26.5 percent in the first quarter from 26.1 percent the fourth quarter, largely due to tepid demand for Class B properties, according to Partners Real Estate. Leasing activity declined, dropping 28 percent from the prior quarter.
Other recent wins for Allen Center include Plains All American Pipeline, which extended its headquarters lease earlier this year.
In addition to its downtown office presence, Motiva operates the largest refinery in North America, in Port Arthur, and has been expanding its clean energy and logistics divisions throughout the Gulf Coast region.
— Judah Duke
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