MetLife Real Estate Sells Houston Office Asset
A partnership led by Braun Enterprises has acquired 3040 Post Oak Blvd., a 426,000-square-foot Class A office building in Houston’s Galleria submarket. The seller was MetLife Real Estate Investment, according to CommercialEdge data.
Braun Enterprises has announced significant renovations for the property, including a fitness center, a coffee bar, as well as comprehensive lobby and exterior upgrades.
Stream Realty Partners’ Managing Director Ryan Barbles, Vice President Adam Ross and Associate Parker Noble will continue to provide leasing and property management services. They are looking to lease about 75,000 square feet of the property’s vacant space.
“Braun’s acquisition of 3040 Post Oak and their planned investment speak volumes about the asset’s strength and the Galleria area’s long-term potential,” Barbles told Commercial Property Executive.
The office is adjacent to The Galleria—Houston’s top shopping and tourist destination. It is within easy reach of US Highway 59, the 610 West Loop and the Westpark Tollway.
JLL Capital Markets’ Jeff Hollinden, Kevin McConn, Clay Anderson and Zamar Salas represented the seller.
Last fall, Stream Realty Partners secured $63 million in financing for five Class A industrial buildings in the Chicago metro area, in a deal arranged by JLL Capital Markets.
Houston’s office market on the path to recovery
There is optimism for Houston’s office market after a slow start to the year, according to Savills’ latest research.
Leasing activity slightly slowed in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the prior quarter, with the market seeing 1.7 million square feet of office space leased.
Despite the slow start, the 2025 demand outlook for Houston remains optimistic. Office mandates have led to employment growth and increased attendance, according to Savills.
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There are positive signs from the legal sector, with the CBD submarket being a top location for law firms. That sector provided two significant deals in the first quarter this year: Skadden leased and expanded to 52,000 square feet at Texas Tower, and Simpson Thatcher leased and expanded to 22,000 square feet at JPMorgan Chase Tower.
The flight-to-quality trend
“The consistent theme is the ‘flight-to-quality,’” observed Greg Barra, CCIM, SIOR, principal of Boyd Commercial LLC/CORFAC International. He told CPE that he is working on several tenant representation requirements in various submarkets in Houston.
“Even tenants who are ‘right-sizing’ and shrinking footprints find it challenging to find the right space on lateral Class A moves because occupancy is generally healthy in suitable buildings. Older Class A and Class B buildings with ‘good bones’ and premium locations can be ripe for smart capital investment and rent growth; 3040 Post Oak is a great example.”
Barra said that new state-of-the-art office developments, such as Hines’ 1.1 million-square-foot Texas Tower in downtown, are well leased at premium rents. New office developments on the west side of Houston near the Energy Corridor are doing extremely well. Midway, MetroNational and Moody Rambin all put up new buildings, which are anchored by their own established mixed-use amenity-rich developments of City Centre, Memorial City and Town and Country.
Houston’s office market is characterized by constrained development, with new construction at a two-decade low, according to Ariel Guerrero, regional lead of market intelligence at Avison Young.
“While the ‘flight-to-quality’ drives targeted new construction and redevelopment projects, developers contend with rising building costs and challenging construction loan environments,” Guerrero said. “Consequently, renovated buildings from the past decade are poised to benefit as vacancy tightens and demand for top-tier spaces outpaces supply.”
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