‘It’s certainly a tenant’s market’
Lubrizol has signed a deal for two floors in One Briarlake Plaza in West chase, where it has expanded its lease to 50,208 square feet.
The Wickliffe, Ohio-based chemical company will take up the entire third and fourth floors of the 20-story building at 2000 W. Sam Houston Parkway. The company originally occupied 38,133 square feet in the building, including some space subleased from Phillips 66. All the space is now being leased directly from the landlord, TIER REIT.
While the deal’s specifics were not disclosed, owners have been more generous to sign up tenants.
Landlords are offering anywhere from six to 12 months of free rent on a 10-year lease and are increasing tenant allowances, said John Pruitt, a broker with JLL who represented the landlord along with Jessica Ochoa.
“It’s certainly a tenant’s market,” Pruitt said. “Between direct space and sublease, tenants have a lot of options.”
Ryan Barbles, also of JLL, represented Lubrizol in the lease.
Houston’s overall office vacancy rate reached 18.5 percent in the second quarter, according to JLL. Sublease space swelled to 10.8 million square feet.
Office rents fell slightly to $30.46 per square foot per year across the Houston area in the second quarter, according to JLL.
With the deal, One Briarlake Plaza has 24,000 square feet of space available, or about 5 percent of the building, Pruitt said. The building has a conference center, fitness facility, deli and on-site security.
The agreement is one of the larger transactions in the west Houston area so far this year. The softer market has enabled other tenants to negotiate better deals.
Linde Group, for example, got naming rights when it negotiated a 50,000-square-foot lease in the former Jacobs Plaza building at 12140 Wickchester Lane.
“It usually takes more than two floors to get your name on a new Class A building,” Pruitt said. “They’re able to get all the things, where at the peak of the market two or three years ago, that may not have been in their reach.”