Law firm stays put
Porter Hedges signs a 13-year lease for a big chunk of space in 1000 Main tower
Porter Hedges signs a long-term lease for its downtown offices at 1000 Main.
“It’s always been able to lease very quickly. We would hope that would continue to be the case.” Wade Bowlin, PM Realty Group
Houston-based law firm Porter Hedges has locked in a long-term lease for 105,026 square feet at its downtown offices at 1000 Main.
The firm, which has been subleasing the penthouse space from Reliant-NRG since 2005, signed a 13-year lease plus renewal options, according to CBRE.
Porter Hedges is Houston’s seventh-largest law firm based on number of attorneys, according to a Chronicle 100 survey in April. The firm has about 110 local attorneys.
Charles Gordon, Brandon Clarke, Paul Penland and Ryan Roth of CBRE represented Porter Hedges in the lease. Wade Bowlin with PM Realty Group represented the landlord, 1000 Main LLC, an affiliate of German realty fund Union Investment.
“It was imperative for us to create a solution that would help Porter Hedges continue its reputation as one of Houston’s leading law firms,” Gordon said in an announcement.
“After a thorough evaluation of their needs and how they could continue to best serve their clients, they determined that staying downtown would suit them best, and from there, our team worked with the landlord to structure a lease that met the interests of all parties involved.”
Porter Hedges received market concessions for a Class AA building, according to CBRE. The company also took a little less space due to a reduction in file storage and support areas.
Law firms in Houston have typically secured concessions for 12 months free rent on a 12-year lease in new developments, and six months on a 10year renewal, according JLL.
The firm occupies 12.5 percent of the 36-story tower. Other tenants are Shell Oil Co., Sanchez Energy, UBS and NRG Energy, according to CBRE.
The 837,161-square-foot building, developed by Century Development on the Main Street Square rail stop, has historically remained welloccupied, according to Bowlin of PM Realty Group.
When Marsh/Mercer vacated in 2012, Sanchez Energy took over the space and has since expanded to 120,000 square feet, Bowlin said.
Reliant put the top four floors of its space at 1000 Main on the market for sublease as part of cost-cutting measures in 2004. The building, known as Reliant Energy Plaza when it opened in 2003, is 99.9 percent leased, according to PMRG.
NRG Energy, which has dual headquarters in Princeton, N.J., and Houston, announced it will begin consolidating its Houston offices to One Shell Plaza next spring.
“It’s always been able to lease very quickly,” Bowlin said. “We would hope that would continue to be the case.”
Founded in 1981, Porter Hedges handles energy transactions, corporate mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, banking and finance, bankruptcy and construction law. It also has an office in Oklahoma City.