Hurricane Harvey put some speed in Northwestern Mutual’s move
Northwestern Mutual fasttracked its plans for a downtown office after Hurricane Harvey disrupted operations at its main Houston office near the Galleria.
The Milwaukee-based financial services firm has moved into the 31st floor of the Kinder Morgan building at 1001 Louisiana. The new office, totaling nearly 4,200 square feet, establishes a base for serving clients in the downtown and Texas Medical Center areas. It also provides overflow offices for financial advisers at One Riverway, which is operational but still being restored.
The company, which provides investment and wealth management services, life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and annuities, opted for a multiyear sublease from Kinder Morgan after shifting from its original search for temporary offices.
The deal, which accelerated a longer term plan for a downtown office, signals the company is moving forward and not backward after Hurricane Harvey, managing partner Jeff Reeter said.
Northwestern Mutual, which was established 160 years ago and has been in Houston since 2002, has added 47 financial advisers so far in 2017. The firm plans to add another 55 advisers in 2018.
“We just felt strongly that we didn’t want the hurricane to slow that down,” Reeter said.
Anthony Fritsche of Fritsche Anderson Realty Partners represented Northwestern Mutual in the deal. Rob Neblett, Lucian Bukowski, Wyatt McCulloch represented the sublessor, Kinder Morgan. About 103,000 square feet is available for sublease in the building, according to CBRE.
Northwestern Mutual will continue to occupy 40,000 square feet at One Riverway. Its other local offices are in The Woodlands and Energy Corridor.
The company’s Hurricane Harvey relief efforts include donating $350,000 to charities, 1,500 hours of volunteer time to help with recovery, and raising more than $200,000 to help employees impacted by the storm.