Chevron takes steps to lighten its portfolio of property in area

Chevron Corp. is unloading two major parcels in its local real estate holdings, as the oil giant shuffles employees and adjusts plans for growth amid the worst energy downturn in years.

The properties include a 10-story office building in Bellaire and more than 100 acres in Katy the company bought just two years ago.

The Bellaire facility, which holds 900 employees who will move downtown next year, is being sold as part of an effort to “maximize our office space usage,” Chevron spokesman Cam Van Ast said in an email.

The property at 4800 Fournace Place near the West Loop was established in the 1940s by Chevron predecessor Texaco as a geophysical lab.

Today, employees there work in a range of disciplines, including pipeline, business services and human resources.

Chevron is also listing 103 acres at the southwest corner of the Grand Parkway at Clay Road in Katy.

The San Ramon, Calif.-based company bought the property in 2014 to eventually build a research and development facility.

“The Katy property was acquired in 2014 to provide flexibility in our Houston property portfolio but is no longer required,” Van Ast said.

Chevron is asking $7.75 per square foot for the land, or close to $35 million.

David Cook of Cushman & Wakefield, which is marketing the Katy land, called the property “a

great site in a market that is still pretty warm.”

The recently completed Grand Parkway has attracted new retail, health care and other services to the area.

Cushman & Wakefield is also marketing a Shell gas station property at the corner of Fournace and the West Loop, adjacent to the Chevron office property.

Chevron has a significant presence downtown, where it owns and occupies 1500 Louisiana and 1400 Smith.

In 2013, it announced plans to build a 50-story tower on an adjacent block, but the project was shelved less than six months later.

Texas, Van Ast said, “remains the global center for our upstream business and other functions, and we expect to continue to be a long-term partner to the city and state.”

Along with the rest of Houston’s upstream energy industry, the company has focused recent efforts on cost-cutting.

In April, Chevron said it was shedding 655 Houston jobs in oil exploration and productions, part of a larger staff reduction companywide.