KHOU-TV settling in to new digs in the Galleria district
KHOU-TV, the Houston CBS affiliate, is making some news of its own. Nearly 18 months after losing its longtime home on Allen Parkway in Hurricane Harvey, the station began occupying permanent studios near the Galleria Feb. 10.
The station will move into the office building at 5718 Westheimer at Bering, where it has leased 43,000 square feet from UBS. The space includes two studios, two control rooms, edit suites, open collaboration spaces and a technology-driven live desk to handle breaking news. KHOU expected to broadcast its first newscasts from the site on Feb. 17.
The station had occupied the Allen Parkway location just west of downtown since 1960, and the lease for the Westheimer location was announced in March.
“We are delighted to be moving into our new home. All of us look forward to taking advantage of everything our new building and the Galleria district have to offer,” KHOU President and General Manager Robert Springer said in an announcement. “We are excited to share ‘the new KHOU’ with our viewers and wish to thank the numerous partners who'’ve helped us during this transition.”
Equiem introduces tenant engagement platform at 5 Houston Center
Equiem, an Australian company that provides tenant engagement software to commercial building managers, has introduced its platform to Texas at downtown's 5 Houston Center as it expands in the U.S.
The full-service concierge platform, available as an app, connects building tenants with a variety of services, events and experiences. The app enables tenants at 1401 McKinney to order coffee, submit facility requests, communicate with other tenants and get information about community events. More than 500 building occupants have registered for the Equiem app since its October launch.
The amenity is among several initiatives by building owner Spear Street Capital to improve the tenant experience at the 27-story building. Tenants at the 580,000square-foot property, including EY, Jackson Walker and Bank of Texas, have access to a new tenant lounge and fitness center. Transwestern provides leasing and management services at 5 Houston Center.
Founded in Melbourne in 2011, Equiem provides its platform in 21 buildings in the U.S.
Transwestern names division presidents as part of reorganization
Chip Clarke has been named president of Transwestern Commercial Services’ newly formed West Region.
The appointment is part of a restructuring that consolidated operations for Transwestern Commercial Services, an arm of Houston-based commercial real estate firm Transwestern, into three regions.
Clarke, who remains based in Houston, oversees operations, client services and business development initiatives in the firm's California, Arizona, Colorado and Washington offices.
As part of the reorganization, Bruce Ford, based in Atlanta, has been named president of Transwestern Commercial Services’ East Region. His territory includes Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
The Central Region is led by Kevin Roberts, the company's market leader for Central Texas and the Gulf Coast; Paul Wittorf, market leader in North Texas; and Mike Watts, market leader for the Midwest.
Transwestern Commercial Services has 34 offices in the U.S. and assists clients through alliances with Francebased BNP Paribas Real Estate and Canadabased Devencore.
HistoryMaker adds to offerings in Houston area
HistoryMaker Homes plans to add four more communities to its Houston area portfolio the first half of 2019, including its first ground-up development. Prices in the new communities will start in the low- to mid$200,000s.
The additions will boost the North Texasbased builder's footprint to 10 communities in the Houston region. The 70-year-old company builds nearly 900 homes a year in 19 north Texas communities and the Houston market.
HistoryMaker will start building in two Land Tejas communities in April: Vanbrook in Fulshear, and Sierra Vista along Texas 288 in Iowa Colony. The company already builds in Balmoral in the Humble area.