Work Begins at 132,000-SF Beltway Office

HOUSTON-Construction will begin today on the fourth spec office building in the 120-acre Beltway 8 Corporate Centre. The 132,000-sf building, which will be anchored by Allstate Insurance Co. in a long-term, 75,000-sf lease, is scheduled for completion during May 2007.

Though construction costs on the 4920 Westway Park Blvd. building were not available, ballpark estimates put a $12-million to $16.5-million price tag on the project. The quoted lease rate on the space is $20.50 per sf, plus utilities.

According to John Pruitt, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.’s Houston office, the office park’s developer, locally based Panattoni Development Co. LLC, believed a fourth building was necessary because the first two were 100% leased. While building three has a 50% vacancy, “there wasn’t enough space in building three for Allstate,” says Pruitt, who with CB Richard Ellis’ Dena Wren is representing Panattoni in the leasing of Beltway 8 Corporate Centre.

Pruitt tells GlobeSt.com that Allstate, which was represented by Craig Beyer, Bill Boyer, and Sanford Criner of CB Richard Ellis, wanted a LEED-certified building for its new space. “Allstate has offices on the north side, Westchase and a couple of other locations, and this is a central consolidation,” Pruitt says. As of now, the remaining space in the fourth building isn’t spoken for. However, “we’ve seen some brisk activity on it,” Pruitt comments.

Panattoni Development broke ground on Beltway 8 Corporate Centre in 2001 and the park currently contains approximately 350,000 sf of office space out of a potential 1.3 million sf. Pruitt indicates that the developer is looking toward a construction launch on building five. “Likely once building three is fully leased, they’ll start on the new one,” he adds. Kirksey Architecture is the designer and Panattoni Construction Inc. the general contractor for Beltway 8 Corporate Centre.