Aon owns a family of businesses including insurance brokerage, consulting and insurance underwriting subsidiaries. Peter Aberg and Michael Caffey, both of Jones Lang LaSalle in Dallas, represented Aon in the building selection and lease negotiations. Patrick Hicks, principal with Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co.'s Houston team, negotiated for building owner, Lehndorff Four Oaks Place JV.

Caffey says Aon is taking the keys to the last large chunk of office space in the 1.75 million-sf office complex. The deal, say the brokers, is a surefire spark for the submarket's economy even though the inked pact carries below-asking rates, a major selling factor. It was, says Caffey, "a value-driven real estate decision."

It's no secret in Houston that the Galleria has been soft this year. Lease rates now hover around $23 per sf for class A space, construction's zilch and vacancy stands at 15.5%.