The Seattle-based shipper re-upped 41,450 sf at 14900 Hempstead Highway in northwest Houston and 20,400 sf at 5048 Timber Creek Dr. in the far southeast submarket. Airborne Express shopped around for the last six months, John Ferruzzo with NAI Partners Commercial in Houston tells GlobeSt.com. After narrowing the options in both parts of town, he says the tenant felt the best economic move was to stay put. Airborne has leased at Hempstead Highway for five years and Timber Creek for 10 years.

Short-term leases were signed as Airborne Express and DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net in Bonn, started talking merger, says Ferruzzo. He and Jason Whittington, also in NAI Partners Commercial's Houston office, represented the tenant.

Airborne occupies about half of the Hempstead Highway building distribution warehouse, owned by EastGroup Properties Inc. of Jackson, MS. Mike Annino of Houston's Insite Realty Partners brokered the deal for EastGroup. Timber Creek building owner, GSL Industrial Partners of Houston, used in-house broker, Welcome Wilson Jr., to structure its pact.