IL-Based Investors Acquire Second Houston Holding

ML Capital Ventures LLC and Avgeris & Associates have closed on a 71,736-sf office building at 5500 Northwest Central Dr. The building is the world headquarters for BJ Services, an oil servicing company that has leased the site since 1983.

Earlier this year, the group bought the 66,338-sf 5301 Hollister. And, the sales are just getting started, Michael W. Luecht, ML Capital's president, tells GlobeSt.com. Luecht left McShane Corp. to form the group in March.

Luecht says two more buys will close before the year's out. Luecht says suburban office products are favored because "my relations in Houston are more suited to suburban deals." He says the acquisitions are part of ML Capital's plan to secure more than $22 million of Houston office product in its first eight months of operation. Luecht says ML Capital Ventures also is eyeing buys in Chicago's industrial market and other Texas cities. When the calendar turns, there will be a stepped up buying spree of office and industrial properties in Houston, he says.

Luecht says he's "always been a big fan" of Houston because "the fundamentals are there to support long-term growth. We will continue to be a part of it."

Tom G. Bousquet Jr., senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis' Houston office investment team, represented the seller, BGK Properties. Bousquet says the buyer's "investment in the Houston office market, which remains active despite the slowdown in performance of other major markets, is representative of a capital profile trend in the market. Private capital has been a major influence in the office investment market in Houston." Houston's Caldwell Watson Real Estate Group will be the asset manager for ML Capital's properties.