Honeywell Lease Ends Three-Year Search for Consolidation Site

John Talhelm, senior director of the Houston office of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc., tells GlobeSt.com that the search for a single office for all of Honeywell's interests took several years because the company had very stringent requirements for its new office. "We began pursuing proposals that would address Honeywell's needs through the build-to-suit process," he says.

Talhelm says some of Honeywell's requirements included staggered move-in dates to accommodate multiple lease expirations at existing offices scattered around town. The firm also sought an area that afforded expansion space in the building and surrounding area. And finally, and perhaps most important, the location needed to be centrally positioned to most employees' residences.

"Honeywell remained focused on doing the right thing for its employees and operations, while reducing their costs and leveraging their credit," says Bob Sheehy, Honeywell's senior director and account director. "The transaction is a win for Parkway Properties as well, essentially filling their building with minimum down time and signing a great credit tenant."

The possibilities of taking all of the Raytheon building at 1250 Sam Houston Parkway started with a 30,000-sf sublease from the Washington Group, which controlled the bulk of the office building. Honeywell signed on with the intention it would be a temporary office.

As fate would have it, the Washington Group went belly-up. Building owner Parkway Properties, in turn, offered the 142,464 sf of office space to Honeywell. Talhelm says the structure and lease terms met Honeywell's criteria. A mostly vacant 18,000 sf in the structure has the needed expansion space plus more space is available in nearby buildings--just what $24-billion diversified technology and manufacturing company had ordered. And yes, it fits the bill for being centrally located for employees' commutes.