New Leasing Agent Takes Over With Tenant in Hand

Colliers International put the assignment--the top four floors at 5120 Woodway-- into the hands of Coy Davidson in the Houston office. He tells GlobeSt.com that there are 60,000 sf vacant, but he recently signed a 1,551-sf pact with Phillip A. Masquelette, a Houston attorney. Moody Rambin Interests in Houston previously held the assignment. They did not return telephone calls by publication time for comment on the change by building owner, Cohen Bros. Realty Corp. of New York City, which handles leasing for floors one through six.

Masquelette moved into the office, signing a medium-term lease. Masquelette, who negotiated for himself, relocated from 3109 Edloe in the Greenway Plaza submarket.

Davidson says the Decorative Center is about 95% leased. A $4-million renovation is under way in the lobby. Also coming is a new restaurant, Cafe Extraordinaire.

Cohen acquired the center in April 2001 from a partnership of Dallas-based developer Lucy Billingsley and Crow Holdings. The owner also owns decorative centers in New York and Los Angeles.

The stand-alone center is a concept property with showroom space for high-end home furnishings and accessories. There are 22 similar design centers in markets such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Atlanta and San Francisco. In Houston, the center's location near the upscale neighborhoods of River Oaks, Tanglewilde and Memorial Drive are key to its success.