Advocacy Group Marks 21,487 SF of Class A Space for HQ

The newly formed Collaborative for Children will light the lion's share of the fourth floor at 3800 Buffalo Speedway, a 150,000-sf office building with an 85% occupancy. NAI Houston principals Jason G. Whittington and Dan F. Boyles Jr. steered the site search and negotiations for the nonprofit while building owner, Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. of Fort Worth, had the team of Warren Savery, leasing manager, and Randy Strait, vice president of leasing, bargaining its terms. The new organization combines 27 years of experience between the Initiatives for Children, which leases office space at 8580 Katy Freeway, and the Greater Houston Collaborative for Children, now occupying 4550 Post Oak Place.

Whittington says the nonprofit organizations began looking for a headquarters office about six months ago. The search focused on the Galleria, San Felipe-Voss and Greenway submarkets. But, the short list was Greenway all the way, he tells GlobeSt.com. "It's the best bang for the buck," he says, adding that the central location for staff, clients and volunteers also aided the submarket decision. The Collaborative for Children is the first point of contact for families seeking information from social service agencies about child development, early care and education.

Three construction companies are in the final face-off for the finish-out, according to Whittington. "It's already a nice base. It's just going to get nicer," he says.

Strait says the one-month-old nonprofit will become the second-largest tenant in the five-story building, which carries a quoted rate of $18 per sf to $19 per sf. As for the price that won the nod, "it's a market-level deal," he says, adding some expansion rights are tucked into the lease. The floor was emptied in recent months by a technology tenant.