Shaw Expands Class A Office by 106,516 SF

Eric Anderson, executive vice president with Transwestern's Houston office says the 14-year-old building at 1430 Enclave Parkway was originally a build-to-suit developed by local builder Dienna Nelson Augustine Co. for Stone & Webster. "Several years later, Stone & Webster was purchased by Shaw Group, which downsized the space," says Anderson, who represented building owner Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. of Norcross, GA with Transwestern executive vice president David Baker.

Sysco Corp. occupied the excess space for years. However, Sysco's new west Houston corporate campus is ready and the company will consolidate all of its local operations. "This provided a unique opportunity for Shaw to expand and occupy 100% of its building," Anderson says. "What this does is change the building from a multi-tenant one to a single-tenant one."

He tells GlobeSt.com that Shaw Group's current lease was set to expire in 2010, and the company did look for space elsewhere with help from Bill Bosack and Wendi Little of Shaw Group subsidiary GFM Real Estate LLC. "As the building Shaw was in was originally designed for the company it bought, it was a perfect fit," Anderson says.

Anderson wouldn't comment on what Shaw Group is paying. However, class A space in the submarket goes for close to $22 per sf net. The Shaw Group lease also includes tenant improvements.

Anderson says Shaw Group was fortunate to find the large block of space in its Enclave building, let alone in the far west Houston submarket. "There isn't a class A block of space in the Energy Corridor over 40,000 sf," he says. "The Energy Corridor is so tight, a lot of companies are constrained on their expansion space."

Statistics support Anderson's words. The Q1 2008 market report figures from Transwestern show a vacancy of 3.2% for class A space in the Energy Corridor submarket, with 337,229 sf available out of a total class A inventory of 10.5 million. Approximately 1.8 million sf is under construction.