Dan Bellow, president of Jones Lang LaSalle's Houston office, tells GlobeSt.com that the company had been in its digs at KBR Tower at 601 Jefferson St. and nearby 500 Jefferson St. for 20 years. Changes were afoot however, as KBR unveiled plans in 2008 to build a 910,000-square-foot campus on 123 acres on Interstate 10 and Grand Parkway near Katy, TX.
Bellow, who teamed with JLL colleague Mike Boehler in the lease deal, says the west side campus won't happen. While analyzing its prospects on the west side, he explains, KBR was also analyzing the prospect of a long-term commitment in the CBD.
"They wanted to remain downtown," he explains. "It's more centrally located to their workforce. The west Houston campus was all ready to go, financed and with construction ready, but by choice, they stayed downtown."
To accommodate KBR, Brookfield Properties negotiated a deal for an expansion totaling 234,000 square feet. This is in addition to the 700,000 square feet of space the company has at KBR Tower and the close to 300,000 square feet it has at 500 Jefferson St.
Bellow says the space KBR is expanding into is vacant, and some buildouts and TIs came with the lease. Interior buildout is now taking place. KBR Tower's occupancy is just north of 80%, while 500 Jefferson St. has 95% occupancy.
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