Duke's Westland I Lands Two More Tenants

HOUSTON-Two tenants have signed deals for a combined 98,000 sf of the just-completed Westland I. The deals push occupancy to 70% for the 263,000-sf office/warehouse.

Simplex Grinnell LP and Recall Total Information Management have signed 10- and 11-year leases. Respectively, for the spec project at 8323 N. Eldridge Pkwy., the first building for the 51-acre Westland Business Park. The quoted rate is $4.56 per sf. David Hudson, vice president of Duke Realty Corp.’s Houston office, tells GlobeSt.com that both deals were sealed for close to the ask. Simplex Grinnell will take 51,000 sf while Recall Total Information Management will occupy 47,000 sf.

The just-completed deals took place just four months after Bray International Inc. took down 84,420 sf in the building. Hudson says Westland I is filling up well ahead of schedule. “We estimated that the lease-up period would be 10 months,” Hudson tells GlobeSt.com. “We’re six to eight months ahead of schedule in terms of leasing.”

The success of Westland I doesn’t necessarily mean that construction on Westland II is imminent, however. “The market’s slowed a bit in the past couple of months,” Hudson acknowledges. “If it ticks back up and stays strong this year and we have some evidence that absorption is set to continue then we’ll move onto the next phase.”

Simplex Grinnell, headquartered in Boca Rotan, FL will relocate its Houston operations from 7604 Kempwood Dr., about nine miles southeast of Westland I. Employees will move in during late spring or early summer.

Recall Total Information Management has a location at 10001 Fannin St., just southwest of the CBD. The Westland I lease will help the company expand its storage space. It too is planning to move in during the second quarter.

CB Richard Ellis vice president Faron Wiley, associate Joseph Smith and executive vice president Mike Scimo, all in Houston, represented Simplex Grinnell. Wiley, Smith and Jim Bob Taylor, a CBRE vice president, represented Recall Total Information Management. Duke’s in-house broker Cory Driskill negotiated its side of the deal.