Hines REIT Inc. has sold the 1.4-million-sq.-ft. Williams Tower in Houston to a fund managed by Invesco Real Estate. It was acquired by Hines REIT in 2008.
The 64-story, 909-ft.-tall tower is more than 95 percent leased to tenants including: Williams Corp., NextiraOne, Hines, Rowan Cos. Inc., Ecopetrol America Inc., Quanta Services and Cadence Bancorp. It serves as Hines' corporate headquarters. Hines has managed the property for three decades and will continue to do so.
“Williams Tower is a world-class building that has been one of Hines REIT's most significant investments,” Hines REIT President and CEO Charles Hazen said in a statement. “It is also a very important property to Hines as a firm and to the city of Houston. This has been a great investment that delivered strong cash flows and a positive return to Hines REIT.”
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets group sold the property on behalf of Hines. Managing Director Michael Zietsman, Executive Managing Director Tom Melody and Dan Bellow, president of Houston brokerage led the Jones Lang LaSalle team on this effort, along with Jones Lang LaSalle leadership Mike Melody, Rudy Hubbard, and James Tramuto. Capital Markets President and CEO Jay Koster and International Director Steve Collins provided international expertise.
“Williams Tower is one of Houston’s most visible and incomparable buildings and, as such, drew intense interest from investors around the globe. Amongst the best and final offers included investors from the Middle East, Asia and Europe, with Invesco ultimately coming out on top,” Tom Melody said in a statement. “This was a truly collaborative ‘all hands on deck’ effort from the Jones Lang LaSalle team to sell this marquis property. Everyone from capital markets to tenant representation to our international capital group provided the top strengths and expertise needed to bring this sale to a close— it is expected to be one of the top trades of 2013.”
Hines REIT is a public REIT sponsored by Hines. It currently owns interests in 49 properties containing 23.4 million sq. ft. of leasable space.
Originally developed by Hines in 1983, the tower was the tallest skyscraper in the world outside of a CBD when it was built. Designed by renowned architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the tower is clad in silver gray reflective glass and anodized aluminum and accented by columns of bay windows of non-reflective glass and podium setbacks on two lower floors and four higher levels.