When Gensler employees come to work at the company’s new downtown offices, they’ll be able to set up in one of at least six workspaces. If they’re feeling stressed out, they can step into a “wellness room” to decompress. Those who bike to work will be able to take an elevator straight into the office, which will have its own bicycle storage. “A lot of people ride their bikes to work and it seems like we’re getting even more, so we decided to accommodate a large number of bikes in the work area,” said Gensler’s Vince Flickinger, who was part of the team that designed the company’s new space in 2 Houston Center. The architecture firm signed a lease earlier this year for 50,000 square feet on two floors of the building at 909 Fannin, part of the larger Houston Center office complex on the eastern end of downtown. The company will relocate from Pennzoil Place once construction on the new space is complete. Click to read more at www.houstonchronicle.com.

Houston, TX —  According to Avison Young’s Third Quarter 2019 Office Market Report for Houston, the city’s market returned to positive absorption levels after experiencing losses in the previous quarter. Direct net absorption returned to a positive 327,151 square feet (SF). “The local employment growth has been an economic bright spot for Houston,” notes Rand Stephens, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s Houston office. “Larger tenants may be downsizing their space and leaning towards efficiency, but they are not downsizing their employee numbers.” According to the report, the direct vacancy rate was a repeat of the previous quarter’s 16.4%, but it is a drop from the year-over-year rate of 16.9%. Overall, the third quarter has shown relaxed leasing activity, a limited construction pipeline and a minimal dip in average asking rates. Click to read more at www.avisonyoung.com.

The Cane Island Parkway exit along Interstate 10 in Katy is tough to miss. A new Buc-ee’s, which boasts the world’s longest car wash, draws a seemingly endless flow of traffic off the freeway. Less eye-catching to the casual traveler, but much more interesting to commercial real estate professionals, is what’s next door: West Ten Business Park, Parkside Capital’s 460-acre master-planned development. Parkside recently sold the final 17.26 acres of West Ten to Insite Realty, a Houston-based commercial real estate company, and joint-venture partner Principal Real Estate Investors. “We were very excited to have the opportunity to buy this site,” says Rives Nolen, Vice President at InSite Realty Partners. Nolen went on to say, “It’s a well-established business park, and we think Parkside did an excellent job of creating an attractive corporate environment for businesses, clients, and visitors.  The park has direct access to and from Interstate 10 via the Cane Island Parkway interchange and offers an abundance of amenities, including new roads, utilities in place and attractive landscape features.  It also offers convenient access to nearby restaurants, hotels, shopping and, of course, Buc-ee’s.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Houston has long been recognized among the most competitive U.S. cities for corporate relocation and expansion activity. Houston is the top-ranked metro for Economic Growth Potential in Business Facilities’ 14th Annual Rankings Report, released July 2018. In addition, Chief Executive Magazine (for the twelfth straight year) named Texas the “2017 Best State for Business.” In addition to its diverse industries and educated/skilled workforce, a key factor underscoring Houston’s business appeal is the fact that it is one of the least expensive major U.S. cities in which to conduct business. Significant benefits include the absence of state or city income taxes, no state property tax, as well as a moderate cost of living index. As a major transportation hub with two major airports, a world-renowned port, and superior rail and road infrastructure, Houston facilitates the interconnection of global business locations. Business alliances with major U.S. and international markets are further enhanced by the presence of 90 foreign consulate offices in Houston. As of 2018, Houston still ranks third in the U.S. – following New York and Los Angeles – in foreign consulate representation. Click to read more at www2.colliers.com.

So often when REDNews covers development in the suburbs, we’re highlighting growth in as-yet-undeveloped areas. Think massive master-planned developments, such as Grand Central Park near Conroe. However, many communities are reinvesting in existing areas. A key example of that is Missouri City, where city leaders are working with the real estate community to attract redevelopment and reuse. From his early memories of Missouri City, District A, City Councilman Reginald Pearson recalls a time when the corridor of Texas Parkway and Cartwright Road was the retail core of the community. “I’ve been in the community since 1991 and I can tell you that area had a movie theater, hardware store and some major retailers, including Walmart,” says Pearson. “It was basically the mecca of Missouri City at the time.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.