Houston Office Tower Lands $164M Refi

By Timea Papp

717 Texas

JLL secured $163.5 million to refinance 717 Texas, a Class A, 696,000-square-foot office tower in downtown Houston. The property was the first high-rise office building in Texas to earn LEED Platinum certification.

Located at 717 Texas Ave., the 33-story asset was completed in 2003. The debt placement team worked on behalf of the joint venture ownership, Hines and Prime Asset Management, to secure the mortgage originated by Goldman Sachs. Executive Managing Director Tom Melody and Senior Vice President John Ream led JLL’s capital markets team.

The loan includes a facility allowing ownership to draw additional funds to lease the currently vacant space in the building. According to Yardi Matrix, the refinancing replaces a previous $160 million loan scheduled to mature in July 2017.

Energy Efficient Spaces

Designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, the property features energy efficient and environmentally friendly office space. 717 Texas has been fully leased for more than a decade, with a tenant recently vacating approximately 50 percent of the building. Situated in the city’s theater district, the asset features notable tenants including Calpine, Jones Day and Freeport-McMoRan.

“The drop in occupancy did not deter lenders from aggressively pursuing this refinancing opportunity. This is a testament to the quality of this asset and the lenders’ desire to place capital in Houston,” JLL SVP John Ream said in a prepared statement.

Image courtesy of Hines