MetLife Extends $235M in Financing for 974 KSF Houston Office Building
The real estate investments department of MetLife has closed a $235 million loan secured by BG Group Place, a 973,800-square-foot office high-rise in downtown Houston, for a partnership advised by Invesco Real Estate.
By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor
The real estate investments department of MetLife Inc., New York, has closed a $235 million loan secured by BG Group Place, on a 973,800-square-foot office high-rise in downtown Houston, for a partnership advised by Invesco Real Estate, MetLife announced Thursday.
The 46-story building, at 811 Main St., is the newest Class A office tower in Houston’s CBD and is LEED Platinum certified.
The borrower was BG Holdco L.L.C., and the 10-year loan closed on July 11, a MetLife Investments spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive.
BG Holdco has been the building’s owner since around May, a spokesperson for Hines told CPE. Hines was the building’s developer and its currently its manager.
The previous owner was HC Green Development Fund Limited Partnership, a limited partnership between the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), as a limited partner, and Hines HCG Associates Limited Partnership, as general partner.
“The BG Group Place investment aligns well with our overall commercial real estate strategy and allows MetLife to grow in a key market for us,” Robert Merck, senior managing director and head of real estate investments for MetLife, said in a release.
The transaction was led by Chad McKenney and John Hall from MetLife’s Dallas regional office.
BG Group Place has 36 floors of office space, 10 floors of above-ground parking and two further levels of parking below grade. There are approximately 960,000 square feet of office space and 12,000 of retail.
Among the building’s green features are a garage rooftop garden and a skygarden on level 39, as well as 10-foot ceilings with nearly floor-to-ceiling glass to let in more natural light.
BG Group plc. became the building’s name tenant by signing a lease for 164,000 square feet in October 2010, before the building’s completion in February 2011. The company is a U.K.-based oil and gas multinational and the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to the United States.
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