Thor Tops Out Office Tower in Houston

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

Kirby Collection, Houston, rendering

Houston—New York-based Thor Equities has topped off the office component of the Kirby Collection, its 1-million-square-foot luxury mixed-use development in Houston’s Upper Kirby District, the developer announced last week. The project, on Kirby Drive, is close to four of Houston’s largest employment hubs including the CBD, the Galleria/Uptown District, Greenway Plaza and the Texas Medical Center.

In addition to the 13-story, 210,000-square-foot Class A office building, the MXD includes two levels of retail, restaurant and entertainment space totaling 65,000 square feet. Thor recently leased 33,830 square feet there to Pinstripes, a dining and entertainment venue featuring a variety of activities including bowling and bocce, as well as a bistro serving Italian and American cuisine.

Kirby Collection also features a 25-story, 385,000-square-foot residential tower with 199 apartments, including seven two-story townhomes, and seven two-story loft spaces with private yards. The residences will overlook a deck with more than an acre of landscaped amenities, including a pool with cabanas, fire pits and a bar area.

The penthouse level will feature a Skyview Suite available to all residents and office tenants, offering a chef’s kitchen and panoramic views of the Houston skyline.

The remaining square footage will be indoor parking for the residential, retail and office components, a Thor spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive. The whole project is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year.

E.E. Reed Construction is the general contractor for Kirby Collection. Richard Keating Architecture is the design architect, Dianna Wong Architecture + Design is the interior designer, and Houston-based Kirksey is the architect of record. Walter P. Moore is the structural engineer, and Houston-based WYLIE is the MEP engineer.

“Houston’s office market continues to struggle due to the downturn in the energy industry, leading to negative net absorption and decreased leasing activity,” according to a third-quarter report from Colliers International. The office market had 400,000 square feet of negative absorption in the third quarter, kicking the average city-wide office vacancy up to 17.1 percent.

Houston’s construction pipeline contains 2.9 million square feet of office space, of which 2.2 million is spec space and about 32.7 percent of that is preleased. (The report noted negligible preleasing at the Kirby Collection office tower.)

Image courtesy of Thor Equities