Law firm will relocate to Houston Center campus currently undergoing major renovation
March 26, 2019
HOUSTON, March 26, 2019 – Brookfield Properties (NYSE: BPY; TSX: BPY.UN) today announced that Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP (Vorys) has signed a new lease at 2 Houston Center, the Class A office tower located at 909 Fannin Street in downtown Houston. Under the terms of the agreement, Vorys will lease 22,627 square feet of office space on the 27th floor of 2 Houston Center. Vorys, which has 28 employees in Houston, will relocate to 2 Houston Center in June 2019.
“A decade ago we opened our Houston office. Since that time, we’ve significantly expanded the number of people in our office and the practices that we offer in Houston. We are now more than five times our original size,” said Steve Browning, the Vorys Houston managing partner. “We’re looking forward to moving into our new office space and continuing our firm’s strategic growth in Houston.”
Vorys was represented in lease negotiations by Tim Relyea and David Guion of Cushman and Wakefield. Brookfield Properties was represented by Doug Little, David Baker, Kelli Gault, and Jack Scharnberg of Transwestern, and Clint Bawcom of Brookfield Properties.
“We are pleased to welcome Vorys to the Houston Center campus,” said Travis Overall, Executive Vice President and Head of the Texas Region for Brookfield Properties. “Vorys’ decision to relocate their firm to 2 Houston Center, in addition to the recent lease agreements from Direct Energy and Gensler, is further evidence of the enthusiasm and confidence in the capital investment we are making in the Houston Center project.”
In January 2019, Brookfield announced plans for a major redevelopment of Houston Center, including a new arrival experience along McKinney Street with a new central plaza and greenspace, monumental stair connection to landscaped terraces, two-story glass façade, and reclad skybridges to foster street-level restaurant and retail activity. Construction began in February. Brookfield’s value in placemaking can also be seen through their upcoming renovations for Two and Three Allen Center, as well as the transformation of C. Baldwin, formerly the Doubletree Hotel.
Recent additions to Houston Center’s tenant roster also include Direct Energy and Gensler.
Photos and captions available here. Courtesy of Brookfield Properties.
ABOUT BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES
Brookfield Properties is a fully-integrated, global real estate services company, providing industry-leading portfolio management and development capabilities across the real estate investment strategies of Brookfield Asset Management — a global alternative asset manager with over $350 billion in AUM.
Brookfield Properties develops and manages premier real estate with a focus on maximizing the tenant experience in addition to the investment and operational performance of the asset. We also focus on integrating leading-edge real estate technologies which enables us to be at the forefront of innovation and sustainability – benefiting not only our tenants, residents and business partners, but also the communities in which we operate.
For more information about our approach to operating and developing best-in-class real estate, please visit brookfieldproperties.com.
ABOUT VORYS
Vorys was established in 1909 and has grown to be one of the largest law firms in the U.S. with nearly 375 attorneys in seven offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine. To learn more about Vorys please visit www.vorys.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Brookfield Properties: Laura Park, Elmore Public Relations, 214-205-4856, laura@elmorepr.com
Vorys: Jen House, Vorys, 614-545-6707, jrhouse@vorys.com
Transwestern: Stefanie Lewis, Transwestern, 713-272-1266, stefanie.lewis@transwestern.com
