HOUSTON - The Lionstone Group announced today the acquisition of 712 Main Street, a 794,186-square-foot office tower in the central business district of Houston, Texas. This acquisition marks the first time 712 Main has been offered for sale on an individual basis since its construction in 1929.
The iconic 37-story Art Deco skyscraper is rich in history and is a defining landmark of downtown Houston. Developed by Jesse H. Jones, the tower was originally constructed for Gulf Oil and the National Bank of Commerce. It was then expanded in 1948 and 1950 to bring it to its current size. Eight frescoes depicting Texas history adorn the lobby walls. The murals were executed on-site in 1929 on wet plaster with a fresco painting method similar to that used by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Rosselli in the Sistine Chapel. The building’s spacious main banking hall is a colonnaded area topped by a 50-foot-high richly carved vaulted ceiling. The Art Deco halls feature French Brèche de Salernes marble and Italian Siena travertine walls highlighted by stained glass windows.
712 Main has been designated a City of Houston landmark and a National Civil Engineering landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “It is truly a local treasure nestled beautifully in the heart of downtown Houston, and cutting edge tenants are finding it very desirable,” said Lionstone Chief Investment Officer Glenn Lowenstein. The Lionstone Group, armed with proprietary research and analytics, are adept at pinpointing investments in irreplaceable locations wanted by high-productivity firms. 712 Main is located along Main Street in downtown Houston, is adjacent to the North and East rail lines, and has two connections to Houston’s underground tunnel system of shops and restaurants.
The office tower is the Texas headquarters for JPMorgan Chase’s southwest banking operations and is currently 85 percent leased to 43 tenants. Transwestern has been retained by Lionstone to manage and lease the property.
HFF, led by Dan Miller and Trent Agnew, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Brookfield Asset Management, Inc.
“Interest in the property was strong due to the quality of the asset and the stable and predictable cash flow via JPMorgan Chase’s lease through 2030,” said HFF’s Miller.
Lionstone was formed in 2001 by partners Tom Bacon, Dan Dubrowski, and Glenn Lowenstein. The firm serves the interests of real estate capital by performing extensive market research to find unique productivity-driven investments—and thus unique value for investors—and by carefully managing investment risks.
About The Lionstone Group
Founded in 2001, The Lionstone Group is a privately owned real estate investment firm that specializes in conceptualizing and executing national investment strategies based on proprietary data interpretation and ideas. Each Lionstone real estate strategy is implemented by a dedicated team with both discretionary and non-discretionary capital, providing maximum flexibility for investing partners and the fund managers to grow value. The firm focuses on productivity-based investment across three platforms: 1) Cash Flow Investments in high-demand cities that deliver safe cash returns with low volatility; 2) Urban Investments in areas where lifestyle, rising incomes, and globally competitive businesses increase rental rates and values; and 3) US Land Investments in urban infill land that are priced attractively today and provide opportunities for value creation through rapid appreciation or re-use.
About HFF
HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 21 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. For more information please visit www.hfflp.comor follow HFF on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hff.
About Transwestern
Transwestern is a privately held real estate firm specializing in agency leasing, property and facilities management, tenant advisory, capital markets, development, research and sustainability. The fully integrated enterprise leverages competencies in office, industrial, retail, multifamily and healthcare properties to add value for investors, owners and occupiers of real estate.