HOUSTON, TX – Financial services firm TIAA-CREF and Transwestern began construction today on BHP Billiton Tower, a 600,000-square-foot Class AA office tower within the Galleria submarket of Houston. The development will be situated on a 2.72-acre tract fronting on Post Oak Boulevard within the existing Four Oaks Place office complex. The development is 100 percent preleased to BHP Billiton, a major global diversified resources company.
The development site is adjacent to the BHP Billiton headquarters building currently located within the four-building, 1.7 million-square-foot Four Oaks Place office complex. BHP Billiton occupies all of 1360 Post Oak Boulevard, with additional space within Four Oaks. After the new tower is erected, Four Oaks Place will total approximately 2.3 million square feet.
“Transwestern is honored to be a part of the team assembled to make this project a reality,” said Carleton Riser, Transwestern’s managing director of development. “We believe it will have a long-term positive impact on BHP Billiton, the Four Oaks complex and the Uptown Houston skyline.”
The new BHP Billiton Tower and 1360 Post Oak Boulevard will be connected by a glass skybridge and employee productivity facilities including food service and fitness. The design architect is Pickard Chilton Associates of New Haven, Conn., and the architect of record is Kendall Heaton Associates of Houston. The existing four towers are certified LEED® Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council.
“The new tower, like the other buildings in Four Oaks Place, will incorporate the latest in green building practices,” said Brad Simpkins, TIAA-CREF senior director, asset management. “BHP appreciated these sustainability initiatives, the building’s downtown location and a building design focused on maximizing employee productivity and their investment.”
Additional members of the Transwestern development team include Sean Suffel, vice president, Jim Teare, vice president, and Steve Kilcrease, vice president.
ABOUT TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF is a national financial services organization with $523 billion in assets under management (as of June 30, 2013) and is the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.
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. Transwestern facilitates better decision-making for clients by combining penetrating local market intelligence and macro-market research through its affiliate, Delta Associates. Transwestern has 33 U.S. offices and assists clients through more than 180 offices in 36 countries as part of a strategic alliance with Paris-based BNP Paribas Real Estate. For more information, please visit www.transwestern.net and follow us on Twitter: @Transwestern and @TranswesternHOU.
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