Howard Hughes Scores Four Office Leases at Woodlands Towers

The Woodlands Towers at the Waterway are a bright spot among a backdrop of office distress in Houston.

The building at 9950 Woodloch Forest Tower, owned by the Howard Hughes Corp., is now 83 percent occupied after four companies signed leases comprising 133,948 square feet across five floors in the past few months, the Houston Business Journal reported.

The largest signing came from Kodiak Gas Services, which leased two floors totalling 53,000 square feet. Kraton, US Oncology and Western Midstream Partners leased full floors, about 27,000 square feet each. For Kodiak and Kraton, the Woodlands Towers will be their new headquarters. Western Midstream already occupied about 106,000 square feet before expanding its footprint.

Avison Young brokers represented Kodiak in the deal. Newmark represented Kraton. Fischer represented US Oncology, and Cushman & Wakefield represented Western Midstream Partners.

Colliers agents Robert Parsley, Norman Munoz and Jillian Fredericks negotiated the leases on behalf of Howard Hughes, whose Houston president is Jim Carman.

Hughes acquired the 31-story tower in 2019, and it was fully vacant at the time of purchase. The firm turned it into a multi-tenant building, as it was originally built for Anadarko Petroleum’s headquarters. Anadarko was acquired by Occidental in 2019, which fully occupies the other tower in the two-building complex, at 1201 Lake Robbins Drive. Together, the Woodlands Towers are 93 percent leased, the outlet said.

The recent leasing activity at the site is the latest example of companies favoring newly built or renovated office buildings. With the pandemic triggering the remote work movement, Class A buildings with top-tier amenities have offered the best chance of bringing employees back to the office.

—Quinn Donoghue