Orion Group Leases HQ at Midway’s $2.5B Houston Development

Midway scored another headquarters lease at its $2.5 billion East River mixed-use development in central Houston.

Construction engineering firm Orion Group Holdings has leased 63,500 square feet across two buildings along the Buffalo Bayou River, in East River’s 26-acre first phase, at 100 Jensen Drive, the Houston Business Journal reported.

Orion’s lease fills up the last full office floors in East River, upping the occupancy rate of the first phase’s office portion to 95 percent.

CBRE brokers Collin Grimes and Bill Boyer represented Orion in lease negotiations, while Amanda Nebel of Orlando-based Parkway represented Midway.

Orion Group will move into its new space next year, consolidating its three Houston offices. It will move out of its headquarters, at 12000 Aerospace Drive, near the Ellington Airport in Southeast Houston.

Its East River headquarters will comprise flex workspace and advanced technology infrastructure, while offering ready access to the development’s retail, dining and recreational amenities.

Several other companies have planted a flag in East River, a 150-acre development that will also have retail, apartments and green space.

Port Houston is moving its headquarters into a 96,000-square-foot building that Midway is constructing on a build-to-suit basis. Port Houston is expected to relocate by summer 2025.

Other companies to establish headquarters at the site include laboratory equipment supplier Anton Paar USA, fleet shipping company Suderman & Young and OJB Landscape Architecture.

Houston’s office vacancy rose to 25 percent in the first quarter, according to Partners Real Estate, shedding light on the ongoing impact of the remote-work era. However, new or renovated office properties, such as East River, are performing relatively well as they offer companies a better chance to lure employees back to the office.

—Quinn Donoghue