A private investor has acquired 801 Travis, a 21-story, 222,192-square-foot office tower in Houston’s central business district in a deal arranged by JLL Capital Markets. The price paid for the property was not disclosed.
JLL represented the court-appointed receiver in the sale to the private investor who was represented by Morris Chen.
The Houston Business Journal reported that the tower, completed in 1981, had an appraised value for tax purposes of $33.9 million, according to Harris Central Appraisal District records. But the Business Journal noted that a private appraisal by its special receiver valued it in April 2024 at nearly $20 million, less than its $24 million loan balance.
It was also significantly less than the $46.3 million LPC Realty Advisors I LP, an affiliate of Lincoln Property Group, paid for the asset in April 2015, when it acquired the tower on behalf of a pension fund client from Goddard Investment Group. At that time, Goddard had owned 801 Travis since September 2007, when it purchased the property from Coast Range Investments for an undisclosed price.
JLL’s Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team was led by Senior Director Rick Goings, Managing Director Marty Hogan, Senior Managing Director Tom Hall and Analysts Gianna New and Dawson Hastings.
Tower Details
Located at the corner of Travis and Rusk streets, 801 Travis was most recently renovated in 2014. Previous renovations occurred in 2011 and 2006. It was 45 percent leased to a mix of office tenants at the time of the sale. Tenants include Edox; Houston American Energy; Iskandia Energy Operating, Inc.; Frierson, Sola, Simonton & Kutac, an accounting firm; Lugenbuhl law firm; and Chaffe McCall law firm.
The building features a parking garage on floors two through 11. 801 Travis also has direct connectivity to Houston’s six-mile tunnel system, which offers retail and dining options under Houston’s CBD. The property is attached via a skybridge to the JW Marriott Downtown Houston Hotel.
Walkable amenities near the building include The Understory, Greenstreet Mall, Discovery Green, The Highlight, The Toyota Center, Minute Maid Park and The Grand Opera.
The property has direct access to the METROrail, a 7.5-mile light rail line with connections to key points in Houston. The property is also located near ramps to Interstates 45 and 10.
Recent Office Sales
Goings said in prepared remarks that Houston’s office market has been evolving over the last few years. He said recent buyers have found success by acquiring properties at reset values, giving them flexibility to make investments in amenities, tenant improvements and leasing costs that will drive higher exits.
Houston’s office investment volume year-to-date through June was $1.2 billion, ranking second among southern U.S markets and fifth nationally, according to a recent Yardi Matrix office report. Houston assets traded for $117 per square foot on average, well below the $194 national index, the report noted.
In July, JLL brokered another Houston-area deal with Beland Properties, which acquired 10001 Six Pines, a 200,000-square-foot, 8-story Class A office building in The Woodlands, a Houston suburb, from Chevron Phillips Chemical. Completed in 2002, the property was the global headquarters for the chemicals company until a recent move.
A month earlier, Transwestern Investment Group sold Reserve at Westchase, a 194,919-square-foot, Class A office property in the Westchase district, to DML Capital LLC, in a deal also brokered by JLL Capital Markets. Completed in 1999, the four-story building had undergone significant renovations in the past five years, including a new first floor tenant lounge, conference center and parking garage.
In May, Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. purchased 10101 Woodloch Forest Drive, a 202,601-square-foot office building in The Woodlands. JLL Capital Markets also arranged this transaction and represented the seller Net Lease Office Properties.A private investor has acquired 801 Travis, a 21-story, 222,192-square-foot office tower in Houston’s central business district in a deal arranged by JLL Capital Markets. The price paid for the property was not disclosed.
