Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment firm BH Properties recently announced its acquisition of the office building at 21700 Merchants Way in Katy, Texas. No transaction details were included in the announcement.
The three-story office building incorporates nearly 128,000 square feet of class A suburban Houston office space for rent. Also known as Mason Creek Office Center II, the asset was developed by the previous owner as the second phase of a two-building office development. Following successful full-building leasing activity, the developer completed Mason Creek II as a single-tenant speculative office building in 2015.
However, interest from tenants in that size range did not manifest as anticipated and the property has been vacant since its completion. While the building’s lobby, restrooms and central core are completed and furnished, BH Properties acquired the building with the individual floors in cold shell condition. According to Scott Henry — BH Properties managing director of acquisitions with the firm’s Dallas office — the buyer identified an opportunity to reintroduce the asset to the office leasing market as a multi-tenant property.
Mason Creek II features floor plates of 42,651 square feet; above-standard ceiling heights; a generous parking ratio of 6 spaces per 1,000 square feet; two passenger elevators; and a grand staircase to facilitate access throughout the building, as well as prominent signage facing Interstate 10, which is just two miles away.
The property is well-connected to the region with easy access to the I-10 via a full interchange at Mason Road. Moreover, it’s less than 10 miles from West Houston Airport and roughly 12 miles east of Houston Executive Airport — an increasingly preferred destination for travelers flying into the Houston area and home to the world’s largest arrival canopy.
“We are starting to see increasing levels of activity in the market from companies who had previously delayed decisions on their space needs as a result of the pandemic,” Henry said. “With the Katy office market continuing to outperform most of Houston’s office submarkets, we feel very good about this speculative investment. We plan to amenitize the building with a well-designed tenant lounge and conference center to help attract tenants.”
Jeff Hollinden of JLL Capital Markets represented the seller in the transaction. BH Properties has enlisted Houston-based Bob Cromwell and Kevin Nolan of Moody Rambin to oversee leasing.
