Studley Reopens Houston Office

HOUSTON-After being closed for nearly 18 months, the Houston office of Studley has reopened with the recruitment of five leading brokers.

Steve Biegel, Mark Russell and Andrew Morris Jr. came over from Trione & Gordon/CBRE in Houston while Derrell Curry and Mark O’Donnell exited the Houston ranks of CB Richard Ellis Inc. Senior vice president titles went to Beigel, Russell, Curry and O’Donnell while Morris was accorded associate director. The quintet’s former firms had no comment on the moves.

O’Donnell tells GlobeSt.com that the Studley change in New York City earlier this year drove the move to reopen the Houston office, which closed in December 2002. More so than before, the plan calls for building a strong tenant representation practice plus handle national accounts. O’Donnell says the Houston team previously was used to service several national accounts and support the Dallas office. He says the office will be handling numerous “high-profile, complicated transactions,” mostly with a focus on office deals although the strategy does call for some industrial tenant representation.

“Houston is one of the largest and most important markets in the US,” Michael Colacino, Studley president, said in a prepared statement. “Once we found the right people, the decision to make a major commitment to the market was easy. These professionals have the experience and skill needed for the complex transactions that are the hallmark of Studley’s service.”

“Our goals for the Houston market are ambitious,” said Mitchell Steir, Studley’s chairman and CEO. “We will be providing all the services necessary to be the best tenant representative firm in the city. We expect that we will be competing for every significant tenant-side transaction in the market within the year.”

O’Donnell says the firm will likely have eight to 10 brokers within a year. The office is now 24 Greenway in the Greenway Plaza submarket, but will be shifted to the CBD when the lease expires at the end of this year.