Behringer Harvard Bags $131M CBD High-Rise

HOUSTON-Behringer Harvard REIT I Inc. has acquired the 608,622-sf One City Centre from Broadway Partners LLC for $131 million. The class A building was 95.5% leased at sale time.

Broadway Partners, selling its only asset in the city, bought the 31-story building at 1021 Main St. in early 2007 for $115 million. “Given that this was our only asset in Houston, which is not a core market for us, the sale will help us to refine our portfolio while also supporting the execution of Broadway’s overall capital strategy, Scott Lawlor, CEO of the New York City-based company, says in a press release.

According to Broadway Partners, its original goal was to boost the Downtown building’s occupancy, taking it from 82.2% in early 2007 to its present level. One major deal during that time was the 181,000-sf, 10-year lease extension for lead tenant Waste Management Inc.

“We’re pleased that we were able to reach agreement on this sale in the face of a very challenging climate for large commercial real estate transactions,” Lawlor says. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP’s managing directors Robert Williamson and Jeffrey Hollinden and associate director Barbara Guffey marketed the asset for Broadway Partners. Dallas-based Behringer Harvard relied on in-house representation.