Hines’ Texas Tower lands big-time natural gas tenant

Texas Tower is having a gas thanks to skyrocketing fossil fuel prices and a major player in that industry.

Cheniere Energy has had an ascendant year and is now moving into Hines’ brand new Texas Tower at 845 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston. The company inked a lease for a 151,490 square-foot office space with 16,700 square feet of outdoor space, the Houston Chronicle reported

When COVID thrashed the stock market, the Houston-based energy company was trading in the low $30s. Today, $LNG is worth upwards of $130, while still being deemed undervalued by Zacks Equity Research and Seeking Alpha — both of which cited skyrocketing gas prices. And the firm hasn’t been shy about throwing around that extra capital. Last week, the company approved an $8 billion expansion of its Corpus Christi plant and signaled further expansions could be in store, per Reuters reporting.

Now, Cheniere is moving into a skyscraper with all the bells and whistles. The 47-story Texas Tower was just completed at the end of 2021. With all the high-end amenities you could imagine to lure folks back to the office, the 1.2 million-square-foot building was 45 percent leased when it opened and is now 70 percent leased, Hines says. Vacancy for Class A office buildings in downtown Houston stands at 25 percent, according to real estate services firm Colliers.

Cheniere’s move is part of an ongoing flight-to-quality trend, the Houston Chronicle says. Since the pandemic, companies have been relocating en masse to newer office buildings with enhanced sustainability features and other updated building perks such as modern designs, more outdoor space, restaurants and high-tech conferencing centers.

If you’re still wondering why Hines built a massive office tower while everyone was working from home, ask its Senior Manager Director John Mooz. When Texas Tower was completed in December, Mooz said, “We firmly believe if people are going to get their people back to work, we need to have something great for them to come back to.”

With Cheniere signing on as the high-rise’s newest tenant, he stands by the strategy.

“Companies are absolutely having to look at differentiated, hyper-amenitized, great locations if they’re going to bring all of their employees back,” Mooz told the Chronicle on Tuesday. “(That theme) keeps coming up. We’ve just signed five leases and all of them have said that.”

The natural gas company says it was drawn to Texas Tower due to its LEED Platinum designation, the highest level achievable in the U.S. Green Building Council’s popular sustainability ranking system.

“Our new Texas Tower headquarters reflects our company’s culture, with LEED certified efficiency, vibrant green space that inspires innovation and modern work areas where teamwork can thrive,” Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s chief executive, said in a statement.

[Houston Chronicle] — Maddy Sperling