Baker Hughes HQ building for sale in Houston

The owner of Energy Center II is looking for a buyer following a post-pandemic valuation drop. 

The 12-story office building at 575 North Dairy Ashford Road, was developed in 2009 by Trammell Crow Company and Principal Real Estate Investors. Its ownership couldn’t be determined, and the price wasn’t listed. The building spans 307,000 square feet and is home to Baker Hughes’ global headquarters, which leases nearly half of the building. 

JLL brokers Kevin McConn and Martin Hogan have the listing. 

The building has a renovated lobby, plus a fitness center, suites for nursing mothers, meditation rooms, tech-free quiet zones and a full-service cafe. 

However, improved amenities couldn’t stave off the woes of Houston’s declining office market. The property has seen a notable drop in assessed value, according to the Harris County Appraisal District. 

In 2023, it was appraised at $51 million, a 23 percent dip from 2020, when it was assessed at nearly $63 million. The building has struggled with occupancy post-pandemic, hitting a low of 30 percent occupancy in 2021 before rebounding to 80 percent the following year. It’s now 88 percent occupied, since Baker Hughes took five floors, or about 130,000 square feet, in October. 

The global energy technology company is consolidating its Houston-based workforce in the Energy Corridor building, bringing 1,300 employees to the offices. 

The Energy Corridor saw a lot of big leases in 2023, but its overall vacancy rate remains elevated, hovering around 27 percent, compared to the metro’s 26 percent, according to Avison Young’s Q4 2023 Office Report.  

Houston’s office market continues to navigate persistent challenges marked by high vacancy rates and tightening lending conditions. The average sales price of office properties in 2023 fell to its lowest rate since at least 2007, at $135 per square foot, according to JLL. 

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