Capital Commercial Investments Buys Energy Corridor Office

Capital Commercial Investments now has a matching set.

The Austin-based firm picked up Energy Crossing I in West Houston after purchasing its companion building Energy Crossing II in November, according to a release from JLL, which represented the seller.

According to deed records, the seller was Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate.

The three-story, 240,000-square foot Energy Crossing I, at 15021 Katy Freeway, was built in 2010. Energy Crossing II, an eight-story, 327,000-square-foot 15011 Katy Freeway, was built in 2014. At the time of the trade, it was about 30 percent occupied. The seller of Energy Crossing II was also Invesco Real Estate.

Energy Crossing I’s most recent appraisal valued the building at $17.25 million, while its counterpart logged an appraisal of $23.5 million.

The office park sits on more than 5 acres and features an on-site fitness center.

Both properties are located in the middle of Houston’s popular Energy Corridor. The submarket has recently attracted tenants like DNV USA, which signed a deal for 63,000 square feet at the Offices at Greenhouse, another Capital Commercial Investments-owned property.

As a result, its vacancy rate was 21.5 percent at the end of the first quarter, according to a report from Partners Real Estate.

Doug Agarwal’s Capital Commercial Investments has recently been focused on reviving suburban office properties in Dallas and Houston. In addition to Energy Crossing I and II, the firm purchased the Offices at Greenhouse, at 19219 Katy Freeway, last summer, the Houston Business Journal reported.

When it purchased Energy Crossing II, Capital Commercial Investments said it intended to capitalize on the flight to quality trend gripping the office market.

At the end of the second quarter, vacancy at properties built in the last 15 years averaged 14.9 percent, compared to 27.5 percent in properties constructed before 2009. The numbers reflect tenants’ effort to lure employees back to the office with space in new buildings.