Yetter Coleman Expands at Texas’ Tallest Tower in Houston

Houston’s tallest building is welcoming a law firm looking for room to stretch.

Yetter Coleman subleased 44,000 square feet across the 53rd and 54th floors of the JPMorgan Chase Tower at 600 Travis Street, according to a release from CBRE. The deal nearly doubles the Houston-based trial firm’s office space from its current 25,000 square feet at 811 Main Street, Bisnow reported.

The 46-story 811 Main building — also developed by Hines — didn’t have contiguous space to accommodate Yetter Coleman’s expanding headcount, CBRE said in its release. That constraint pushed the firm to look elsewhere in a downtown market where large blocks of move-in-ready, Class A space are increasingly scarce.

CBRE’s Jon Lee and Claire Douthit represented the tenant in the sublease, which was already built out for a law firm. The brokerage also negotiated a direct lease extension with the landlord, giving Yetter Coleman flexibility to grow without absorbing the higher costs typically associated with new construction or major buildouts, according to the outlet. Brad Beasley and Diana Bridger of Partners Real Estate represented the building’s ownership.

Completed in 1982, the 75-story, 1.7 million-square-foot JPMorgan Chase Tower remains the tallest completed building in Texas. According to prior reports in The Real Deal, Hines reacquired the property in 2019 with an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management and has since invested $25 million to revamp the 1980s icon.

The 2021 renovation overhauled the first-floor and second-floor lobbies, modernized the exterior plaza and improved tunnel access. A new two-floor conference center accommodates up to 150 people, while the former 60th-floor Sky Lobby was converted into a tenants-only Sky Lounge. The glass pyramid entrance — a nod to original architect I.M. Pei & Partners — anchors the aesthetic renovation, alongside new restaurant tenants and expanded outdoor seating meant to energize the streetscape.

The timing highlights a broader dynamic in Houston’s central business district, as no new office construction is expected in the near term, and top-tier inventory has stabilized after years of volatility, according to the publication.

At 1,049 feet tall — according to Hines — JPMorgan Chase Tower remains Texas’ tallest skyscraper, as Kairoi Residential and Lincoln Property’s 74-floor skyscraper development the Waterline in downtown Austin — set to open later this year — tops out at 1,025 feet.

— Eric Weilbacher