Modern office design fosters employee collaboration, creates competitive advantage
HOUSTON – February 11, 2016 – CBRE announces a 25,000 square-foot office relocation lease for Hughes Watters Askanase, L.L.P. (HWA). HWA, a full-service commercial law firm, has moved from Three Allen Center (333 Clay Street) to Total Plaza (1201 Louisiana Street) in downtown Houston.
Kevin Kushner and Lucian Bukowski, both with CBRE’s Houston office, represented the law firm in the lease transaction. Clint Bawcom, Jon Dutton and Margaret Sigur represented landlord, Brookfield Office Properties.
“CBRE did an excellent job executing every aspect of our firm’s move - from assessing our specific office needs, site selection and financial analysis of prospective leases. They added huge value with their knowledge of the Houston office market and their familiarity with the building owners and property management companies,” HWA Partner Gary Gunn said. “Our new space gives us a competitive advantage that will positively affect all areas of our business including client service and recruitment of high-level prospects.”
“We knew the firm wanted to keep its relocation process minimally disruptive to its employees, so we sought out locations that were in close proximity to their current offices that also provided good economics, an efficient floor plan and access to transportation and parking,” Mr. Bukowski said. “I was really impressed with how quickly the HWA partners made the decision to concede their larger offices to achieve better efficiency and a layout that better served their employee’s needs.”
Although the new space is smaller than their previous space, HWA will be able to accommodate more lawyers and staff than it did in its old space by taking advantage of a modern layout designed by Kirksey Architecture. Moderate changes, such as shrinking the size of individual offices, providing more access to natural light, creating spaces that encourage collaboration and interaction and reducing storage and library space will give HWA the ability to grow into their space as needed.
“HWA’s partners were focused on ensuring that everyone in the office would benefit from the new space. The result is a modern, bright, efficient space that everyone with the firm and the firm’s clients will enjoy,” Mr. Kushner said. “Law firms operate so much differently than they did ten (and in many cases even five) years ago. With this new lease, HWA will use the space to recruit talented lawyers and staff and continue its long history as a top mid-size law firm in Houston.”
CBRE also provided project management services, led by Erin Schultz and Ashley Ramos, which included vendor selection; budget management and timeline oversight to ensure the space was delivered on time and on budget.
Total Plaza is a Class-A, 843,533 square foot office building located in the heart of downtown Houston. The 35-story property provides direct access to Allen Center, the Hyatt Regency Hotel as well as many dining and retail establishments. Total Plaza is also home to the Petroleum Club of Houston.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2015 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
