ICOnic News | Houston Galleria Office Submarket is Evolving
HOUSTON GALLERIA OFFICE SUBMARKET IS EVOLVING
The Galleria/Uptown Office submarket, along with many other Houston office submarkets has struggled since 2015 with year over year negative absorption. With a 30% vacancy rate as of 3Q23 and stable rental rates, this is a great opportunity for tenants to get additional square footage in a higher-class building. Other Houston office submarkets, such as the Central Business District (CBD), average rents that are 20% higher.
But even with near term uncertainty, there are many attributes of the Galleria/Uptown office market that make it attractive to businesses. Thirty percent (30%) of the jobs in Houston fall within professional, scientific, and technical services. From multinational corporations to local startups, there is a broad base of industries that enjoy the live/work/play experience that the Galleria/Uptown submarket offers. Landlords are working to increase building amenities with conference facilities, tenant lounges, upscale dining options, on-site events and electric car charging services.
This opens up many possibilities for the growing small-to-medium-sized companies to expand and continue building their business while enticing their employees to continue coming back to the office. The Landlords who commit to amenities and great work environments and strive to partner with their tenants will see mutual success.
- Kelsey Davis, Office and Industrial Advisor
PICKLEBALL TEAM BUILDING
At ICO Commercial we value teamwork, healthy competition and building culture outside of the office. One of the ways we accomplish this is our annual pickleball field trip to the Houston Badminton Center located at 10550 West Airport Boulevard in Stafford. This building carries a lot of history for ICO Commercial because our CEO, Larry Indermuehle, represented the seller for the land tract in 2014. Mike Gornek represented the Buyer who purchased the land and built the 25,000 SF facility featuring 12 courts, offering badminton, pickleball and table tennis. Since 2018, ICO Commercial has been playing pickleball and badminton at the Houston Badminton Center and plans to continue this annual tradition of competition and team building.
