Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners buys office tower in Houston for $52 million

Lingerfelt CommonWealth Partners, a Richmond-based commercial real estate investment firm, announced the acquisition Wednesday of a 14-story office tower in Houston for $52 million.

The office tower, 1700 West Loop, located in the Galleria/Uptown submarket of Houston, is a 272,941-square-foot, Class A building. It includes an adjacent 786-space parking garage. According to Lingerfelt, the tower is about 81 percent occupied. It is anchored by the international engineering, architectural and consulting firm of Burns and McDonnell.

“Our company is excited to enter Houston at this time,” Jay Kraft, a senior vice president with Lingerfelt in Richmond, said in a statement. “We have been tracking the market and believe the basic fundamentals are strengthening. We look forward to exploring other opportunities and expanding our presence.”

Lingerfelt CommonWealth said it would operate the tower through its vertically integrated operating platform. Commonwealth Commercial Partners, the company’s property management affiliate, will handle all aspects of the day-to-day asset and property management. Avison Young will handle the leasing and marketing.