A
prominent investor, Fayez Sarofim and Company, has leased 60,800 square feet at Texas Tower in downtown Houston. The building, developed by Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge, is located at 845 Texas Avenue and boasts an impressive 80% occupancy rate just a year after completion. Other notable tenants include Morgan Stanley, DLA Piper, and Hines.

    Fayez Sarofim's firm was founded by Egyptian billionaire Fayez Sarofim in 1958 and now manages nearly $32 billion in assets. The company currently occupies space at Two Houston Center but has not confirmed whether it will retain any operations there.

    The leasing activity is a welcome boost to downtown Houston, which has struggled with high vacancy rates in recent years. Asking rents have ticked up to $31.77 per square foot, while Class A space commands slightly higher rates of $36.70 per square foot. Despite this, tenants inked deals for 2.3 million square feet in the quarter, down from last year's 2.5 million square feet.

    The city's office availability has reached 29%, with inventory increasing by 3 million square feet over the past year. However, space available for sublease declined to 5.8 million square feet, a drop of almost 500,000 square feet compared to the previous year.