(HOUSTON, TX) – Parkway, the privately owned, fully diversified real estate investment, operations, and management firm, today announced that it has acquired, in an all-cash transaction, two significant Houston assets—Post Oak Central and CityWestPlace—from its previous partners. Comprised of over three million square feet, the deal marks one of the largest real estate transactions in the United States year-to-date. The strength of the submarkets, the institutional mix of the global tenant-base, and the redevelopment potential of Post Oak Central were contributing factors in the firm’s decision to acquire the assets. Parkway will continue to operate both properties, and Parkway’s development partner, Midway, will oversee the redevelopment of Post Oak Central and the continued development of CityWestPlace.
Parkway was created in 2023, when Orlando-based Parkway Property Investments and Houston-based Midway, two nationally recognized firms with over 100 years of collective experience, partnered to form a privately owned, fully diversified real estate investment, operations, and management firm. Coupling Midway’s strength in creating uniquely transformational real estate projects, enduring investments, and asset diversification with Parkway’s investment acumen, market breadth, and capital relationships has positioned the new company for accelerated growth and investment in the Sun Belt markets and beyond. Midway continues to operate as a separate development entity under its established name and acts as Parkway’s development partner.
“Parkway’s capital market expertise, investment acumen, and national reputation are the driving forces that enabled us to execute a deal of this size and complexity, especially in this environment,” said Jayson Lipsey, Co-CEO of Parkway. “Bringing Midway’s development and placemaking capabilities to the table is transformational for these assets, and exactly what we set out to do when we created the new firm. It’s a winning combination that we believe will drive enhanced stakeholder value through market cycles.”
“Post Oak Central and CityWestPlace are both significant Houston assets that continue to perform, though Post Oak Central has been underappreciated in the market for some time,” said Brad Freels, Chairman and CEO of Midway and Co-Executive Chairman of Parkway, together with Jim Heistand. Regarding Post Oak Central, Freels said, “We see incredible potential in the iconic property. This deal activates and accelerates our plans, and we look forward to reimagining Post Oak Central for the next generation.”
Designed by Philip Johnson and constructed from 1975 to 1981, Post Oak Central is an iconic three-building, mixed-use development located on Post Oak Boulevard in the heart of Houston’s Uptown business and entertainment district. Post Oak Central remains at the forefront of the Uptown market with 1.2 million square feet of premier Class-A office space and 90,000 square feet of pedestrian-oriented retail. The manicured, 17-acre campus is located on a prime stretch of tree-lined Post Oak Boulevard, midpoint between San Felipe Street and Westheimer Road, providing easy access to the 610 Loop and U.S. 59. Tenants and guests are steps from Uptown’s myriad of dining, hotel, and shopping options, as well as the new METRORapid Silver Line, which offers further mobility by linking attractions including The Galleria and Uptown Park with park-and-ride stations.
CityWestPlace is a thriving, 39-acre campus in Houston’s Westchase District, located off the Sam Houston Tollway near the Energy Corridor. Designed by Keating Mann Jerrigan Rottet and Daniel Mann Johnson & Mendenhall, the innovative Class-A office complex was built between the 1993 and 2001 and encompasses four buildings with a total of 1,473,177 rentable square feet, as well as four structured parking garages with ground floor amenities. CityWestPlace boasts exceptional outdoor spaces that have garnered national distinction for landscaping elements spanning from extensive flower gardens and pine groves to sunken gathering areas further enhanced by tranquil water features like Japanese slit pools and a mist fountain. In addition, tenants can take advantage of onsite conference space, multiple food and beverage options, as well as unrivaled indoor and outdoor recreational offerings complete with two fitness centers, trails, a jogging track, and sports fields.
CityWestPlace was fully renovated in 2020, and in 2022, Parkway was awarded The Houston Office Leasing Brokers Association’s “Deal of the Year” for Bechtel Energy’s 15-year lease at CityWestPlace 3 and 4.
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Headquartered in Houston, Parkway has a presence in 13 markets across Texas, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, and California. With a combined 40 million square feet of assets under management¹, including developments in progress, the firm’s specialized capabilities include Investments and Acquisitions, Property Operations and Management, Financial Operations and Compliance, Strategic Leasing and Advisory (Retail and Office), Asset and Portfolio Management, Marketing and Creative, and Development, through its exclusive relationship with Midway. For more information, visit pky.com and midway.team
¹As of October 1, 2023
