Benefit Company Halves HQ Footprint In West Houston Move
Empyrean Benefit Solutions Inc. is cutting its space by more than 60% and moving its headquarters within West Houston to CityWest Building 4, where it has leased about 42K SF.
The move represents a significant downsizing from the benefit administration company’s 107K SF headquarters at 3010 Briarpark Drive in Westchase, according to a news release.
Empyrean chose to move to increase the efficiency and utilization of its space and offer “differentiated experiences” for prospective clients and employees, Savills told Bisnow.
Empyrean in 2019 said it was committed to staying long-term at 3010 Briarpark Drive, where it temporarily set up shop after Hurricane Harvey impacted its previous location. At that time, it was planning “sweeping renovations” for its space there.
Five years on, “Empyrean was seeking a more invigorating workspace as the company has embraced a hybrid-forward work environment,” Savills Texas region co-President Mark O’Donnell said in the release.
“The company needed to reimagine its space and sought to remain in the West Houston area to accommodate the commuting patterns of its current workforce and future employees.”
The move is an example of the flight to capital, in which tenants relocate to properties with strong ownership, O’Donnell said in the release.
The company’s new lease spans two full floors at CityWest Building 4, located at 2103 CityWest Blvd. The building is part of a 39-acre, four-building complex formerly known as CityWestPlace. Parkway, the partnership between Orlando, Florida-based Parkway Property Investments and Houston-based Midway, acquired the complex in October.
CityWest has a total of 1.5M SF of rentable space and amenities that include conference spaces, dining options, fitness centers, trails, a jogging track and sports fields. It was renovated in 2020.
This is the second headquarters CityWest has landed this year. Offshore drilling company Noble Corp. is moving to 110K SF at 2101 CityWest Blvd. next year, leaving its longtime Sugar Land headquarters. The drilling company will spend $15M renovating its new space.
Empyrean Benefit Solutions will relocate by early 2025, according to Savills.
Savills’ O’Donnell and Jennifer Meehan oversaw Empyrean’s real estate strategy, while the company's Patrick Miller handled design and construction consulting services for Empyrean.
