Houston-based McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) has vacated the former headquarters of Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. in The Woodlands and sold the two buildings to the Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC), which is based in Dallas.
McDermott acquired CB&I in a $6 billion merger in May, leaving it with ownership of the latter company’s two headquarters buildings in The Woodlands. At that time, McDermott CEO David d---son said the energy engineering and construction company hadn’t yet decided what to do with The Woodlands buildings. McDermott does not own its other Houston office space.
A spokesperson confirmed Sept. 5 that McDermott agreed to sell the buildings — both located at 2103 Research Forest Drive — to Howard Hughes Corp. The deal has not yet closed, the McDermott spokesperson said.
Howard Hughes Corp. bought the four- and six-story buildings in an off-market transaction for $53 million, according to a Sept. 5 press release. The company intends to find tenants for the now-vacant 257,025 rentable square feet as soon as possible, according to the release. The buildings were completed in 2002 and 2012, according to the press release, though Montgomery County Appraisal District records list the latter completion date in 2014. Howard Hughes Corp. could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Montgomery County Appraisal District valued the two buildings and the land underneath them at a cumulative $52.7 million in 2018, according to MCAD records.
The deal also includes enough land to build a third office building there, according to the press release.
The property is subject to deed restrictions, but Howard Hughes Corp. has the ability to unilaterally alter those restrictions, according to the press release.