Fugro leaving its longtime Sharpstown building for former Exxon campus in Energy Corridor

The Energy Corridor is gaining another headquarters.

Dutch geo data company Fugro is moving its U.S. headquarters to Republic Square, a 35-acre office campus at 13501 Katy Freeway next to Terry Hershey Park.

Bill Insull and Blake Virgilio of Lee & Associates represented the landlord, Houston EC Development LLC, a limited liability company affiliated with Dallas-based Dart Interests. Bob Cromwell and Bob Gulley with Moody Rambin and Zack Taylor with Colliers International represented Fugro. The 75,000-square-foot lease was signed on April 4, Virgilio said.

Dart Interests, formerly Third Palm Capital, has owned the campus since 2014 after Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) sold the property as it was consolidating into its new 385-acre City Place campus near Spring.

The four-story, 325,000-square-foot building finished two years of renovations in 2020. As part of the project, the building added two conference rooms and a fitness center. That’s also when the first tenants were signed since Exxon’s departure, including Samsung and Gate Energy.

The property owner developed a $1 billion master plan for the 35 acres in 2015, but those plans were scaled back significantly as the market took a hit from the oil downturn.

However, the plan again includes a mixed-use development, including office and life science space, apartments, retail and a boutique hotel. Virgilio expects another conference center and a restaurant to be developed within the next year or so.

After sitting vacant from 2014 to 2020, the Republic Square building is now 50% occupied and will go up to more than 70% with Fugro, which will take up almost the entire second floor of the double-C-shaped building, he said.

“(Fugro) liked having all their employees on the same floor, which is good for circulation and collaboration,” Virgilio said.

Fugro is moving from its current U.S. headquarters at a seven-story building it owns at 6100 Hillcroft Ave. in Sharpstown.

The company plans to make the move at the end of the year, after building out the new office space, Virgilio said.

“The Fugro team is very excited about our move to Republic Square,” Céline Gerson, Fugro’s group director of the Americas and president of Fugro USA, said in a statement. “The new location not only puts us closer to our clients, but also provides our employees with a modern and highly efficient workspace with access to green spaces and numerous amenities. We’re thrilled to create an exceptional work environment that will benefit Fugro in the Americas for the long run.”

Fugro’s new lease comes on the heels of several other major signings in the Energy Corridor.

Earlier this month, Irving, Texas-based engineering and construction company Fluor revealed plans to leave its longtime Sugar Land campus after signing a 308,186-square-foot lease in Three Eldridge at 737 N. Eldridge Parkway.

In early April, Paris-based engineering and technology company Technip Energies signed a 171,600-square-foot lease at West Memorial Place II.

In March, Modec International signed a 116,161-square-foot lease for its new headquarters at West Memorial Place I, and Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit Corp. renewed and expanded its space at Energy Center I by 106,000 square feet, bringing its total footprint in the building to 277,105 square feet.

See full article at Houston Business Journal.