Report: Chase Tower to be sold to Hines, Cerberus for $627 million

Gerald Hines was the developer of the Chase Tower in downtown Houston, which has a sculpture by Miro in front of it. Gerald Hines was the developer of the Chase Tower in downtown Houston, which has a sculpture by Miro in front of it. Photo: Steve Campbell, Staff Photographer Photo: Steve Campbell, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Report: Chase Tower to be sold to Hines, Cerberus for $627 million 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Hines is buying Houston's tallest office tower and an adjacent building in a partnership with Cerberus Capital for an estimated $627 million, according to a report from industry publication Real Estate Alert.

In a deal that will give Cerberus a 90 percent interest in the complex and Hines a 10 percent stake, the companies have agreed to buy the 75-story, 1.7 million-square-foot 600 Travis (formerly known as JPMorgan Chase Tower) and the adjacent 20-story, 407,000-square-foot Chase Center at 601 Travis, the report said, citing anonymous sources.

Hines declined to comment on the report.

The current owner is Prime Asset Management, an entity affiliated with late Lebanese billionaire and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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Hines developed both buildings. The five-sided 600 Travis office tower was designed by the late I. M. Pei and completed in 1982. A 15,000-square-foot granite-paved pedestrian plaza holds a monumental sculpture by Joan Miró entitled "Personage and Birds." The figure is the largest Miró sculpture ever commissioned, according to Hines, which operates the properties.

If the deal closes, the acquisition will be one of city's biggest in terms of dollar volume. The last local megadeal was when Brookfield Asset Management purchased Houston Center for $819 million in late 2017. The property is now being redeveloped.

Many Houstonians still call the building JPMorgan Chase Tower, but the bank relocated its offices there in 2006, and late last year, it closed its retail branch in the building.