HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Air Liquide today announced plans to move its American corporate headquarters from the Houston Galleria area to the Air Liquide Center in Memorial City in Houston, scheduled to break ground this month. Houston is zone headquarters for Air Liquide’s U.S. and American operations and one of three global hubs for Air Liquide Group.
The move will provide Air Liquide with expanded space and a world-class work environment to accommodate the company’s growing workforce and robust business plans.
The Air Liquide Center will consist of a 20-story, 452,000-square-foot tower and an adjacent 145,000-square-foot building, located at 9811 and 9807 Katy Freeway. Both Class A office buildings are LEED Silver pre-certified and will connect to a network of skywalks providing access to Memorial City Mall and other neighboring amenities within Memorial City.
Air Liquide’s administrative and industrial operations will initially occupy the upper six floors of the 20-story tower in addition to the first floor lobby and office space, totaling 155,000 square feet, with options to expand floor space. Its Engineering & Construction operations will occupy two floors of the second building, totaling 67,000 square feet. Morris Architects is the architect of record for the Tower building. Gensler is the architect for the second building and will design Air Liquide’s interiors in both buildings.
“This move marks an exciting new chapter in Air Liquide’s history as our business continues to rapidly grow and evolve,” said Michael Graff, Chairman & CEO, American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. and Air Liquide Senior Vice President for the Americas. “We are investing in our future, ensuring the right environment, space and resources to support our talented workforce and continue to enable the highest level of innovation and service for our customers.”
“With the announcement of Air Liquide, four major publicly traded companies have made the decision to relocate to Memorial City in the last 24 months, filling 750,000 total square feet of office space,” said Randy Nerren, Executive Vice President at MetroNational. “We are delighted that Air Liquide has joined the growing roster of international companies that realize all that Memorial City has to offer.”
Doug Elliott and Kevin Kushner of CBRE represented Air Liquide in the transaction.
Groundbreakings for both new buildings are slated for January 2014 with completion of the entire project projected for November 2015.
ABOUT AIR LIQUIDE
World leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with close to 50,000 employees and serves more than 2 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902. Air Liquide’s ambition is to be the leader in its industry, delivering long-term performance and acting responsibly.
Air Liquide ideas create value over the long term. At the core of the company’s development are the commitment and constant inventiveness of its people.
Air Liquide anticipates the challenges of its markets, invests locally and globally and delivers high-quality solutions to its customers and patients, and the scientific community.
The company relies on competitiveness in its operations, targeted investments in growing markets and innovation to deliver profitable growth over the long-term.
Air Liquide’s revenues amounted to € 15.3 billion in 2012, and its solutions that protect life and the environment represented around 40% of sales. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange (compartment A) and is a member of the CAC 40 and Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 indexes.
ABOUT MEMORIAL CITY
The city-within-a-city, Memorial City is a premier mixed-use development owned and managed by MetroNational. Located in west Houston, Memorial City runs along the Interstate 10 corridor, just inside Beltway 8, and contains 7.6 million square-feet of developed real estate across 265 acres. Memorial City is a unique blend of Class A office space; retail, including the 1.7 million square foot Memorial City Mall; garden and high-rise residential living; upscale hotel accommodations including The Westin Memorial City; and the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, the second largest medical campus in the Houston metropolitan area.
ABOUT METRONATIONAL
MetroNational is a privately-held real estate investment, development, and management company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Each MetroNational property – spanning office, retail, healthcare, restaurant and hospitality, and land development - fully integrates MetroNational’s best-of-class services, providing the highest quality and enduring value. The company, which was founded in 1959, owns and manages more than 8.5 million square feet of commercial real estate properties primarily located in greater Houston. MetroNational’s largest development is Memorial City located in west Houston.
