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Telecommunications Giant Verizon Wireless Consolidates Operations At the WiredZone in West Houston
Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading provider of wireless communications, is expanding its leasehold at WiredZone, a bandwidth-intensive office community at 5959 Corporate Dr. in the Westchase area.
Verizon Wireless will more than double its existing space to 193,082 square feet, from the current 93,735 square feet space. The company will occupy the entire second floor of the four-story building, as well as space on the first and lower levels under the new long-term lease.
Verizon Wireless will consolidate its Houston call center operations and regional business offices, currently residing at three separate locations, to the WiredZone facility.
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2002--Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading provider of wireless communications, is expanding its leasehold at WiredZone, a bandwidth-intensive office community at 5959 Corporate Dr. in the Westchase area.
Verizon Wireless will more than double its existing space to 193,082 square feet, from the current 93,735 square feet space. The company will occupy the entire second floor of the four-story building, as well as space on the first and lower levels under the new long-term lease.
Verizon Wireless will consolidate its Houston call center operations and regional business offices, currently residing at three separate locations, to the WiredZone facility.
- integrating our regional business office, local call centers and other support facilities, Verizon Wireless will better serve our Houston/Gulf Coast customers," said Katherine Greene, Verizon Wireless regional president. "Consolidating our facilities will further our strong focus on customer service, which is integral to our award-winning reputation and our position as the nation's largest wireless carrier."
James J. Arket, CCIM, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE:GBE), represented Verizon Wireless. "The local lease expansion by one of the nation's largest telecommunications companies further demonstrates the diversification of Houston's employment base." Arket also notes that the tenant expansion is also good news for the local office leasing market, which has been sluggish in recent months.
- of the features of the Westchase location particularly attractive to Verizon Wireless is the unique "workplace community" offered by WiredZone properties.
- have always aimed to make WiredZone buildings so much more than just simple office space," said Amy Toups, a director with Dallas-based WiredZone. "There is a real environment of business interaction between tenants who are part of a community of like-minded companies and individuals operating at the leading edge of technology."
Verizon Wireless' operations are supported by the full range of facilities provided at the 576,000-square-foot technology-intensive building.
"The infrastructure support provided by WiredZone is excellent," said Greene. "We evaluated many possible locations for our local operations and selected WiredZone based on the quality and depth of power redundancy at 5959 Corporate Dr."
"Companies like Verizon Wireless rely on the level of redundancy and security we provide," said Vance Detwiler, managing director of WiredZone. "We have measures in place to ensure uninterrupted service, no matter the circumstances -- no power failures, no water infiltration to damage sensitive equipment, no breakdown in telecommunications. Verizon Wireless can be certain that its Houston facility will be maintained for continued customer service and support."
Andrew Spence of Cushman & Wakefield represented WiredZone.
Verizon Wireless:
Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 30 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. In the greater Houston metropolitan area, Verizon Wireless employs more than 1,700.
WiredZone:
WiredZone is a network of technology centers designed to meet the unique needs of bandwidth-intensive operations. WiredZone buildings re-create the traditional workplace and form it into a net-centric community where people, machines and bandwidth are virtually connected. The real estate portfolio comprises 1.7 million square feet of WiredZone space in Dallas, Houston, Seattle, and Tulsa. WiredZone Holdings (www.WiredZone.net) is a real estate operating company capitalized by Apollo Real Estate Advisors, L.P. and Prescott Realty Group. Founded in 1993, Apollo Real Estate Advisors, L.P., manages four private equity funds investing in real estate and real estate operating companies for institutional and pension investors. Over the past seven years, these funds have been capitalized with more than $3 billion in equity. Apollo Real Estate Investment Fund IV, L.P. is capitalized with approximately $1.1 billion in equity. The WiredZone name and logo are service marks of Prescott Realty Group.
Grubb & Ellis:
Grubb & Ellis is a business advisory firm with global expertise in real estate. As one of the leading providers of multi-level solutions for businesses and corporations worldwide, Grubb & Ellis delivers strategic planning, property and asset management services, and transaction expertise in both corporate and investment real estate. With the collective resources of more than 8,000 people in over 200 offices in 29 countries, and a strategic initiative with Knight Frank, one of the leading property consulting firms in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific, Grubb & Ellis provides a single point of contact for clients addressing commercial real estate issues seamlessly. For more information, visit the company's website at www.grubb-ellis.com.
Note to Editors: Photos of 5959 Corporate Dr. are available upon request.
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