We’re growing! Read all about our plans to expand our Houston office in Pennzoil Place by 40 percent with the addition of 8,800 square feet. Thank you to Houston Business Journal for a great article regarding our expansion, noting:
“Construction on the new space is expected to begin soon with a move-in date set for mid-September. When complete, the new space will have 16 new offices, a conference room, training area and two common areas, per the release. A modernized design will create an open environment to promote teamwork and collaboration across practice sections and industries. It will also have a focus on technology.“
The full article can be viewed below and by clicking here.
To keep up with its growth, Dallas-based law firm Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC is expanding its office space.
The firm has increased its office by about 40 percent by adding 8,800 square feet to its existing 21,200 square feet in Pennzoil Place, at 700 Milam St., according to a press release. It now occupies the 26th and 27th floors in the North Tower.
Construction on the new space is expected to begin soon with a move-in date set for mid-September. When complete, the new space will have 16 new offices, a conference room, training area and two common areas, per the release. A modernized design will create an open environment to promote teamwork and collaboration across practice sections and industries. It will also have a focus on technology.
Houston-based Byrd Interior Construction LP is the general contractor for the project, and Houston-based Ziegler Cooper Architects is the architect, a spokesperson said.
“Our expanded space accommodates our plans to continue growing our Houston office while providing a host of efficiencies for our clients, attorneys and staff,” Phil Appenzeller, Munsch Hardt CEO, said in the release and added that the new office will help the firm anticipate clients’ “dynamic business needs.”
Munsch Hardt opened its first Houston office in 2004 and moved into Pennzoil Place in 2014 with 32 employees, which included 17 lawyers. A few months after moving into the space, Munsch Hardt acquired Houston-based law firm Harrison Bettis McFarland LLP and its eight lawyers.
Currently, 55 employees — 33 lawyers and 22 professional staff — are currently housed in the Houston office, a spokesperson said. But that number is expected to grow.
“Our goal is that in the next three to five years that Houston will continue to expand at a rate that would equal the Dallas office in size and practice groups," Appenzeller said in an emailed statement.
The Dallas office employs 80 lawyers. The firm, which also has an office in Austin, offers a variety of practices across several industries including energy, health care and real estate.
Munsch Hardt decided to remain at the downtown tower because of its “first-rate facilities and accessible location for clients,” according to the release. In 2014, the property completed several capital improvements totaling $16 million to stay current in Houston’s downtown market. The renovations included new lighting, a new fire alarm system, an upgrade to the building automation system, revamped IT communications system, updated elevators, updated cooling and heating systems, and updated building- and garage-access systems.
Pennzoil Place was completed in 1975 by Houston-based Hines, and Chicago-based Metropolis Investment Holdings Inc. is its current owner. The property consists of two 36-story towers totaling 1.4 million rentable square feet, putting it at No. 4 on Houston Business Journal’s Largest Houston-Area Multitenant Office Buildings List.
More than 400,000 square feet is available for lease, according to the towers’ website. Transwestern’s Tyler Garrett and Eric Anderson handle the leasing for the property. Anthony Squillante and Dustin Devine with Stream Realty Partners represented Munsch Hardt in the deal, a spokesperson said.