Blue Cross Takes 132 KSF in Houston

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas has leased 132,000 square feet at the Westbelt Office Center, a 134,707-square-foot office building in Southwest Houston. The company signed an 11.5-year lease with the owner, identified by CommercialEdge as an entity affiliated with Sagard Real Estate.

Harvey | Harvey-Cleary is tasked with the buildout, expected to be completed in early 2025. New amenities will include an onsite café, employee training center and multi-purpose room.

The property debuted in 1999, with its first tenant being HCA Houston Healthcare, which signed a 100,552-square-foot lease in 2000. A year later, Sourcepoint leased the remaining 34,852 square feet.

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Located at 8101 W. Sam Houston Parkway S., between the Westwood and Sharpstown neighborhoods, Westbelt Office Center is roughly 2 miles north of Interstate 69 and 7 miles south of Interstate 10. Downtown Houston is some 17 miles northeast.

Blue Cross Blue Shield’s office endeavors

With this lease, BCBSTX expands to 17 facilities throughout Texas, employing more than 168,000 physicians and health-care practitioners. The firm’s footprint includes offices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, among others.

Health Care Service Corp. also operates Blue Cross Blue Shield in Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Last year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois leased a 103,000-square-foot facility in Chicago, destined to house nearly 300 customer service and information technology personnel. In 2020, BCBSIL brought online a 130,000-square-foot multipurpose facility in Chicago, creating roughly 330 jobs to date. There, the firm redeveloped an abandoned retail store.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico broke ground on a neighborhood center in Albuquerque this February. Completion is expected in the summer.