During this energy boom companies go with campus layout

Fuel Fix:

Developers are planning a 20-story office tower for Noble Energy Inc., a project that will create a corporate campus spanning nearly 1 million square feet for the Houston-based independent energy firm.

The 456,000-square-foot building, which will have an eight-story parking garage and a “town hall” for large employee gatherings, will be developed at the southwest corner of Texas 249 and Louetta.

The building will go up next to twin 10-story buildings Noble leased last year and plans to move into in May.

With the new project, Noble joins other large energy firms that have committed to major campus developments across the Houston area.

Millions of square feet of new buildings are planned or under way for firms such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Southwestern Energy and Phillips 66. The new projects are largely concentrated in and around The Woodlands and west Houston.

Read more: Energy center corridor grows in west Houston

Trammell Crow Co., which is developing the Noble project with Principal Real Estate Investors, plans to break ground in late summer.

The developers are seeking a LEED Silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. Under the group’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, buildings earn various designations for energy efficiency. Kirksey Architects is designing the building.

The future Noble headquarters will comprise 954,000 square feet of space in two main structures connected by an elevated skybridge that will be known as Noble Energy Center One and Two. Construction is expected to be complete in mid-2015.

The first structure, two 10-story buildings connected by a glass atrium, was purchased by Trammell Crow in May 2011. Noble signed a lease for the 498,000 square feet of space about eight months later. The property is located at 20555 Texas 249, next to The Vintage, a multiuse development with homes, offices, shops and medical facilities in the northwest part of town.

Noble had the first right to occupy a future building on land the developer acquired as part of its building purchase. The property was purchased from Hewlett Packard Corp.

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During previous building booms associated with energy growth, there were a lot of high rise buildings built in Downtown Houston.  The campus settings are in suburban areas with a lot of nearby housing making for a shorter commute and less congestion on the Houston freeways.  The Woodlands has been especially successful at attracting business campuses to go with its secluded housing development around man made lakes and championship golf courses.