Universal Weather & Aviation Inc., based in south Houston, has bought the 158,000-square-foot Gemini Plaza at 1150 Gemini Ave., a stone’s throw from the Johnson Space Center. The space was put up for sale in April, after the former owner and occupant, United Space Alliance, moved out, said Dan Boyles Jr., the NAI Houston principal who brokered the deal. Boyles said the Gemini Plaza space is a perfect example of how a commercial space returned to the market can help diversify a region’s economy. “This was a 158,000-square-foot building that went vacant in a market that’s not seen a tremendous amount of demand with respect to (cutbacks at) NASA and associated contractors,” Boyles said.

1. 6A www.houstonbusinessjournal.com Week of August 17-23, 2012
Universal Weather moving HQ, 700 employees to Clear Lake
BY DEON DAUGHERTY en that will accommodate its foray into “This creates 700 jobs from outside
HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL the catering business. the area and will continue to stimulate
The move itself is still months in the an already good economy here,” he said.
The Clear Lake region, still hurting af- making. “It was a building occupied by United
ter cutbacks to the National Aeronautics “We’re a logistics company, and we’re Space Alliance that was empty due to HQ: Houston
and Space Administration program, is open 24/7, so it’s a little complicated layoffs and now, it’s full.” ■ REVENUE: FY 2011, $973 million
set to receive some 700 new jobs when a how we lay out the move,” he said. “The TOP EXEC: Ralph Vasami, CEO
flight planning services company moves main concern is not to disrupt opera- EMPLOYEES: 700
into the area later this year. tions.” DEON DAUGHERTY covers energy and law for the
FOUNDED: 1959
Universal Weather & Aviation Inc., Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Houston Business Journal. Reach her at deondaugherty@
based in south Houston, has bought the Area Houston Economic Partnership, bizjournals.com, 713-395-9627 or twitter.com/ INDUSTRY: air travel logistics
158,000-square-foot Gemini Plaza at said the presence of Universal marks an HBJDaugherty. Follow her award-winning “Drilling OWNERSHIP: Private
1150 Gemini Ave., a stone’s throw from important investment toward diversify- Down” blog throughout the week at houstonbusiness- WEB: universalweather.com
the Johnson Space Center. ing the businesses in the region. journal.com.
The space was put up for sale in April,
after the former owner and occupant,
United Space Alliance,
moved out, said Dan Special Advertorial
Boyles Jr., the NAI Hous-
ton principal who bro-
kered the deal.
Boyles said the Gemini
BUILDING YOUR TEAM:
Plaza space is a perfect
example of how a com-
mercial space returned
Using Benefits to Attract and Keep the Best
to the market can help Boyles
diversify a region’s econ- You’ve launched your business, lined up some both tax deductible and significantly less expensive than an
omy. customers and are now ready to start building your staff. increase in pay.
“This was a 158,000-square-foot build- Before you start interviewing, however, you may want to At the executive level, special benefits packages
ing that went vacant in a market that’s think about employee benefits. The benefits package you can be an important way to attract key employees and keep
not seen a tremendous amount of de-
offer can make a big difference in both who you attract and them on board. Aimed at the highly-compensated employ-
mand with respect to (cutbacks at) NASA
and associated contractors,” Boyles said. whether you’ll be able to hold on to them in the future. ee, these plans can often involve some kind of executive bo-
“It’s a non-NASA-related contractor “Creating a plan right at the beginning makes it nus or deferred compensation often funded with permanent
that’s come in and absorbed the build- easier to hire and retain the talented professionals your firm life insurance.
ing almost overnight.” needs to thrive,” says Adam Segal, “You can be really
The company is in the earliest plan- director of business marketing at creative when dealing with high-
ning stages of moving, but ultimately, Houston-based Strategic Finan- ly compensated executives,” says
more than 700 workers will occupy the cial Group LLP, a general agency When it comes to Reva Ma, a financial professional
space, officials said.
Universal is moving its global head-
of Massachusetts Mutual Life designing benefits, it is with Strategic Financial Group
Insurance Company (Mass- LLP. “You can custom build
quarters from its current 90,000-square-
foot facility at 8787 Tallyho Road, just
Mutual). “As a new company, the important to remember that a plan for each executive to
last thing you want is high em- reduce taxes and maximize
east of William P. Hobby Airport. The
ployee turnover.”
one size does not fit all. loyalty.”
privately held company
provides products and Often the first perk These top-tier plans, for
services, such as flight offered is health insurance, fol- example, commonly come with a
planning, weather brief- lowed shortly by some kind of retirement plan. As busi- vesting schedule to keep the employee tied to the company.
ings and aircraft support, nesses grow, however, a sweetened benefits package can be A deferred-compensation plan, for example, might offer key
for corporate and per- a particularly effective way of keeping people happy with personnel an additional $40,000 a year for 10 years, requir-
sonal air travel. their jobs and loyal to the company. ing those executives to stay on the job for a decade in order
Kelvin Collard, execu- At University Medical Imaging—a 20-year-old to collect the full amount.
tive vice president and company that provides MRIs, CAT scans, x-rays and ultra- But these plans can offer more than golden hand-
CFO at Universal Weath- Collard sound procedures—benefits planning gets a lot of attention cuffs. A supplemental employee retirement plan or SERP,
er, said that after adding
these days. “We look at it constantly,” says Michael Lechner, for example, can be designed to not only provide the ex-
a couple dozen employees every year
for the past several years, Universal was practice administrator, noting that the company needs the ecutive with additional retirement income, but also to pay
running out of space. right staff in order to provide quality patient care. the company a death benefit if that employee should die. In
“We are busting at the seams,” he said. Finding good workers, however, is never easy, even some cases, the plan will even allow the company to recoup
with today’s high unemployment. And once the staff is the cost of premium payments in the event of a death.
trained and in place, Lechner says, it’s important to keep When it comes to designing benefits, it is impor-
SLATED FOR AUCTION competitors from poaching the talent. “So we need to make tant to remember that one size does not fit all. “We usually
To find the right location, Collard first sure that the grass always looks greener on our sit down with owners and review their workforce
mapped out where his employees live. side,” he says. demographics,” asking what they care
It turns out, more than 80 percent live The good news: Many of the about, Segal says. “Sometimes it’s
about 12 miles away in the Clear Lake most valued perks are relatively health, sometimes it’s retirement,
area.
inexpensive for employers. and sometimes it’s tax efficient
Meanwhile, the Gemini Plaza build-
ing had been under foreclosure and was Moreover, companies are al- compensation strategies that
slated for auction. Collard said Universal lowed to create small classes drive the proposal.”
“got a good price on it,” but declined to of employees that qualify The goal is to build
reveal the sale price. for enhanced benefits. That loyalty and make employ-
Universal had been at its Tallyho facil- means a group of highly- ees feel appreciated. “The
ity since 1987. Once the move to Clear valued executives might, greatest businessmen—the
Lake is complete, the company will likely for example, get improved Warren Buffets and the
sell the south Houston property, he said. life insurance coverage or Andrew Carnegies—will tell
In addition to being closer to many an upgraded disability policy. you their workforce is their
employees’ homes, Gemini Plaza is still
Such offerings—while extremely most valued asset,” he says.
close to Hobby Airport, the site of many
Universal clients. meaningful to the employee—are
CRN201308-150590
And, the building has a cafeteria kitch-