"We are going into 2001 with our eyes pretty wide open," Jeff Turner, Duke-Weeks Realty Corp.'s senior vice president in Dallas, told GlobeSt.com. Duke-Weeks expects to bring one million sf to two million sf out of the ground this year, focusing construction in an already thriving and high-demand area near the Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport.Turner says, like so many others, that he's "cautiously optimistic," but the strategy for now is to get the plans off the drawing board and into the ground. The first two quarters will be watched closely as the Turner team preps for more projects on a 140-acre tract bought last fall in Coppell.

Jon C. Napper, Panattoni Development Co.'s new Texas partner, says it's business as usual over there too, where upward of one million sf is being masterminded for this year. That development team also will play it close to the vest by investing time, money and effort into an already hot corridor - Interstate 20. He fully expects the region will deliver less than the 12 million sf that had come out of the ground last year. "I don't think you can't have a slowdown compared to that," he says, adding the average hovers around eight million sf.

A recession doesn't negate the basics of location, product and demand. Ask anyone in the region why this area is so popular and they'll matter-of-factly tell you: "It's in the middle of the country." It's a coast-to-coast capability that keeps the odds solidly in Dallas-Ft. Worth's favor to weather the storm better than most.