FORT WORTH-Spire Realty’s foray into the local office market includes the acquisition and $34 million redevelopment of a landmark complex. The Dallas-based company acquired the 1.2 million-square-foot City Place complex from The PNL Cos. and plans to give it a makeover including a new retail plaza and renovation of one of the two towers.
“We are very excited because we have bought a wonderful property in a terrific location,” says Caleb Smith, president of Spire Realty Group. “With the redevelopment, we believe we can bring a positive impact to community as a whole – much like we have tried to do in Dallas.”
Located in the heart of Fort Worth’s dynamic Central Business District, City Place spans four blocks and consists of three separate buildings: One City Place, Two City Place and City Place Center. It was originally developed as the Tandy Center and served as a mixed-use town center and the headquarters of RadioShack Corporation from its opening in 1976 until 2005. RadioShack sold the complex to The PNL Cos. in 2005.
The 19-story Two City Place was fully renovated into a class A office building in 2008. The 329,225-square-foot tower is 82% leased.
Spire plans to invest $17 million to renovate One City Place, a 19-story, 501,320-square-foot tower, according to Jon Ruff, a senior vice president with the company. It will spend another $17 million to redevelop City Place Center, the four-story, 215,050-square-foot building that connects One City Place and Two City Place towers.
Spire will demolish City Place Center and replaced it with a new structure providing a retail promenade on the ground level and additional parking above and below. The redevelopment will also include a vibrant plaza in conjunction with the street-level retail.
“There aren’t a lot of groups out there that are attracted to the idea of a stable office tower and a redevelopment project all wrapped into one,” Ruff points out. “Most groups like to do one or the other, but this opportunity was perfect for us because we’re focused on CBD markets and office buildings, and we’ve done redevelopment.”
Because of the uniqueness of the deal, Spire split the complex into three separate transactions. The company obtained a CMBS loan to acquire Two City Place and paid cash for One City Place and City Place Center, according to Ruff.
Ruff tells GlobeSt.com that Spire has already started the design process with Dallas-based WDG Architecture. Demolition on City Place Center will begin immediately.
“We plan to have the retail plaza and parking structure up and operational in less than 24 months,” Ruff says. “We are still determining if we’re going to renovate the south tower simultaneously or if we will wait until the redevelopment of the plaza is complete.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
