CHICAGO-Dallas-based Bell Helicopter, a subsidiary of Providence, RI-based Textron Inc., has hired locally based Jones Lang LaSalle on a long-term agreement to manage its eight-million-square-foot office and manufacturing portfolio. Most of the aircraft maker’s operations are in Texas, but the company also has offices in Mirabel, Quebec and across the world.
The company had a small boutique operation out of Dallas running their space, says Todd Burnette, a managing director with JLL. Now, his firm will work to increase operational efficiencies and handle transaction management, lease administration, business and economic incentives, and project and development services.
Pete Riley, an EVP with Bell, said the hiring will help the company with its global growth strategy. “(Our) global real estate asset portfolio not only accounts for a large portion of our balance sheet and operating expense, but supports our recruiting and retention goals for attracting the world’s leading talent,” he said in a statement.
Burnette says Bell already has JLL working on finding offices in India, China, Singapore and Amsterdam, to name a few locations. “We’re helping them with leases and sales, and evaluate how they are using space,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “Every company in America today is working to become more efficient and use less space. We’re going to be looking at some consolidation to help them achieve economy to scale, our incentive group will help them in that arena, and our construction guys will look at how they can finish projects and start new construction.”
He says the company has already completed a new 36,000-square-foot lease for the firm’s finance department at Airport Centre in Bedford, TX, and just arranged Tuesday a 35,000-square-foot office lease near Fort Worth, TX. The firm’s Project & Development Services group is also completing four projects totaling more than $9 million.
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