In recent years, the uptown submarket has attracted a lot of new tenants. This, perhaps unsurprisingly, has led to a shortage of office space. "A lot of buildings in the submarket that were 50% leased this time last year are now 93% to 94% leased," says CBRE's executive vice president Phil Puckett.

Adding to the trend is anticipated lease roll over the near term. "About 7 million square feet of leases is expected to roll between 2013 an 2017," Puckett says. Much of that roll will include some of the larger tenants in the downtown corridor. "They might stay," he says. "Or they may be lead tenants in some of those uptown and Arts District projects."

Though new office projects have been announced, many don't have start dates, meaning uptown will continue to be tight in terms of space. This trend will likely continue, especially among current and future office buildings fronting Klyde Warren Park. March predicts that once the park is open, Dallas could see the creation of a new micromarket or submarket that would justify higher rental rates going forward. "If you want to put a name on it, you could call it the Park-Arts District submarket," he says, adding that this creates a good opportunity for owners of top-tier CBD buildings, directly to the south.

"This is a good time for those building owners to retain current tenants and attract some of the larger tenants that might otherwise migrate north of Woodall Rodgers or even Ross Avenue," March adds.