DALLAS—WiredScore has identified Dallas Fort-Worth as the organization's next region for expansion following a successful launch in Atlanta this month. Wired Certification rates the infrastructure, connectivity and technological capacity of buildings.
Ashley McDade has joined WiredScore as head of the Dallas office to lead the expansion. McDade spent much of her career in conversations among leading office owners and their tenants about the gap in digital infrastructure and the advancement of the average building's reliance on connectivity. In this exclusive, McDade recently shared insights into the firm's entry into Dallas-Fort Worth and what is driving the expansion of other firms into the region.
GlobeSt.com: How much do you attribute the city's hopes of attracting the Amazon headquarters to more Dallas office landlords signing up for WiredScore?
McDade: The Amazon HQ2 RFP certainly isn't the only reason commercial real estate owners and developers are looking to improve connectivity in their buildings, but it has put an unprecedented focus on how the commercial real estate industry can prepare to meet the evolving digital needs of tenants like Amazon. The most successful owners are always heavily oriented toward keeping up with the requirements of potential occupants, and there's no denying that connectivity is the lifeblood of all businesses now. Owners we work with in the Dallas region like KBS and UBS are very tech-savvy and recognize the importance of being able to credibly claim the most advanced technological infrastructure in order to attract the world's top companies. Dallas is not alone in this effort. A number of finalists for Amazon HQ2, including Atlanta, Boston, DC, Los Angeles, New York City and now Dallas, are the leading US markets in terms of number of Wired-certified buildings.
GlobeSt.com: Is the added growth in Dallas the reason behind WiredScore's entry into the market?
McDade: With over 10 million square feet of office space coming on line in Dallas Fort-Worth by 2020, there's no doubt that landlords are seeing the need to ensure not only that their buildings are designed to meet today's standards for connectivity, but also that they are distinguishing themselves from the crowd. For these new buildings, it is imperative─but not always a given─that they are built to serve the future technology needs of tenants in order to avoid costly renovations and building upgrades down the line.
For existing properties in the market, achieving Wired Certification allows asset teams to proactively approach the connectivity conversation with existing and prospective tenants. We've seen existing properties leverage certification to compete with new developments, use the certification to market investments and tap into the partnership with WiredScore to help prioritize digital infrastructure investments.
GlobeSt.com: What are you seeing in Dallas in terms of tech companies relocating here?
McDade: In less than a decade, AT&T, Toyota, NTT Data and Comerica have all made headlines with major relocations and expansions. In Fort Worth, Facebook opened one of its largest data centers in the country last year and continues to expand the estimated billion-dollar campus. WeWork's new regional headquarters at Thanksgiving Tower puts them in close proximity to the growing startup community in the area.
It's an exciting time for tech and growth across all industries in North Texas, but the reality is that every company is a tech company today. All of these businesses rely on a combination of cloud computing, massive data storage, video conferencing and workspace flexibility to power those offices. Access to fast and reliable high-speed Internet is not a perk─it is critical to productivity.
GlobeSt.com: What other tech trends are prevalent in Dallas?
McDade: IoT technology has increasingly moved into our homes, pockets, communities and work spaces─with no sign of stopping. Buildings now have smart glass to optimize natural light, thermostats like Nest are reducing wasted energy costs and smart elevators are becoming so normal that people forget to make a floor selection in traditional elevators.
The West End of Dallas received smart city solutions from Dallas Innovation Alliance back in 2017, implementing smart streetlights, an interactive kiosk with information about the DART system, voting and city programing. Collectively, we're seeing a significant effort both in the public and private sectors to ensure that people and businesses alike are able to stay connected and maximize efficiencies with smart technology. In Dallas, there is a strong collective effort between the public and private sectors to push innovation forward. We're looking forward to helping the market understand the community and its capacity.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
