Nokia Inks One of the Year's Largest Leases

DALLAS—In an effort to consolidate DFW operations and relocate its North American headquarters, Nokia signed a lease for 350,000 square feet in The Sound at Cypress Waters, according to the city and Billingsley Company, developer of Cypress Waters. Nokia will occupy two buildings in the new lakefront mixed-use neighborhood with office, apartments, retail and restaurants located on the water’s edge of the 362-acre North Lake.

Specifically, the company will occupy 100,000 square feet at 3100 Olympus Blvd., a multi-tenant building that is already home to Delta Companies and TAMKO, and 250,000 square feet at the second building located at 3201 Olympus Blvd.

Nokia’s target date for completion of the consolidation is early third quarter 2019. The Nokia lease is one of the largest DFW office leases this year.

“This move will consolidate our Irving and Plano operations into a single location, bringing our family of over 2,300 employees into one master-planned community,” said Dave Senior, head of workplace resources for the Americas, Nokia.

The Offices of Cypress Waters is a mixed-use suburban corporate campus in one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. With two nearby substations, significant sources of water and several fiber providers, the property has a good deal of business infrastructure already in place. The campus will have environmentally sound buildings, natural landscaping, pedestrian trails and streets, and lakeside restaurants.

“Nokia’s North American headquarters is a huge win for Cypress Waters,” said Lucy Billingsley, partner, Billingsley Company. “The opening of the Olympus Blvd. extension connecting I-635 to Belt Line Road will become a major thoroughfare for the citizens of Coppell and Irving. It will be a game changer for everyone in the area. In 2022, our DART station on the Cotton Belt Line will open, furthering our incredible accessibility.”

In the process, Nokia is bringing more than 2,300 jobs to this location.

“Dallas continues to be a global destination for corporate and North American headquarters due to its unparalleled access to transportation, a talented workforce, cutting-edge technology infrastructure and its business-friendly environment,” says Courtney Pogue, Dallas’ director of economic development.

In addition to the activity at Cypress Waters, Billingsley is breaking ground on another 250,000-square-foot spec building this summer and a fifth 250,000-square-foot building on Olympus Boulevard in January 2019. Brinker International, Delta Companies and Nokia are all moving in during the second half of 2019.

“This move continues the rich history of Dallas as a city that fosters innovation and technology,” said Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings. “I’m proud of the action our city council took to help lure Nokia, a remarkable company, to Cypress Waters.”

Randy Cooper, Craig Wilson, Chad Tsitovich, Scott Goldman and Chris Wood of Cushman & Wakefield represented Nokia in its search. Marijke Lantz represented Billingsley Company.

Billingsley and Rawlings point to the assistance of district 6 city councilman, Omar Narvaez, who led the city council in helping secure the necessary incentives for Nokia. Billingsley said Narvaez shares the vision for job growth in the area and sees the economic impact companies such as Nokia have.

“This Fortune Global 500 company will drive economic development and new jobs to the city of Dallas,” adds Narvaez.

At completion, Cypress Waters’ 1,000 acres will become a high-density community of up to 8.5 million square feet of office space, 450,000 square feet of retail space, more than 10,000 residences and three schools. Located in the Coppell Independent School District, Cypress Waters will join Legacy and Las Colinas as the other large suburban developments in the southwest.

“Year-to-date leasing activity in the Las Colinas submarket stands at 416,096 square feet. This represents about 13% of all office leasing activity in North Texas,” Eleanor Skinner, research analyst with Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com. “The Freeport segment of the Las Colinas submarket, which includes Cypress Waters, accounts for nearly half of all leasing activity in the submarket. With the Nokia lease added in, it accounts for more than 71% or 766,096 square feet.”