Spec Space Comprises Much of DFW Office Boom
The construction boom is nowhere more apparent than the Harwood District near Uptown, with more than 3 million square feet of class-A office, residential and retail space within a campus/park-like setting.
DALLAS—Increased population growth of the 20-to-34-year-old worker and strong net migration lure companies and drive expansions in Dallas/Fort Worth. The region continues to lead the nation’s major metros in absolute job growth, a large chunk of which includes traditional office-using positions, according to a report by Marcus & Millichap.
This strong pace of hiring has underpinned tenant demand for quality space and construction has picked up considerably in response. Nearly 23 million square feet of space was completed during the past three years and an additional 7 million is expected to be placed into service throughout 2018, says the report.
This boom is nowhere more apparent than the Harwood District near Uptown. Harwood District has more than 3 million square feet of class-A office, residential and retail space within a campus that has gardens, a museum and art-filled lobbies, GlobeSt.com learns. In the immediate area, development firm Harwood International is developing Bleu Ciel, a 33-story luxury condominium tower; the Rolex Building, a new restaurant, a hotel and Harwood No. 10.
Harwood recently announced a lease with CyrusOne, which is moving its world headquarters to 49,809 rentable square feet on levels 20 through 22 at Harwood No. 10 located at 2850 N. Harwood St. The CyrusOne REIT is part of the list of tenants in the Harwood District including Boston Consulting Group, Frost Bank, HollyFrontier, Northern Trust, Rolex, Polsinelli and Viant Technology.
“Harwood No. 10 is our latest boutique office tower that will connect to Harwood No. 4 via La Rue Perdue, a cobblestone European alleyway consisting of six to seven restaurant and retail spaces,” Jessica Young Reid, director of marketing, Harwood International, tells GlobeSt.com. “This approach to connecting our tenants will serve as a communal space for all to enjoy and network.”
CyrusOne specializes in enterprise-class carrier-neutral data center properties. Its 43 data center facilities protect and ensure the continued operation of IT infrastructure for approximately 1,000 worldwide customers, including more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies. CyrusOne says upon completion, its headquarters will embody the highest properties of technology in the workplace.
Hannah Waidmann and Kelly Whaley of Harwood International negotiated the lease with David Wetherington and Chelsea Story of Colliers International.
“As the traditional tenant/landlord relationship becomes obsolete, Harwood International has positioned itself ahead of the curve by taking a lifestyle approach to ownership through our vertically integrated platform: the Harwood District,” said Whaley. “Similarly, one of CyrusOne’s many competitive advantages is its company culture. Furthermore, the Harwood District’s live-work-explore environment proved to be the optimal workplace solution.”
This announcement comes on the heels of Harwood celebrating the topping out of Harwood No. 10. Designed by Dallas-based HDF, the tower is scheduled to open this winter and will be the 10th phase out of 18 phases planned by Harwood International.
The 22-story class-A office tower features 220,548 rentable square feet of office and the alleyway consisting of more than 14,000 rentable square feet of retail and restaurant spaces with adjacent gardens and outdoor seating. Gardens are continued on the 10th, 16th and 17th levels featuring floor-to-ceiling glass. The building is topped off with 10,411 square feet of boutique office penthouse space and two private green roof gardens with city views.
Uptown is a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood with a diverse assortment of residential, office, retail and hotel buildings. Situated across the Woodall Rodgers Freeway from downtown, Uptown attracts those who want to live in a mixed-use urban environment with easy access to employment opportunities and cultural attractions in adjacent neighborhoods, according to ULI.
While much of the completions during the past few years were focused on fulfilling needs for corporate expansions and relocations, a significant portion of this year’s deliveries includes speculative spaces such as Harwood. An additional 8.9 million square feet of office space is underway throughout the metro, with completion dates scheduled through 2019, according to Marcus & Millichap’s report.