Familiar Office Build-and-Poach Phenomenon Begins
Varidesk purchased the 424,000-square-foot three-story class-A former Zales headquarters with plans to rebrand the office concept for summer 2019 as Varispace Las Colinas located at 901 W. Walnut Hill Ln.
DALLAS—With low vacancy rates still ruling the day at Las Colinas, office investors and tenants continue to clamor for space there in varying degrees. The latest is Varidesk, which has purchased the former Zales headquarters with plans to rebrand the office concept for opening in summer 2019 as Varispace Las Colinas. The 424,000-square-foot three-story class-A building is located at 901 W. Walnut Hill Ln. on the southeast corner of W. John Carpenter Freeway and MacArthur Boulevard in the Las Colinas Office Center submarket.
“At Varidesk, we help businesses reimagine the office and create adaptable, active workspaces,” said Jason McCann, co-founder and CEO of Varidesk. “We see many possibilities for Varispace Las Colinas, as we explore how it could be repositioned.”
The building, built in 1983, sits on 15.22 acres. It has a four-level parking garage as well as a full fitness center, a large cafeteria and conference facilities. The floorplan configuration is highly efficient, making it easily adaptable for single or multi-tenant use.
Johnny Johnson and Chris Taylor, executive managing directors at Cushman & Wakefield, are working with Varidesk to assist with the redevelopment and perform the lease-up. Corgan is the architect and interior designer on the project to reposition the building. The design will activate the entry plaza, promote connectivity to the outdoors and modernize the space with class-A amenities to support today’s workforce.
“This purchase will let us accelerate our flexible office solutions in one of the best business locations in the country. The quality of the location and the building is outstanding,” McCann tells GlobeSt.com. “We see a tremendous amount of potential for our core business, moveable walls, standing desks, lighting and storage, as part of commercial property build-outs, and purchased the property to showcase that. With all the companies moving to the Irving/Las Colinas area, the space will be a great new option for start-ups and fast-growing companies who want a more modern, flexible office environment.”
The increase in availability is still moderate, according to a report from last year by Savills Studley. The usual suspects have the lowest vacancy rates: Far North Dallas, Uptown, Richardson and Las Colinas. Tenants seeking bigger blocks in the most sought-after submarkets such as Uptown, Frisco and Plano still face competition for space from other firms. That said, the market is starting to see some of the familiar build-and-poach phenomenon that prevailed in prior cycles. Properties such as Cypress Waters are drawing tenants from other buildings. The complex already snared CoreLogic (from Westlake and Richardson) and Brinker International consolidated from four locations. Las Colinas has captured several significant leases in recent quarters, but will lose a major corporate tenant to Cypress Waters, says the Savills Studley report.