PLANO, TX— As the cycle wanes, developers are becoming increasingly cautious. However, leasing for new product in Uptown, Las Colinas and Legacy remains strong and could encourage several projects to break ground spec after a lull in development, according to a first quarter report by JLL.
One of the most noteworthy Legacy projects, One Legacy West, was completed in 2017 by Gaedeke Group. The 14-story 307,824-square-foot class-A office property is located at 7950 Legacy Dr. The building is situated on the corner of Legacy Drive and Sam Rayburn Tollway, adjacent to the new Toyota headquarters and the FedEx campus.
“Dallas-Fort Worth remains one of the hottest investor markets in the US,” Mark Brandenburg, JLL managing director, tells GlobeSt.com. “For the past several years, North Texas has seen unprecedented economic growth, job gains and population increases, driving investor interest in all product types and sparking continuing development. Specifically, the Legacy area has remained at the forefront of all this growth.”
Principal Real Estate Investors recently provided $77 million in refinancing funds for One Legacy West. JLL managing directors Tim Jordan and Brandenburg secured the funds for the ownership group, Gaedeke Group.
“Office demand across North Texas remains high with our strong economic fundamentals and tremendous quality of life attracting new companies to the region and encouraging organic growth from those already here,” said Brandenburg. “One Legacy West is a terrific development for Gaedeke Group given its location within the most active submarket in the region and the property's immediate access to the strong, growing educated workforce of far North Dallas.”
With One Legacy West nearing full occupancy, Gaedeke Group recently announced the kick-off of its next project, Two Legacy West, adjacent to One Legacy West. The building will be situated on the corner of Leadership Drive and Sam Rayburn Tollway adjacent to the new Toyota headquarters and the FedEx campus.
The development will be a class-A five-star office tower with planned LEED Gold design. It will deliver approximately 300,000 square feet but could expand up to 600,000 square feet. Two Legacy West will be modeled after One Legacy West, featuring 15-foot floor-to-ceiling windows with 360 degree views.
Legacy West is without a doubt one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Several corporate heavy hitters call the submarket home including Toyota, FedEx, JPMorgan Chase and JCPenney. Legacy West is also home to an abundance of retail and restaurant tenants including Legacy Hall, Shake Shack, Mexican Sugar, True Food Kitchen and Mesero. Stir, a healthy catering from scratch kitchen is located on the ground floor of One Legacy West.
The Dallas office market is off to a strong start of 2019, with more than 1.1 million square feet of absorption in the first quarter, according to a report by JLL. This is the eighth quarter in this almost 10-year cycle with absorption activity of more than 1 million square feet.
Job growth continues to be strong, expanding at an annualized rate of 3.1% in February 2019. Professional services and financial activities led in job gains, providing fuel for demand in the office market.
Office product under development continues to decrease mostly due to the completion of large corporate campuses. Two years ago, 7.2 million square feet was under construction, while only 3.9 million square feet was underway at the end of first quarter, says JLL.
Headquartered in Dallas, Gaedeke Group's current portfolio encompasses 3 million square feet of class-A office properties in Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, DC.
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