“There is a lot of potential for this property,” said Paul Marin, partner in Triten's Dallas office. “Our acquisition strategy is to purchase class-B office buildings in prime locations and give them new life, which will yield superior returns. We're repositioning Tollway Place into a class-A jewel box and Velvet Taco will bring added curb appeal, creating a walkable amenity for tenants along with landscaping, benches, green space and outdoor patio seating. We continue to pursue similar properties in the Dallas market.”

Additional plans for Tollway Place include a complete lobby renovation, a corporate lounge and conference center, as well as updates for restrooms, corridors and elevators.

“We are creating an urban environment with  thoughtfully designed landscaping for a pedestrian priority experience. The renovation will include updated interiors featuring a new lobby, corporate lounge and conference center targeted toward Millennials,” Marin tells GlobeSt.com. “The stretch of Beltline Road east of the Tollway and west of Preston Road is undergoing a transformation. In addition, the Whole Foods in the area has created a blast radius for innovative new restaurant concepts.”

Perkins+Will is the architect on the project. Ben Davis and Shannon Brown with CBRE are the leasing brokers.

Absorption remained positive at 751,573 square feet of space taken, with Far North Dallas leading the way at 475,283 square feet of positive absorption, while LBJ Freeway had the most move-outs with 232,196 square feet of negative absorption, according to a first quarter report by CBRE.

Development activity in first quarter 2019 was up slightly from last quarter, with 683,000 square feet of new office space breaking ground and a total of 4.1 million square feet in active construction.

Vacancy dipped 10 basis points since fourth quarter 2018, but has remained comparatively flat since last year. This positive outlook seems to be carrying over from 2018 so far this year, says CBRE.