Midtown Office Center is No Longer 10% Occupied

DALLAS—Midtown Office Center is a 169,808-square-foot two-building campus located at 5710 and 5728 LBJ Fwy., directly across from the new Dallas Midtown project. Dallas-based private equity real investment firm, MoxieBridge, recently acquired the campus.

This property presented MoxieBridge with the opportunity to acquire an off-market office property with value-add potential. The planned improvements to Midtown Office Center will create a finished product at a cost-effective rental rate for tenants.

“With the acquisition of this project, we’re looking to create an ‘Old Parkland’ feel on a lower budget by focusing on bringing in tenants from similar industries,” said Brock Robertson, co-founder of MoxieBridge.

Planned improvements include upgraded showers in the fitness facility, on-site wine lockers, an executive conference room, a semi full-service lounge/bar area and improved on-site operations. Tenants will also have the option to invest in the property if desired.

“If the key principals of a company want additional long-term cash flow, we’re offering them the chance to invest in the Midtown Office Center and own a portion of the buildings,” Robertson tells GlobeSt.com. “Typically, companies leasing office space are going to have a landlord/tenant relationship with the owner, but we offer our tenants the option to have more of a partnership with us.”

Earlier this year, Midtown Office Center was less than 10% occupied, but since purchasing the property two months ago, MoxieBridge has secured nearly 50,000 square feet of pre-leasing activity. The company also anticipates leasing activity to increase once renovations begin. Paladin Partners serves as the property management and leasing team at the office center.

Midtown Office Center is near the Dallas North Tollway and LBJ Expressway which will provide tenants with access to the greater DFW region. The property is also close to the Galleria Mall, the new Dallas Midtown project, multiple hotels that cater to business travelers and several large established neighborhoods including Preston Hollow, Northwood/Greenwood Hills, Midway Hollow and the Park Cities.

“With the acquisition of Midtown Office Center, MoxieBridge owns more than 700,000 square feet of office space in North Texas,” said KC Kronbach, co-founder of MoxieBridge. “We are actively looking for value-add office opportunities in strong markets like the Midtown area throughout the North Texas and Houston regions.”

This deal marks the third office acquisition (and fifth and sixth office building) for the company, which launched in 2018. MoxieBridge acquired Central 500 and City View Corporate Center, both located in Plano, last year. Paladin Partners also serves as the property management and leasing team for both Plano properties. Additionally, MoxieBridge has a number of industrial and residential value-add properties throughout North Texas and Houston.

The market absorbed 744,109 square feet in the second quarter, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of positive absorption and bringing total absorption for the year to 1.5 million square feet, according to a report by CBRE.

Vacancy remained flat during the quarter despite the positive absorption due to 711,220 square feet of competitive inventory introduced to the DFW market and the sheer amount of existing office stock in the metroplex. Currently, 20 leased projects totaling 4.3 million square feet are in the construction pipeline with a pre-leased rate of 46%, says CBRE.

DFW maintained robust job growth by adding 119,000 non-farm jobs since April 2018, a 3.3% annualized gain, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.