Weir’s Plaza Kicks Off and Nabs Anchor Tenant

DALLAS—Weir’s Plaza, a mixed-use retail and office development in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood, broke ground at the beginning of this week. The project is being developed by Dallas-based Four Rivers Capital on the former location of Weir’s Furniture store at 3219 Knox St.

The 12-story development is scheduled for completion in November 2021. The class-A office tower encompasses approximately 250,000 square feet of rentable office space and approximately 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, of which 28,000 square feet in the first and second floors will be occupied by Weir’s Furniture.

Located in the heart of Knox-Henderson at the corner of Knox and Travis streets, the 12-story building will offer tenants spacious terraces throughout the building, six levels of underground parking and views of downtown. Onsite amenities for office tenants will include a lounge, fitness center and balconies overlooking the Knox District.

The Knox District location has one of the highest walkability scores in Texas, with two entrances to the Katy Trail, 40 retail locations and 24 restaurants within a five-minute walk of the building. The 1.24-acre property offers commuter accessibility via Dallas North Tollway and the North Central Expressway.

“Upon its completion, Weir’s Plaza will be located within the premier Knox District destination which sets the standard for live-work-play-ability in Dallas,” said JLL vice president Clint Coe. “The project will be highly amenitized and benefit from a legacy location within the Knox District, one of the most dynamic areas of Dallas.”

The building facade was designed to enhance the historic and timeless feel of the area, with the exterior brick and limestone finishes complementing the surrounding buildings. Plans include full preservation of the iconic Highland Park Soda Fountain, which sits adjacent to Weir’s.

JLL Capital Markets secured construction financing on behalf of a partnership led by Four Rivers Capital. JLL managing director Tim Jordan and Coe secured the construction financing for the ownership group. Real estate finance and investment management firm PCCP LLC provided the senior construction loan.

“There was a significant amount of interest in this project from both national and international capital sources,” Coe tells GlobeSt.com. “This was a great opportunity to invest in a class-A speculative office project with a best in class development team in a legacy location within the high barrier to entry micro-market of the Knox District, and PCCP agreed. The Dallas region has been a national leader in job growth year-over-year, which is driving down vacancy and creating development opportunities.”

In addition, Kirkland & Ellis, an international law firm, has leased 65,986 square feet of office space at Weir’s Plaza and will become the anchor tenant. Kirkland will occupy the top three floors of the building and receive top-building signage. The move to the office space signifies Kirkland’s commitment to strengthening its Dallas office and the Knox District location gives the firm an advantage for recruiting and retaining top talent in the region, especially with the accessibility to the Park Cities, Uptown and Lakewood areas.

In addition, the execution of this lease by Kirkland marks a milestone on the one-year anniversary of the opening of its Dallas office. The office opened in July 2018 and has already grown to more than 45 lawyers.

Kirkland joins several other tenants in pre-leasing space in the building. WeWork has signed a lease for 71,598 square feet and will take three floors of office space. The office space is currently 65% pre-leased and the retail space in the building has received significant interest as well.

“We have been overwhelmed with the pre-leasing interest in the space,” said Tommy Nelson, vice president with CBRE. “The Knox District is one of the most vibrant areas in Dallas and with the existing and to-be-added retail, office users and residents are thrilled about this project.”

Nelson and Dennis Barnes with CBRE’s office leasing team in Dallas represented the landlord, Four Rivers Capital. Kevin Kushner, Phil Puckett, Harlan Davis and Neal Puckett with CBRE, and Brooke Armstrong with JLL represented Kirkland in the lease.

Office demand across North Texas remains high as the region’s strong economic fundamentals and quality product continues to attract new companies and encourage organic growth from established firms, according to JLL. Dallas’ Uptown submarket has solidified itself as a primary business hub thanks in part to its location, walkable environment, top-level office offerings and high-quality housing options.

Since 2008, the Uptown class-A submarket has tracked the second lowest vacancy average in Dallas at 15.4%, nearly 5% below the overall average for the entire market during that time (20.2%), according to JLL research.