In Premier Place, Glenstar Acquires Top-Tier Investment

DALLAS—Top tier is the descriptor most used for an office asset located at 59010 North Central Expressway. Glenstar recently acquired Premier Place, a 457,000-square-foot class-A office building, with a 62,000-square-foot Life Time Fitness club. The sale price was not disclosed.

“This was a unique opportunity to acquire a highly visible top-tier property with an equally top-tier tenant roster in the most active investment market in the US,” said Glenstar managing principal Michael Klein. “The property’s location in Dallas is unparalleled, with direct access to the DART, and a myriad of restaurants, retail, hotels and apartments. It is truly one of the few live-work-play environments in Dallas.”

The purchase provides new ownership with a boutique hospitality-inspired repositioning opportunity. As such, Glenstar has planned a multi-million dollar investment campaign that will transform the building with a renovated lobby and conference center as well as a coffee/cocktail lounge that will open up to a redesigned courtyard. In addition, the noted developer will debut Glenstar Connect, a tenant experience program.

“Glenstar Connect was created to build communities within Glenstar’s managed properties,” Glenstar principal Matthew Omundson tells GlobeSt.com. “From social gatherings, learning opportunities, health and wellness activities, and a chance to give back to the community, we offer activities that appeal to all types of interests and personalities. We understand what today’s pool of talent wants–inspiring, vibrant, hospitality-infused workspaces that build a sense of community.”

Glenstar will provide property management and construction development services.

“Amenity-rich buildings are critical from an employee recruiting and retention standpoint. We’re looking forward to bringing our innovative brand and proven redevelopment strategy that will cater to what high-end professionals are looking for: a collaborative and engaging office environment,” added Klein.

Built in 1985 and renovated in 2014, the 20-story Premier Place sits in Dallas’ Central Expressway Submarket. The coveted transit-oriented location provides tenants with immediate access to SMU, Mockingbird Station, DART, The Katy Trail and Dallas Love Field Airport.

For Glenstar, it’s the latest addition to a quickly growing Dallas portfolio that now totals 2.7 million square feet. Other office properties in the area include Energy Square and the Meadows Building, a five-building 1.1-million-square-foot office campus, and Terraces at Solana, a 1.2-million-square-foot office complex consisting of eight class-A buildings on 72 acres.

“Dallas’ market fundamentals continue to tighten with more and more corporations choosing to call the city home,” said Omundson. “A lack of new construction on North Central Expressway and the opportunity to acquire one of Dallas’ marquee buildings were key drivers of this acquisition.”

By the spring of 2020, Glenstar will have invested more than $200 million during the past five years with the repositioning and modernizing of US office projects. Glenstar’s portfolio currently stands at approximately 9 million square feet.

Net absorption in third quarter dropped slightly from last quarter with more than 506,000 square feet of space taken up, yielding a total of 2 million square feet so far for the year, according to a report by CBRE. This total has far surpassed the total in year-to-date absorption compared to this time in 2018.

Vacancy continued to remain flat in third quarter despite positive absorption. This is due to 599,098 square feet of competitive inventory introduced to the DFW market, the sheer amount of existing office stock in the metroplex and the general tenant appetite for newer cutting-edge office product. Currently, there are 25 leased projects in the construction pipeline totaling 5.4 million square feet with a pre-leased rate of 22%, says CBRE.