Bell Textron Inks Mega-Lease at Former American Airlines Building

FORT WORTH—Bell Textron Inc., an aerospace manufacturer, has signed a long-term 109,187-square-foot lease for the entire building at 4151 Amon Carter Blvd. The class-A four-story building formerly housed the American Airlines Federal Credit Union.

“Having a dedicated facility for commercial business will allow enhanced collaboration throughout the entire enterprise and support Bell’s vision to continue to advance the future of mobility and vertical flight,” a Bell Textron spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com. “Bell Commercial Business Center is approximately seven miles away from both Bell’s headquarters and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, making travel between the two easy for both employees and customers.”

Bell increased its office footprint to accommodate its growing operations throughout the DFW region. The opening of the Bell Commercial Business Center will house approximately 600 employees including all commercial programs, global sales, customer support and services as well as supporting business functions, supply chain, information technology, human resources and finance personnel.

In August, Bell unveiled a new 140,000-square-foot Manufacturing Technology Center in Fort Worth. Since establishing a footprint in North Texas in 1951, Bell’s facilities have been a hub for new technology in aviation.

Earlier this year, Transwestern executed the sale of the three-building 1.39 million-square-foot office campus that previously served as the world headquarters for American Airlines to Austin-based Capital Commercial Investments, which specializes in purchasing undervalued commercial investment properties throughout the United States.

Capital Commercial Investments renovated the campus entrance lobbies, built out model suites and common areas, and upgraded existing lighting to enhance the tenant experience. The buildings feature irregular dodecagon-shaped floorplates with four wings of office space affording 12 sides of glass windows. Additionally, the property has an underground pedestrian tunnel connecting all three buildings.

“We are really excited to have Bell and we believe in their future. They have been great to work with and hope they continue to grow and expand,” Michael Brigance, executive vice president of Capital Commercial Investments, tells GlobeSt.com.

The lease by Bell is the first major lease since the sale of the campus. The 40-acre site includes 6.33 acres of undeveloped land along with leasing opportunities for 4333 and 4255 Amon Carter Blvd.

Situated 17 miles between Dallas and Fort Worth, 4151 Amon Carter benefits from access to the seven major freeways connecting all regions of the DFW metroplex, DFW International Airport and the Centreport submarket, where the property is located. One of 4151 Amon Carter’s most important attributes is its proximity to the Centreport Railway Station and the Trinity Railway Express commuter train.

Transwestern Real Estate Services’ Duane Henley and Nathan Durham provide leasing services on behalf building ownership. Property management is led by Transwestern’s Becky Dennis. Todd Burnette and Matt Montague with JLL represented Bell Textron in the transaction.

“The Mid-Cities submarkets have maintained very low vacancy rates of 6.3% before American Airlines vacated the campus last year,” said Andrew Matheny, Transwestern research manager. “A central location allows tenants to draw from a labor pool of over 1.1 million educated workers that live anywhere from the Dallas urban core to affluent Tarrant County suburbs like Grapevine and Westlake.”

According to Transwestern’s third-quarter office market report, employment in office-using industries is now flat year-over-year, after continued hiring in professional services and finance netted out remaining declines in administrative services and information.