The Galatyn Park project is being steered by Koll Development Corp., which has two other Nortel projects under its belt. In 1997, the company completed a 300,000-sf first phase, consisting of two five-story office structures and has done a 250,000-sf light manufacturing and warehouse complex in Monterey, Mexico, for the telecom company. Upon delivery of the latest undertaking, Nortel will have 2.2 million sf in all in North America, of which 500,000 sf is situated in Galatyn Park.

Construction began Thursday in concert with Nortel's announcement of the expansion, according to a Koll real estate source. This is the first building project since 1998 when the company put finishing touches on a 70% expansion in Richardson by constructing a 200,000-sf building. It also is the fourth Nortel building in Galatyn Park, owned by Hunt Petroleum, and Nortel's 18th in Richardson, where the continent's No. 2 phone-equipment manufacturer currently employs 10,000 people--2,000 of whom were hired just last year. The new structure at 2375 Glenville Dr. could house as many as 1,200 more employees in Richardson's Telecom Corridor. The Richardson submarket, bearing a trademark name, leads the North Texas region with its high concentration of telecommunications companies.

The real estate source told GlobeSt.com that the same architectural team is being used--HOK and Corgan--while this project will have a new general contractor, McCarthy Building Cos. of Dallas.