"Since the past half of the first quarter, activity seems to be strengthening," Berry says. "There's stuff going on everywhere at Alliance." And, he's quick to point out that Alliance is one of the few DFW corridors with ample developable industrial land. "Most of the inventory's on the Tarrant County side," he says.

In year 2000, Hillwood leased more than 3.7 million sf of industrial space, which amounted to 15.3% of the 24.3 million sf of net industrial leasing finalized in the metroplex. According to a recent report by Delta Associates, last year's 24.3 million sf of net industrial space leased in Dallas-Ft. Worth put it second only to the Los Angeles Basin. And, some of those Hillwood leases have been with the nation's major players: Honeywell, Dell, Ryder, Panasonic and SC Johnson.

Hillwood's Alliance team will deliver a 380,000-sf shell April 15 to Volkswagen in a build-to-suit project, with a late spring or early summer takeover planned, says Berry. October will see a 400,000-sf build-to-suit for Johnson Wax come to market as well as Gateway 60, a 400,000-sf spec project. Meanwhile, ground broke Feb. 15 on a 130,000-sf office project for Chrysler Finance. "For us, that's good activity in a given period," he says.

The pipeline calls for 250,000 sf, 100,000 sf and maybe another 400,000 sf in build-to-suits or spec projects, Berry tells GlobeSt.com. The 400,000-sf spec undertaking hinges on lease-up of Gateway 60.

Last year's 3.7 million sf represents a 27.6% spike over 1999, which had rung up 2.9 million sf at year's end. That bottom line excludes 1.7 million sf of industrial space that had been created by Hillwood land sales in the region, according to corporate officials. They claim Hillwood has been responsible for developing more commercial space in the metroplex than any other company and a leader in residential development. Its projects reach from one end of the metroplex to the other and include the high-profile 15,000-acre AllianceTexas and 70-acre Victory infill redevelopment, with the American Airlines Center as its centerpiece.