"It was long, long, long process," Bill Cawley of Cawley International explains to GlobeSt.com. The lease was announced about three weeks ago, but VK time had everyone who could answer key questions out of town until a few days ago.

Carlson's search started out three years ago with existing inventory in Dallas amid rumors, as recent as a few months ago, that it would just re-up at Park Central, owned by Trizec Properties of New York City. The restaurateur has special needs that include test kitchen space and a culture that commands a class A address, explains Cawley, who led them to Park Central 10 years ago.

When the existing inventory didn't fit the bill, Cawley turned to talking about the B-T-S ops open in today's market. They looked at many sites and ultimately settled, he confides, on "the lowest price option that they looked at"--wooded acreage with a water feature. More importantly, the site is close to 80% of Carlson's employees' homes. Marsh Office Partners Ltd. of Dallas, a group of local investors, owns the nine-acre tract at the crossroads of Hebron and Marsh lane.

Development is starting out at 140,000 sf, but the site and the building will be laid out to expand "north of 200,000," says Cawley, who adds the design is still being worked on. PageSoutherlandPage has the interior design contract while OmniPlan of Dallas has the exterior design pact. Wilcox Development Services will handle construction management.

A ground-breaking was announced for November, but Cawley says that could be nudged into January 2003. At this time, delivery is still set for November 2003.

Cawley says the time put into the decision-making process was worth it. "And," he adds, "I think they made the right decision." As for the lease, all he'll say is "it's long term." The Dallas-based company is a subsidiary of the Carlson Co., headquartered in Minneapolis.