The deal has been working since July 2002, Robert Fulford, vice president of Grubb & Ellis Co. in Dallas, tells GlobeSt.com. The 411-acre deed passed from E-Systems Inc. of Dallas to Baruch Properties of Plano, which then carved out the tract for Phoenix-based Opus West LP after it beat out several other developers jockeying for the acreage.
Opus West has put together a flexible two-building design for the first phase of 121 Lakepointe Crossing, with warehouse/distribution space divvied into 155,000 sf and 488,800 sf. In working out the lay of the land, the larger building has been positioned so it can partner with 430,800 sf to give the project an expandable option for a one-million-sf structure if the right tenant comes along, explained Steve Chilton, Opus West's director of real estate in Dallas. If not, then Opus West will build the 430,800-sf structure in the second phase along with a 205,920-sf one.
Chilton says Opus West was vying against a couple other top industrial developers for the Triple Freeport acreage fronting the north side of Texas 121 and three miles east of Interstate 35. He said the submarket's steadily increasing industrial absorption was the reason behind the chase.
The project will rise as spec if necessary. But, Chilton confides to GlobeSt.com, Opus West is actively courting three build-to-suits. He believes a signing or two will be in hand by the second quarter. Fulford and Grubb & Ellis' senior vice president Gary Lindsey, the team representing Opus West on the land sale, also hold the leasing assignment. Fulford says he's confident that the first phase, which will deliver in September or October, will be fully leased before 2003 ends. The leasing pace and market conditions will dictate when the second phase and final phase begins.
Chilton says 121 Lakepointe Crossing and a 395,000-sf distribution project in Grand Prairie near Interstate 20 will be the focus of Opus West's 2003 industrial projects in Dallas-Fort Worth. But, it's no secret that Opus West also is scouting the region for retail and multifamily opportunities.
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