"We chased it like crazy," Joel Pustmueller, partner inDallas-based Peloton Real Estate Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. "Weput a very attractive deal on the table for them." He says theScottsdale, AZ-based Meritage plans to keep an office along theDallas North Tollway and roll all others in Dallas and Fort Worthunder one roof at 909 Hidden Ridge Dr. in Las Colinas. Based on taxrecords, the company has 12 locations in Dallas and Tarrantcounties.

Pustmueller says negotiations for the stair-stepped pact wentfull circle in two months. Meritage is taking 20,000 sf at streetlevel and the 22,000-sf balance of the fourth floor in thesix-story building. The street-level space is earmarked forMeritage's design center, title company and mortgage brokerageservices. The just-leased space is in shell condition, allowingMeritage to build from scratch.

The Meritage win bumps occupancy to 55%, a 25% climb in the pastfew months since Peloton moved into the driver's seat to lease the246,664-sf landmark building. Pustmueller says there are a coupledeals working that could push occupancy to 80% by summer for itsowner, Houston-based Hines.