The partnership talks were originated by Pax Glenn of PaxonGlenn Commercial in Dallas. "He thought we'd be a good match," saysJeff D. Thornton, senior vice president of the Dallas operationsfor Indianapolis-based Duke. The land fronts Texas 664, a four-laneartery intersecting Interstate 35. Duke's new development site isless than one mile east of the interstate interchange. It's alsobisected by Omaha-based Union Pacific Corp.'s main line leading toits intermodal yard in the Dallas Logistics Hub.

Thornton tells GlobeSt.com that Duke has a one-year purchaseoption to the site, but spec or a build-to-suit before the clockstops is practically a certainty. "I think we'll find someonebefore a year's up," he says. "It might not be 1.2-million-sf deal,but I think we'll find a 400,000-sf to 500,000-sf deal by then."GSR Andrade Architects of Dallas is site planning and designing thespace. A quoted rate hasn't been set, but Duke's typical bulk rateis $3.25 per sf plus $3 per sf for tenant improvements.

Thornton says the strategy is to draft off the Nafta Highwaytrade corridor, exactly as Duke did in the northern tier of DallasCounty. The dwindling close-in land supply logically has forceddevelopers toward the outer rings to find cheap dirt. In Red Oak'scorridor, land hovers $1.50 per sf.