The lease brings the 559,582-square-foot Freeport IX at 600 Freeport Pkwy. to 80% occupancy. Jeff Thornton, Duke Realty's senior vice president of operations in Dallas, explains the space was available partially because the other tenant in residence, Resolve/Archway, downsized last March. "It was a net wash for us," Thornton says.

He couldn't comment on the lease consideration, given confidentiality agreements, but tells GlobeSt.com the ask is $3.25 per square foot. Tenant improvements include freshening up 20,000 square feet of office space and air conditioning added to 75,000 square feet of warehouse space. When all is ready, Concote will relocate from its current location at 6120 Peeler St. in Dallas. Tom McCarthy and Paul Whitman with Jones Lang LaSalle represented Concote in the transaction and Randy Wood provided Duke Realty's in-house representation.

Thornton says 150,000 square feet remains in the eight-year-old Freeport IX, but more potential tenants are coming around these days to look at the space. "We've seen a spike in activity during the past 120 days," Thornton says. Even better is that transactions tend to increase during the end of the year, he notes.

"Truth be told, a lot of tenants understand the market is soft and they're seeing the opportunity there," Thornton adds. "The ones who can afford to are coming out and taking advantage of a tenant-friendly real estate market."