COPPELL, TX-With plans to consolidate and expand its localdistribution operations, SP Richards Co. has leased 212,776 squarefeet in Duke Realty Corp.’s Freeport VII building. The officesupplies and furniture distributor signed a long-term lease for thespace at 631 South Royal Lane.

Currently, SP Richards occupies 130,324 square feet in twodistribution facilities in Carrollton. The company leases 55,600square feet in Duke’s Frankford Distribution Center II and alsoowns a 74,700-square-foot facility nearby.

The Freeport VII building will replace those two facilities andwill also allow for an 82,450-square-foot expansion, according toJeff Thornton, senior vice president of Duke Realty’s Dallasoperations. “The Frankford lease was expiring, and consolidation issomething SR Richards has been contemplating for a couple of yearsnow,” he says, adding that the firm has been “busting at theseams.” “They felt the timing was right to make a move.”