CBD Cranks Up the Volume on Office Leases
One of the downtown properties with several new leases is Republic Center, boasting occupancy well above the CBD average, and adjacent to public transportation and the soon-to-be Pacific Plaza Park.
DALLAS—Office conversions are part of the reason for the CBD recording more absorption, while other properties simply have the location and rates desirable for many types of office dwellers. Specifically, one center’s proximity to transit and other office user amenities have resulted in recent leases totaling 30,544 square feet.
The leases at Republic Center located at 325 N. St. Paul St. in downtown include:
Smith Clinesmith LLP/Clinesmith Law Firm leased 11,213 square feet. The tenant was represented by Jayson Montoya at NAI Robert Lynn.
HealthMark Medical Group LLC leased 10,034 square feet. The tenant was represented by Conor McCarthy of JLL.
Constellation New Energy Inc. leased 6,502 square feet. The tenant was represented by Bret Hefton and Graham Shelby of Avison Young.
Addison Group (Bridgepoint Consulting) leased 1,594 square feet. The tenant was represented by Nick Gray at Kevo Commercial.
Phlox Capital Management leased 1,211 square feet. The tenant was represented by Oliver Day at Altschuler and Company.
The Younger Partners leasing team of Kathy Permenter, Trae Anderson and Sarah Savage represented the landlord.
“Republic Center is located in the heart of downtown, adjacent to public transportation and the soon-to-be Pacific Plaza Park,” says Permenter. “Republic Center’s occupancy is well above the CBD average and office users are taking notice.”
Later this summer, the American Institute of Architects will be moving to the bottom two floors at Republic Center, GlobeSt.com learns.
“We look forward to relocating the Dallas Center for Architecture and AIA Dallas headquarters to our new home right in the middle of a new epicenter for downtown,” Jan Blackmon, executive director of AIA Dallas and the Dallas Center for Architecture, tells GlobeSt.com. “We believe this storefront space will give us a greater opportunity to engage the public in a conversation about the importance of architecture and design. The impending construction of Pacific Plaza Park provides us with even more opportunities to program for a downtown audience.”
The Dallas CBD submarket recorded 187,312 square feet of positive net absorption in the first quarter of 2018, GlobeSt.com learns. This positive absorption was largely attributed to Baker McKenzie moving into the recently completed 1900 Pearl and Perkins+Will moving into the historic Dallas High School building, which recently completed conversion into an office building.
“We have started to see some law firms and other tenants moving from Uptown to the CBD for more reasonable rates,” Steve Triolet, Younger Partners research director, tells GlobeSt.com. “For example, Alston & Bird is moving from 2828 Harwood to Chase Tower and Simon Greenstone Panatier PC is moving from 3232 McKinney to Renaissance Tower.”
During the next few quarters, net absorption is expected to remain strong with Goldman Sachs relocating from Las Colinas to Trammell Crow Center and Stewart Healthcare relocating its corporate headquarters from Boston to 1900 Pearl, Triolet also observes. 1900 Pearl was completed in the first quarter of 2018. The building was 47.4% pre-leased upon delivery with Baker McKenzie taking 54,152 square feet and Stewart Healthcare scheduled to move into 66,828 square feet next quarter.
The CBD currently has a half-dozen building conversions as well as new construction, either recently completed or underway. The Statler Library is in the completed category and was leased by the Dallas Morning News late last year. Currently underway is The Luminary, which is a 102,315-square-foot office property, and The Drever, which is mainly multifamily and a hotel, but will include about 60,000 square feet of new office space at 1401 Elm. This project has changed hands a few times, GlobeSt.com learns.