40,000-SF Leases Trigger Another South Side Project

PrimeSource Food Service Equipment Inc. and InStaff Personnel will occupy the top two floors of an 80,000-sf office building that is part of Matthews Southwest's redevelopment of the 1910 Sears & Roebuck catalog distribution center, now called South Side on Lamar. PrimeSource will take up about 33,000 sf and InStaff, a little more than 7,000 sf, says Peter Coughlin, development coordinator for Jack Matthews' 1.2-million sf project. The leased space will be ready for move-in by Sept. 1. Steven Zimmerman and Brooke Boulder of Trammell Crow Co. represented the tenants while Coughlin closed the deals for Matthews.

Matthews Southwest is unrolling its latest project at least six months ahead of schedule to accommodate the lease signings and the near lease-up of commercial space in the adjacent main structure at 1409 S. Lamar, Coughlin tells GlobeSt.com. Cowden & Associates of Dallas is the design architect and Norm Alston, also of Dallas, is the project's historic architect. General contracting bids will be taken within 30 days. Dallas-based Turner Construction has been in charge of the work for the 455 lofts and 120,000 sf of commercial space, which is a $75-million centerpiece for Matthews' redevelopment.

Coughlin says the plans are in the preliminary stage, but it's a certainty that some 15 tenants, primarily related to the ongoing construction, will be relocated to other Matthews' holdings in the immediate area so work can get under way on the four-story structure. The building is complemented by a 15,000-sf common area that tentatively is ticketed for development amenities. Coughlin predicts construction will start before the end of May.

The opportunity fund bought the two minority businesses in August 2000 and is in the midst of a $26-million venture capital drive that will open doors for more buys, Darren Miles, director, tells GlobeSt.com. The fund drive closes in early May.Miles expects that another six to eight companies will be acquired throughout the year and those too could be headed to south Dallas. "The fund has an emphasis to invest in certain counties of North Texas, but more specifically the southern sector of Dallas," says Miles. In anticipation of more acquisitions, the fund has optioned another 20,000 sf at 1601 S. Lamar.

The fund had bought PrimeSource, a fast-food equipment supplier from the bankrupt Ameri-Serv Corp. PrimeSource presently occupies 25,000 sf and employs 150, of which 110 workers will be relocated from north Dallas. InStaff, a temporary staffing firm, is officing its 10-employee core team in about 5,000 sf in Plano.

In addition to the Dallas headquarters, PrimeSource supports a warehouse in Indianapolis and a call center in Wichita, KS. InStaff has 13 Dallas offices and one each in El Paso and Phoenix. According to Miles, the move will drive an expansion of PrimeSource's customer base, specifically its dealings with Tricon, parent to the combined KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut stores.