CMD Realty Parcels Out Leasing in 11 Cities

The John Bowles Co., Trammell Crow Co., Wilcox Realty Group and Cousins Properties Inc. walked away winners from scores of companies jockeying for a piece of the portfolio. The contracts were awarded in late December 2001, but kept hushed by all brokers at CMD's behest. CMD continues to manage all properties and held back awarding five buildings in the DFW mix. There is no plan to consolidate the five CMD offices in the DFW metroplex.

CMD Realty's Bob Gibbons, vice president and regional managing director in Dallas, says the outsourcing decision cost three brokers their jobs in Dallas and five more in other markets. He emphasizes the CMD decision was not a reflection on the brokers. It purely is a decision "to focus on our investments and strategy" while simultaneously streamlining the private real estate company, he explains. CMD's corporate structure has not changed.

CMD was outsourcing 30% of its portfolio when the decision came to outsource in all 11 cities. "It was not something that was foreign to us, but it was definitely a shift," Gibbons says.

Gibbons was inundated by brokerage houses as word got out of the pending decision. Bidders were restricted to vying for one or two markets–those areas where they are dominant players. "We wanted to know where their sweet spot was," he says.

One firm proposed taking the entire portfolio and hiring CMD's Chris Doggett, Scott Ehley and Tray Bates. But, Gibbons emphasizes, "this was not an exercise to change the name on somebody's pay stub." Instead, it was a move to leverage CMD holdings in each of its submarkets.

Gibbons says CMD has held onto five fully leased buildings for the time being. Lease roll-overs are some time out so there's no hurry. In fact, they could go as "atta boys" to one of the outsource companies for beefing up tenancy in their package, he confides.

CMD still controls Irving's 296,313-sf Royal Tech Center complex at 8000 Bent Branch, 8001 Ridgepoint and 2910 West Bend; 219,115-sf Stemmons Center at 7800 Stemmons Freeway in Dallas; and 91,696-sf Parkview Place at 524 E. Lamar in Arlington.

The John Bowles Co. gets part of the Far North Dallas submarket with the 84,436-sf 14850 Quorum along Dallas' Quorum Drive, the 74,182-sf Emerald Plaza at 14900 Landmark Blvd. in Addison and the 152,000-sf Landmark at 14800 Landmark Blvd.

Trammell Crow gets the Fort Worth buildings, the 421,416-sf Overton Centre at 4100 International Plaza and the 169,966-sf One Ridgmar Center at 6500 W. Freeway. In Dallas, Trammell Crow is leasing the balance of the Far North Dallas portfolio. The properties are the 262,054-sf Dominion Plaza West at 17304 Preston Rd., 92,427-sf One Stratford Park at 18383 Preston Rd., 56,641-sf Dominion Plaza East at 17304 Preston Rd., 138,448-sf Bent Tree Greens at 17300 Dallas Parkway and 100,799-sf Parkway Commons at 5068 W. Plano Parkway.

Wilcox Realty is handling the 125,853-sf 9191 LBJ Freeway and 150,000-sf Two Forest Plaza at 12201 Merit Dr.

Atlanta-based Cousins Properties' Las Colinas team gets its specialty market of Irving and Las Colinas. Its new outsource pact takes in the 218,304-sf 122 W. Carpenter in Irving and 125,509-sf O'Connor Ridge at 4545 Fuller.