Ohio Pension Fund Completes Take-Out of JP Morgan Int'l Plaza

Todd Ashbrook, senior vice president of Wilcox Development Services, says the proceeds will be applied to the construction loan with Bank of America. He represented the seller of record, Wilcox International Place II Ltd., a Wilcox Development Services-sponsored partnership, while Mike Nurre of Columbus, Ohio, brokered the acquisition for the pension fund buyer, which bought the 351,000-sf first phase in 2000.

JP Morgan has 1,500 employees in the 13-story first phase and is prepping for its long-standing planned expansion into the 15-story, 405,000-sf second phase at 14221 Dallas Parkway. The JP Morgan Global Investor Services Division April 1 will start transitioning into the space.

The third tower at 14241 Dallas Parkway brings 351,000 of spec space to market. Wilcox Realty Group, under the direction of vice president of leasing Buddy Tompkins, holds the leasing pact and property management contracts for the complex. Tompkins says activity is good, but nothing's ready to sign as yet.

The pension fund purchase stamps a pre-sale agreement that Wilcox had in hand for the 12-acre project. "They were the logical buyer for II and III," Ashbrook explained. "Basically, it was a take-out."

HKS Inc. in Dallas designed the 1.1-million sf office complex developed by Wilcox and BCK and Partners LP. Dallas-based Centex Construction Co. was the general contractor and SWA Landscape Architects developed the green plan that includes a one-acre heavily landscaped plaza, reflection pond and four fountains. Ashbrook says the office campus is the handiwork of the same players from all companies with a "real chemistry" that steered the Far North Dallas project to a smooth delivery.

In a prepared statement, Stephen B. Platt, Wilcox Development Services' president, says Nurre "shared our vision of JP Morgan International Plaza and was willing to make the financial commitment to make it happen."

The campus is positioned in one of the most highly sought after locations in North Dallas. In 2001, it was accorded a local honor for best real estate deal of the year and is touted as the largest single-office complex developed in North Texas since the 1980s. Wilcox Realty Group will remain in place as the campus' property manager and leasing agent for the vacant office tower.