GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Heritage HQ Lands in Uptown

Heritage Capital Corp. pared eight months of talks to four buildings. Taking the gold was 3500 Maple Ave., where one of the world's leading numismatic dealers will be getting its name advertised on top of the building and gaining two floors or 43,050 sf of locked-down, class A space in a 10-year lease at a CB Richard Ellis Strategic Partners' property.

Heritage's lease of about 26,000 sf on the second floor of 100 Highland Park Village in North Dallas will expire at year's end. Kicking in Jan. 1, 2004, the 3500 Maple Ave. lease was built with two steps in the rent at a going-in figure close to the building's marketed rate of $21 per sf plus electric, Jay Bailey, vice president of leasing for Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services, tells GlobeSt.com. "We made a good deal for the client in that we accommodated a high finish-out, but at the same time we did a really good deal for the owner," he says.

Heritage, a renowned dealer of rare coins, is taking the top two floors in the 18-story building to fill space vacated three years ago by Publicis, the world's fourth-largest communications company. Bailey says added security was instrumental in snagging the deal. The short list contained one building in Preston Center, two in the LBJ Freeway submarket and the Uptown winner. More security personnel and cameras, elevator restrictions and secured access to their floors are just part of the measures that will be put in place for the new lead tenant. "It's a hefty build-out," he stresses.

The chase has ended with one of Uptown's more significant wins. "It's the largest deal, excluding some renewals at the Crescent, this year in Uptown," Bailey says. He and Trey Smith, another Dallas-based Capstar vice president, sat across the bargaining table from Heritage's team, Robert Deptula and Nora Hogan, both principals in the Dallas office for Fort Worth-headquartered NAI Stoneleigh Huff Brous McDowell.

Bailey says the 374,000-sf building's new and improved common areas, lobby and garage helped as much as the commitment for heightened security. The Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Strategic Partners bought the building in November 2002 and immediately set about "increasing the profile" of the half-filled building, which is now 62% leased "and hopefully climbing," Bailey says, confiding he's talking to yet another full-floor prospect eyeing a move from the Dallas CBD. If that deal gels, occupancy goes up another 6%.