Renewals, New Deals Grab Final OKs

Trammell Crow Co. has closed three long-term leases, totaling 35,274 sf, in the Park Oaks Distribution Center in Irving to hike occupancy to about 98% in the two-building, 122,500-sf development, owned by the New York City-based TIAA. Trammell Crow's J. Cannon Green tells GlobeSt.com that the triple hit clearly shows "the continued strength of smaller deals." He's optimistic that the lone office/warehouse space of 15,700 sf will be filled in the coming months.

Briggs Corp. signed the largest deal, a 15,885-sf renewal for 2837 and 2745 W. Airport Freeway. The suites, now being spruced up with new paint and carpeting, went at a "market rate," Green says. A tenant since 1997, Briggs was represented by Joe Doye with the Westin Co. in Dallas.

Tenant Computer Specialists Inc. signed a new lease for 11,932 sf that adds some extra space and shifts the office next door. The quickly crafted deal, in turn, made room for a new name in the project, Triangle Fastener Corp.

Computer Specialists is set to occupy 2809 W. Airport Freeway Nov. 1, at which time finish-out begins on its old office, 7,457 sf at 2801 W. Airport Freeway. Triangle Fastener will relocate by Dec. 1 from incubator space off East Trinity Boulevard.

In Arlington, Vale National Training Centers, a division of Cunningham Lindsey, renewed a 15,271-sf lease for seven years in a deal put together by Property Advisers Realty Inc., with Jason Miller and Jerry Reis steering the negotiations. A tenant since 1987 in the Randol Mill Service Center, Vale's renewal keeps the 96,000-sf building at 77% occupancy. The building is owned by a German life insurance company.

In Grand Prairie, National Steel Crafters of Oregon Inc. took 9,699 sf that it was subleasing at 1018 Ave. M to a short-term direct lease with Proterra Properties Inc. of Dallas. The tenant's representative, Frank G. Jester II of Dunn Commercial LP in Arlington, says the short-term deal was struck to "get some breathing space" while he looks for a small owner-user building that can be had at a reasonable price for a tenant looking to stay tied to the Great Southwest Industrial District. Proterra's Dan Lawson handled talks for the building owner.

In another short-term lease, E&J Nails Inc. leased 1,500 sf at 2100 Great Southwest parkway in a multi-tenant building owned by Americo Real Estate Ltd. of Dallas. Jester negotiated the distribution space pact with Jim Ferris of Dallas-based Bradford Cos.

Dunn Commercial's John Dunwoody and Larry Rogers of Landmark Commercial in Dallas have put Showtech Productions Inc. into 5,000 sf at 1207 Ave. J in Grand Prairie for the long term. Rogers, who represents the Dallas-Fort Worth-area building owner, NKA Associates, is quoting $5.25 per sf for the multi-tenant structure.

Dunwoody says Showtech, which just moved in, doubles its space in the relocation from Forum Drive. The key to the deal was the office finish-out. "They really wanted that building when they saw it," he says, adding that they toured every available space in the Great Southwest that would have met their needs.