Victor Equipment Selects AllianceTexas Site

Thermadyne Holdings Corp. signed a contract, with expansion options, for 40% of the 277,333-sf Gateway 58 at 800 Henrietta Creek Rd., about one mile from Interstate 35W. The interstate proximity with a straight shot to Denton, where four Thermadyne subsidiaries are housed at 2800 Denton Rd., sold the location despite a widespread search of competitors' stands along Interstate 35W and 35E.

Victor Equipment, a manufacturer of parts for oil and gas rigs, will relocate from Denton, freeing up space at that location for Thermadyne to bring in jobs and personnel in a consolidation move that comes about six months after it emerged from bankruptcy. The Denton production site also houses Victor Medical Products, Victor Specialty Products and the Turbotorch Division.

The ongoing talks have produced rumors of a Denton exit, but that's not going to be the case, Tony Creme, Hillwood Properties' marketing manager, tells GlobeSt.com. In fact, Thermadyne intends to expand the Victor footprint once the equipment division relocates in mid-December.

In structuring the plan, Thermadyne volleyed from 60,000 sf to 250,000 sf before settling on 113,500 sf with expansion rights. "We've given them a lot of flexibility," Creme says.

Victor Equipment will use half of Gateway 58 for light manufacturing and the balance for distribution in the US and abroad. Creme says the AllianceTexas site will be made into one of the company's primary distribution centers. The contract calls for full air conditioning and some office finish-out.

Aside from the straight line to Denton, the deal was made because the product was on the ground with keys waiting to turn, Creme says. Hillwood's longtime strategy has been to keep a one-million-sf buffer of open space so keys can turn with demand. The latest count has 730,000 sf under construction in Gateway North with another 367,000 sf of second-generation in the 15,000-acre development's Westport section.