Local Company's Solana Bound With Eight-Year Lease

DaimlerChrysler has been paying the rent on the empty space since late 2000 when it relocated to a 130,000-sf build-to-suit in the 2,500-acre Circle T Ranch at Alliance/Texas. Walco International Inc., planning a June 1 move-in, is taking over the second floor and part of the first in 7 Village Circle in the 900-acre Solana, owned by Los Angeles-based Maguire Partners.

Specializing in animal health products and services, Walco's headquarters team now operates out of 15,000 sf at 520 S. Main St. in nearby Grapevine. Michael Silliman, Maguire's vice president of leasing for the office park, tells GlobeSt.com that there will be "a little term" left on the Grapevine lease when the Walco team moves out.

The Walco lease has been at the bargaining table nearly six months. The park's proximity to the majority of employees was key to winning the deal, according to Silliman. Chris Wright and Ben Sumner with Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners represented Walco.

The Solana team is still battling to overcome the 250,000-sf move-out by Verizon Wireless Messaging Services Inc. of Bedminster, NJ in 2003. After the exit, Maguire partner Tom Allen assembled a 400,000-sf contiguous block to lure a large corporate user to the 2.5-million-sf, mixed-use development off Texas 114, which sports a roster of Fortune 500 regional offices that includes IBM Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc., McKesson Corp., Pfizer Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.

Walco's leases holds occupancy at 81% in the 153,000-sf 7 Village Circle, where space is quoted at $22 per sf to $24 per sf. "Hopefully this deal will get some positive momentum going," Silliman says, "and we'll be able to capitalize on that."