GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Younan Buying 2M SF of EOP Space, Opens Texas Shop

With the portfolio takeover moving to the closing table, the buyer says it's time to open a Texas shop in its bid to become the largest owner of office properties in Dallas/Fort Worth. Veteran Larry Blankenship has left a managing director's post with CB Richard Ellis Inc. to assume the top job as Younan's vice president of asset management for a portfolio that will soon total 2.65 million sf.

"In the next 12 months, we'll be the largest owner in Dallas," vows Zaya S. Younan, chairman and CEO of the Woodland Hills, CA-based investment group, which bought its first Dallas building in spring 2003. "We are establishing a permanent presence in Dallas. Dallas will always be a part of our lives. We are here to stay."

Early next week, Younan will pocket EOP's class A deeds to 8080 N. Central Expressway, a 17-story, 284,000-sf office building that rose in 1984; 9400 N. Central Expressway, a 16-story, 380,000-sf structure built in 1981 and renovated in 1995; and North Central Plaza Three at 12801 N. Central Expressway, a 16-story landmark with 347,000 sf built in 1986. Before September ends, he will roll in the 397,000-sf Lakeside Square at 12377 Merit Dr., an 18-story building erected in 1987, and the 394,000-sf Four Forest at 12222 Merit Dr., 19 stories built in 1985 and renovated in 1994.

Younan tells GlobeSt.com that he intends to invest $2 million into upgrading lobbies and common areas of the trio that changes hands next week. Blankenship, who's poised to hire a team, will manage the assets, but Younan, in keeping with past practice, has divvied up leasing duties for an 80%-filled portfolio between Trammell Crow Co. and Grubb & Ellis Co. Younan's other three buildings are leased by CB Richard Ellis Inc., John Bowles Co. and Grubb & Ellis.

"When you close on this much property, you really need to have someone in Texas and specifically in Dallas," says Blankenship, whose former employer declined comment on his exit. The focus is on being prepared for the first wave of class A space for a same-day transition at closing. Each building will have an on-site property manager and support staff, but he says it's just too early to pin down the head count for the new asset management group.

"We've been talking to Larry for quite some time," Younan says, adding the critical mass now dictates the need to open a Texas shop to manage the package. The EOP acquisition will push the national portfolio to 20 class A office buildings with 4.6 million sf. In three years of spending, Younan has acquired $400 million of commercial real estate.