MetLife Shops 2M-SF Lincoln Centre to Investors

MetLife's interest in selling isn't about churning its portfolio, but rather to capitalize on the appetite of deep-pocketed spenders who've put the Dallas area on track for another record-setting sales year. "We think it's a good time to capitalize on an opportunity," Kurt Day, MetLife's regional director for the Southwest, says about the 32-acre footprint in North Dallas. "You never take these decisions lightly, but we just think the repositioning over the last couple of years has gone so well that this is a good time in the marketplace to capitalize on it."

Day tells GlobeSt.com that Lincoln Centre will debut this month--without an ask--so the deed can be handed off before the year ends. The timeline is still being worked out by the CB Richard Ellis Inc. team of Russell Ingrum and Gary Carr, who will be courting investors worldwide for one of the finest pieces of Dallas to be paraded on this year's sales runway-- three office towers, parking garage, Lincoln City Club and some extra land. Days says there's enough land, with surface parking, to follow through on the original plan to build a fourth tower or build a creative package with residential, retail or both.

The New York City-based MetLife and its Dallas partner, Lincoln Property Co., developed Lincoln Centre between 1981 and 1983, including a Hilton-flagged hotel that was sold two years ago. MetLife acquired full ownership in two towers in 1987 and scooped up the third one in 1993, according to Dallas County tax records.

After putting an estimated $6 million into a renovation that wrapped up last year, MetLife is hoping to get its just rewards from a recent leasing push that has occupancy at 87%. "The rollover for the next several years is very spread out and very even," Day says about the trio of office towers at 5400, 5420 and 5430 LBJ Freeway. Lincoln Property, which has a 28,000-sf office on site, leases and manages the suburban prize.

Atmos Energy Corp.'s headquarters fills 260,000 sf, the largest tenant on the roster. Other top headquarters tenants are Valhi Inc., 95,000 sf; Docucorp International Inc., 40,000 sf; and Citadel Software Security Inc., 33,000 sf. The regional office roster has MetLife in 46,000 sf; Hillwood Development and CB Richard Ellis Inc., each with 33,000 sf; Grubb & Ellis Co., 17,000 sf; and Gensler Architects, 15,000 sf.