Hard-Fought Talks Bank 140,000-SF, 11-Year HQ Deal

The insurance division of Chicago-based Unitrin Inc. will begin a phased-in move to Park Central VII and IX in August. The relocation will wrap up in time for the October expiration of a lease at 10000 North Central, its headquarters address since 1989.

The Park Central win boiled down to economics, which got even better after a published report that the headquarters was headed to Downtown Dallas, J. Michael Gosslee, senior director in Dallas for Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. "It was a very nice rate and a considerable concessions package," he says, citing sweetheart perks like constructing an on-site company cafeteria on the ground floor of the 213,837-sf Park Central IX at 12790 Merit Dr.

Unitrin's space, spanning nearly five full floors, is divvied between the eight-story Park Central IX and the 14-story, 365,868-sf Park Central VII at 12750 Merit Dr. "You can be sure one of the criteria is we have lots of opportunities to expand through the terms of the lease," says Gosslee, who partnered with C&W's vice chairman Bob Edge for the exhaustive search for new headquarters space.

Gosslee says the three-year search, involving 80 buildings and fluctuating size requirements as Unitrin shifted strategies and presidents, ended with three locations making the final cut. Park Central was pitted against an Uptown high rise and a renewal at 10000 North Central. In the end, economics ruled. "Like most insurance companies, they're very much oriented to the bottom line," he says.

Though the final rate is off limits, the dynamics are such that Park Central's quoted rent of $19.50 per sf to $21 per sf, full service, most likely was shaved below $15 per sf to score the win for the owner, Park Central 789 Realty Holding, which has Jones Lang LaSalle in charge of leasing and management of the complex. Dale Ray, senior vice president for Jones Lang LaSalle in Dallas, says other influencing factors was a $7.5-million renovation of building interiors and the courtyard plus a longstanding relationship between Unitrin and the JLL team, led by vice president Sandie Matejek, who until a year ago oversaw 10000 North Central. "They knew us because we'd been providing services to them for a number of years," he says. "Sandie and her team left a major positive impression that followed them through the years."

Both sides of the deal also credit the completion of the High Five interchange at North Central Expressway and LBJ Freeway as impacting the final decision. "I wouldn't take a client there three years ago due to the congestion," Gosslee says, citing the marked difference in traffic flow since the freeway redo. As a result, he says another perk embedded into the decision is Unitrin will hold onto its labor pool since the present and future locations are just three miles apart.