Tandy Center's Owner Switches Plan After Landing Four-Floor Tenant

David Porter, president of PNL Cos. of Dallas, has done the about-face after landing a 65,000-sf, four-floor lease with Range Resources Corp. The landmark's retooling has just ramped up so Range Resources can get in the door in first quarter 2007, Porter tells GlobeSt.com.

Porter says the deal for floors nine through 12 went full circle in three months. "They needed to find another block of space Downtown," he says. "They had a few options, but I think they were intrigued by what we were doing."

Fort Worth has one of, if not the, tightest CBD office markets in the state. "It was very important for our employees to be able to stay Downtown," Rodney Waller of Range Resources says in a press release. The firm offices at 777 Main St., which reportedly didn't have enough space to meet Range Resources' expansion requirement. Jack Huff and Kyle Poulson with Huff Partners represented Range Resources.

PNL bought Tandy Center at 100 Throckmorton St. in December 2001 from its long-time owner, RadioShack Corp., which has since relocated to a $200-million-plus headquarters at the CBD's edge. PNL's Sundance Square centerpiece will be renamed to City Place. The 320,000-sf North Tower has been dubbed Two City Place. The South Tower, which will still be converted into condos, will be branded as One City Place.

Porter's renovation plan calls for all glass to be replaced with energy-efficient panes; mechanical, elevator and common area upgrades; 300 parking spaces to complement a 400-space garage; and 10,000 sf of retail, including a US Post Office. An existing mall area will be gutted and brought back as parking and retail in a redesign that is now under way. When that's done, Porter says he will ramp up work on the residential tower.

Porter has been sitting on a final decision about the North Tower about 18 months. He repeatedly said the decision would rest on the market--and a 6.7% office vacancy in the Downtown apparently was the decisionmaker.