Harwood International Now Owns LBJ Financial Center Trio; Expansion Talks Under Way

DALLAS-Harwood International has bought a cornerstone for expansion, finalizing the acquisition of an 89,745-rentable sf office building that abuts its 277,083-sf LBJ Financial Center.

Plans are afoot to add another office building to the combined nine-acre site, across from the prestigious Galleria shopping mall and business center off Interstate 635. “The acquisition represents a natural fit to our existing property that will also be the cornerstone for future growth,” Doug Walker, Harwood Management Services’ president, tells GlobeSt.com.

The immediate game plan has been to acquire six-story 5580 LBJ Freeway and its 2.6 acres. The buyout from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has been in the works for some time, says Walker.

Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, Harwood’s CEO, says the buyout is a strategic addition to the existing office campus. “The complex has long been an attractive business location and one that will continue to grow as we develop additional land on the site,” he says. The LBJ Financial Center, comprised of 5520 and 5550 LBJ Freeway, is connected to the newly acquired building by a climate-controlled breezeway, open courtyard and shared parking facilities. The acquisition is 93% occupied. The multi-tenant structure’s largest lessee is Travis Wolff & Co., which occupies 20,990 sf.

Walker says the buyout now enables Dallas-based Harwood to integrate across-the-board operating procedures and tenant amenities in the office complex. Trammell Crow Co. has represented the building owner in the sale while an in-house broker has acted on Harwood’s behalf.