General Mills Expands, Signs for 670,000 SF

FORT WORTH-AllianceTexas has reeled in a Texas-size lease, signing an existing tenant to 670,000 sf in a Denton County corner of the 15,000-acre, multi-municipality consortium. The build-to-suit deal, says a company contact, is the largest expansion in AllianceTexas history and one of the biggest contracts signed this year.

With the signing, General Mills Corp. will pick up another 302,185 sf for its North Texas distribution base. Its present site is located at the intersection of Intermodal and Westport parkways in the Haslet section. Its new home, which delivers in December, is going up at the northeast corner of Independence Parkway and Henrietta Creek Road in the Fort Worth bounds. General Mills uses Exel Logistics to operate its AllianceTexas facility and will continue to do so, according to the contact.

In the past nine months, AllianceTexas has finalized three of the four largest leases in its history. As for its year-to-date tally, Hillwood has sealed more than 1.75 million sf, just 54,770 sf shy of its 1998 record of 1.8 million sf plus. The world-renowned distribution complex has 1.9 million sf under construction for Ford, Bridgestone/Firestone, Ryder/Phillips and of course, General Mills.

AllianceTexas historically has snagged some of the largest deals around town in the past 11 years. Its top expansions include UPS’ August 2000 addition of 400,000 sf to take its total to 720,000 sf; AT&Ts’ June 1999 contract adding 289,056 sf for a total of 329,592 sf; Tech Data’s March 1999 lease adding 285,000 sf for a total of 539,000 sf; and S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.’s December 2000 lease of 408,000, which brought a 216,000-sf expansion.

In terms of lease size, General Mills is tied for third place with Bridgestone/Firestone. Randalls Food Markets still leads the development’s 100-plus company roster with 976,471 sf while Ryder/Philips holds the record for the second-largest contract, 756,000 sf.