Pickleball, Putt-Putt And Transit-Oriented Development: How Addison, Texas, Is Bringing Office Back
Cities across the U.S. are searching for ways to lure people back to the office as work-from-home policies continue to impact everything from downtown building values to local bars and restaurants.
But while some may think the answer is offering gym memberships, in-office coffee bars or other fancy perks, Wayne Emerson, director of economic development for the town of Addison, Texas, says the No. 1 amenity that will bring employees back to the office is people.
“Ultimately, people are social creatures,” Emerson said. “Cities like the town of Addison are nothing but a collection of people, and that's our greatest asset. We only have about 17,000 residents, but we have about 80,000 people who work in Addison, and when they come here, they feel as though they are part of the community. The best asset is the people they get to work with.”
Emerson walked Bisnow through some of the ways Addison is working to bring employers and employees into its Class-A office spaces, from experience-driven restaurants and bars to new transit-oriented development.
Combining Dining, Entertainment And Experiences
Addison, which is immediately north of Dallas, has a high concentration of young professionals, Emerson said, with nearly 30% of its population between the ages of 25 and 35. He said this will be a key factor driving workers, especially younger ones, to the town’s offices.
People are drawn to Addison because of its focus on dining and entertainment, making it an ideal place for not only collaborating with co-workers during the day but also bonding with team members after hours, he said.
“We have 200 restaurants in Addison, which, by many accounts, is probably the largest number of restaurants per capita in the entire U.S.,” Emerson said. “We also have an emerging focus on entertainment and experiential dining spots that folks can partake in after hours.”
Some of these entertainment-focused spots include Puttshack, an upscale, tech-focused mini-golf course, and Sidecar Social, a bar that features several screens for catching sports, as well as pool tables, shuffleboard and pingpong tables. There is also Batbox, a new dining and entertainment concept where patrons have a batting cage in front of their table and a server brings food while diners watch their friends hit in the batting cage.
“All of these are great places for people to meet up after work, go to a happy hour and further connect with the community,” he said.
Investing In Office
While people may be a top amenity for office workers, Emerson recognizes that more traditional amenities can be major draws as well.
This is why the Spectrum Center, a development made up of two 12-story, Class-A office towers totaling 614K SF located right on the Dallas North Tollway, recently invested $30M in upgrading its amenities to include a pickleball court, new exercise facilities, a coffee shop and, soon, a new restaurant. Emerson said the development also features many collaborative spaces, conference rooms and tenant areas where workers can come together.
Over in the South Quorum area of Addison, the town is working on upgrading another large office park to include a 9K SF event lawn, a move that Emerson described as “people-focused” and “placemaking.”
“We’re trying to create more connectivity,” he said. “The goal is to have a total of 18K SF of green space in this office park and create outdoor coworking spaces that are WiFi-connected so that when the weather's nice, people can get outside with their teams and enjoy the air while still working.”
Addison will also be building new transit-oriented developments along the new Silver Line on the DART rail service. This line will start in Plano, Texas, with stops in Dallas, Addison, Carrollton and Coppell, ultimately terminating at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Along this line, Addison’s AMLI Tower will feature 280 luxury residential units, an AMLI Podium with an additional 400 units, a new 150K SF mass timber office building from Quadrant, and 18K SF of restaurant and retail space.
“Our spot on the Silver Line is going to be different from other transit stations in the area,” Emerson said. “A lot of transit stations here in Dallas are focused around residential development. This one is going to have roughly 4M SF of office space within a half-mile walking distance. So it's truly going to be a commuter transit station.”
Creative Programming To Keep People Engaged
Addison Circle Park is a 6-acre park where the town hosts year-round programming, including Taste Addison, Oktoberfest and Addison Kaboom Town, an annual fireworks show that draws more than 200,000 people. Emerson said these three events are already major draws for the area, but the town is looking into doing smaller events on a regular basis, such as morning yoga and evening happy hours.
The goal is to make Addison an even more ideal location for employers and employees, something that Emerson said isn’t hard to do since its appeal is already baked into the town’s demographics.
“Addison's central location in DFW is in itself the best amenity,” he said. “Employers have access to over 3 million workers living within a 30-minute drive. Not even Uptown Dallas can boast that kind of access to talent.”
This article was produced in collaboration between the town of Addison and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.
