Why Granite’s Bill Brown Is Bullish on DFW Office
In the best submarkets, Dallas office product is experiencing unprecedented rent levels and projects are close to (or exceeding) replacement cost rents. Those are just some of the reasons Bisnow is excited to host the DFW Office Boom and Creative Revolution event on Nov. 10 starting at 7:30am at The Centrum, 3102 Oak Lawn Ave, in Dallas.
Granite Properties CIO Bill Brown (a speaker at the event) tells us the market is starting to hit above the average historical new supply (which is 5M SF). A little less than half of what is being built is already pre-leased; so, it’s not 100% spec, he says. Projections show this trend could continue for another couple of years. He’s confident that the amount of development is “fairly appropriate.” It seems to be more disciplined, and it’s occurring in the best submarkets, he tells us. We don’t see any imminent danger; Texas has garnered the majority of the new jobs and Dallas is the most diversified economy in the state, he says. “I don’t see anything slowing it down.”
Bill says Granite's most exciting new project is the old West End Marketplace, which has been rebranded as Factory Six03. The concept was born out of extensive travels and study of the real estate markets in San Francisco and Boston. Those cities’ creative office space has been an emerging trend for the knowledge worker, he says. As companies are fighting to recruit and retain top talent, they want to provide a compelling environment to a generation very concerned about life balance. While Granite’s leaders watched the creative project emerge within tech startups, it has most certainly matured and is now a preferred choice for established firms that have young creative talent. Their preferred locations are typically amenity-rich in terms of residential, retail and nightlife. Factory Six03 is Granite’s first foray into creative space, and since announcing its plans, there’s been huge interest.
Granite Park, by contrast, is the firm’s 3M SF master planned, mixed-use office park in Plano. The park is growing to meet the demands for more high-end amenities, and more office space in the exploding 121/Tollway market. Designed with accessibility in mind and to shrink transition times, Bill tells us, guests can be from an office meeting to the hotel in moments, or meet a client for drinks at Prairie Fire bar. Of course, the influx of people and companies like Toyota to the area is a huge catalyst for Granite Park growth. How many people want to be next to Toyota and these large corporate users? No one knows yet, he says. Granite is working on The Boardwalk at Granite Park, which will consist of a restaurant row of five or six eateries adjacent to one of Granite Park’s water features.
Save your spot now for the Bisnow DFW Office Boom and Creative Revolution event on Nov. 10 at The Centrum, 3102 Oak Lawn Ave, in Dallas. Register here.
