VariSpace, the workspace venture by Coppell-based workspace innovation and flexible office furniture company VARIDESK, is gaining momentum, with its 305,000 square foot Las Colinas campus now 90% leased, all while it remains under construction.
The company also announced it has acquired a second location, formerly The Vista at Solana in Southlake.
A Fortune 20 company has signed up for 200,000 square foot of space, essentially leasing up the remaining Las Colinas campus.
“Our mission is to create workspaces that elevate people and VariSpace is taking that mission to the next level,” said Jason McCann, co-founder and CEO of VARIDESK.
“The response to VariSpace Las Colinas is validating our approach to space-as-a-service. The response has been incredible – practically leased out while still under construction. Now we’re ready to expand our vision to Southlake,” said McCann.
VariSpace Southlake expands on the concept of space-as-a-service, offering “turnkey” workspaces to companies looking for move-in-ready spaces with flexible lease terms.
The recently redeveloped 380,000 square foot Class A building is gaining some notice as well. The design and architecture of the space was lauded as the “Best of 2008” by Texas Construction, received a “Merit Award” from The American Society of Landscape Architects.
VARIDESK plans to reimagine the Southlake building for multi-tenant use and furnish it with its own flexible office furniture – from lights, to walls, to privacy booths, and more. It sits in a strategic location between Dallas and Fort Worth off Texas Highway 114 at 1 Kirkwood Blvd., Southlake.
“Southlake is the perfect place for VariSpace,” said Southlake Mayor Laura Hill. “When we envisioned what kind of company would make this space come alive, this is what we had in mind: future-ready and forward-thinking. Congratulations to VariSpace on their success, and I’d like to be the first to welcome them to Southlake.”
Executive Managing Directors at Cushman & Wakefield Johnny Johnson and Chris Taylor are working with VARIDESK to assist with the redevelopment and leasing of both assets. Structure Tone Southwest is the general contractor. Corgan is the architect and interior designer on the project to reposition the building. JLL represented the seller in the transaction.
“We’re seeing real demand for flexible lease terms with fully-furnished spaces of our amazing line of office products, great hospitality amenities, all rolled into a simple, fully-managed solution,” said McCann.
SKYWALKER CLOSES ON DOWNTOWN ARLINGTON BUILDING
In back-to-back acquisitions, SkyWalker Property Partners has added two commercial properties to the portfolio of its Cash Flow Fever Fund, one of which was an off-market purchase of a class A office building in downtown Arlington.
SkyWalker’s off-market play has scooped up the 10,029 square foot Duncan Office Building at 501 E. Border St. in the Commerce Center. The asset is one of three in the complex, the longtime home of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
“Our timing was right,” said Gary Walker, president of locally based SkyWalker Property Partners and fund manager. “I’ve consistently been a strong advocate of downtown Arlington’s growth so this is quite an honor to own a building developed by the late Bob Duncan, one of the city’s greatest civic leaders.”
The buyer of record is Making Our Way Downtown LLC, with Walker negotiating the acquisition.
Travis English of Duncan Holdings, grandson of the developer, negotiated on the family’s behalf.
The Duncan building, featuring underground parking, is fully leased to the nonprofit Alliance for Children, Renaissance Wealth Management and the Parks, Huffman, McVay, Shepard & Wells law firm. It is situated three blocks from SkyWalker’s Vandergriff mixed-use complex and minutes from AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, Texas Live and Arlington Convention Center.
The Commerce Center was developed in 2001 by Bob Duncan and the late Jerry Jordan, ardent believers in downtown Arlington’s intrinsic value to the metroplex. Their vision was to provide a permanent home for the chamber, with each developing an office building to create a small business park in the downtown corridor.
According to family lore, Duncan had attended an elementary school that stood on the site. The complex’s third structure, the Jordan building, recently was sold to Cliff Myscoskie, a well-known local leader and noted landscape architect.
“We were happy to find an owner like Gary who’s been invested in Arlington for a long time and believes in the city like our family does,” English says. “It was not a decision we rushed into lightly because it was so important to my grandfather, but we want to focus on other opportunities.”
The second acquisition is the 58,377 square foot High Plaza Shopping Center at 2430 S. High St. in Longview. The 94%-leased asset is situated at the kissing point of Estes Parkway, South Moberly Avenue and High Street.
It is less than a quarter-mile from LeTourneau University, a 162-acre private non-denominational Christian institution. It is ranked 12th in the nation as a best value school, 17 as one of the best colleges for veterans and 28 in the Regional Universities West performance category by U.S. News & World Report.
High Plaza is the only retail center in southeast Longview.
“Demographically, the tenant profile and the neighborhood fit really well together,” said Clint Holland, SkyWalker’s acquisitions director.
SkyWalker has earmarked $300,000 for roof and parking lot repairs plus cosmetic upgrades. “It’s a classic opportunity for our motto, ‘Making Places Better,’ ” Holland says. “We’re not trying to change tenants. We want them to re-up, stay longer and continue to serve the community.”
High Plaza’s average tenant has been in place at least 10 years. The anchor is Family Dollar, which occupies 8,640 sf or 14.8% of the retail space. Beer Wells of East Texas will lease and manage the neighborhood center.
Jason Vitorino of Strive Commercial Real Estate Advisors represented the seller, High Plaza Center Inc., heirs of a Dallas/Fort Worth-based partnership that had owned the center for three decades. Holland and Walker handled negotiations for the buyer of record, The Tide is High Plaza LLC. Corey Doyle of Affiliated Bank in Arlington arranged the financing.
“We’ve had some success finding risk-adjusted cash flow in tertiary markets,” Holland says, adding Cash Flow Fever still has capital to deploy on acquisitions.
VENTURE X IN GRAPEVINE, LEWISVILLE
Venture X, a premium membership-based workspace community for entrepreneurs and businesses, has opened a new 24,159-square-foot facility located at 2451 W. Grapevine Mills Circle.
“The new building fills a definite need for a modern, new office option in a quickly growing submarket,” said franchisee Raj Chudasama. “We look forward to being a realm of corporations, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small business in the area.”
Venture X will be occupying three floors of the new building, while a single floor will be dedicated to the corporate operations of Kriya Hotels, a hotel investment and management company, of which Chudasama is managing partner.
“We anticipate a seamless transition by applying our extensive hospitality experience to the coworking space,” said Chudasama. “Supporting our clients and servicing their needs, fundamental skills required in both industries, have become second nature.”
Miami-based Venture X, a brand of the United Franchise Group, is inspired by boutique hospitality brands where relationships, consistent quality, and value-added offerings are the cornerstone of the membership experience. It has also opened a location in Lewisville.
The Lewisville location is a 30,000-square-foot office space that will open at The Realm at Castle Hills in early 2020. The workspace, which will be the brand’s 12th in Texas, will encompass the entire third floor of The Realm, located at 4400 State Highway 121, Lewisville.
The shared workspace, owned by Admiral Legacy Inc., will feature modern, contemporary furnishings and numerous amenities. In addition, it will offer members a variety of work-style options ranging from shared work areas and shared desks to private offices and conference rooms.
Members will also have access to first-floor restaurants and retail shops and be able to enjoy the technological advances implemented at The Realm.
“Our facility is going to be a welcome addition to the many professionals seeking shared workspaces for networking, growing their business, and interacting with like-minded individuals,” said Ese Aihie, one of the Venture X franchisees and president of Admiral Legacy Inc. “We selected this location because it will provide opportunities to develop strong community partnerships in an area that is experiencing rapid economic growth. This location is a perfect fit.”
Principals involved in the project were Realtor Lucas Patterson of Bright Realty and brokers Ryan Hoopes and Sarah Savage and Tom Sutherland of Cushman & Wakefield.
“We live in a very mobile society with different levels of need, and the evolution of shared workspaces is really the future of the workforce in America,” said Venture X President, Jason Anderson. “We are continually evolving to meet the needs of our members by providing a unique upscale think-tank environment that provides for greater creativity and flexibility.”
TEXAS PAINT EXPANDS IN TARRANT COUNTY
Dallas-based Texas Paint has opened its second paint store location in the Fort Worth area, totaling seven outlets in the Lone Star State. Following the opening of its first pro-focused warehouse concept in Fort Worth in May 2019, the newest Texas Paint outlet is located at 7449 Airport Freeway in Richland Hills, the company said in a news release.
Similar to its Fort Worth location, Texas Paint Richland Hills is designed specifically with convenience and efficiency for the professional customer.
The outlets are a paint store and warehouse hybrid built for the high-volume and quick turnaround required by residential repaint and professional painting contractors, facility maintenance professionals, homeowners and interior designers, Texas Paint said in the release.
In addition to a broader product selection and deeper inventory than a typical paint store, both walk-in and free express delivery services in the area are available, focused on saving time and effort for customers as they plan their jobs.
“Building on the success of our first location in Fort Worth, we are thrilled to continue our expansion in the area,” said Joe Helm, Texas Paint owner. “We remain committed to providing products and services that best suit the needs and schedules of our customers and look forward to servicing a broader base of professional painters with this new location.”
Texas Paint Richland Hills is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free delivery service is available within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area for orders placed between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., with no minimum order requirements.
Texas Paint operates five walk-in retail locations in Dallas and two warehouse-style outlets in Fort Worth and Richland Hills. A third warehouse store is planned for Arlington.
Texas Paint was founded in 1947.
LEASES
BKD signed a 12,730 square foot lease at 777 Main St. in Fort Worth. Matt Heidelbaugh and Emily Hoffman of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Whit Kelly of Transwestern represented the landlord, F7 SSSM LLC.
Lennar Multifamily Communities LLC signed a 14,524 square foot lease renewal in Waterway Tower at 433 E. Las Colinas Blvd. in Irving. Dan Harris of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. John Hoctor with Hoctor Commercial represented the landlord, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
Lingo Communications subleased 7,805 square feet in Canal Centre at 400 E. Las Colinas Blvd. in Irving. Matt Heidelbaugh and Cribb Altman of Cushman & Wakefield represented the subtenant. The sublandlord, Swearingen Realty Group LLC, was self-represented by Alex Bathie.
National Parcel Logistics, a transportation and postal logistics solution provider, has signed a 63,626 square-foot industrial lease at 3460 S. Watson Road in Arlington. Barrett Bufkin and Damian Rivera, SIOR of espy represented the tenant in lease negotiations.
Unify HR LLC renewed an 18,138 square foot lease in Crestview Tower at 105 Decker Court in Irving. Steve Wentz of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Tim Terrell and Rhett Miller of Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, CP II Crestview LP.