CBRE Arranges 199 KSF Plano Office Property Trade

By Barbra Murray

1800 Preston Park Blvd. in Plano, Texas

The 198,800-square-foot office destination at 1800 & 1820 Preston Park in Plano, Texas, has come under new ownership, and CBRE had more than a little bit to do with it. Acting on behalf of the seller, Alexander & Baldwin, the commercial real estate services firm sold the two-building suburban Dallas asset to Libitzky Property Cos. and Sunwest Real Estate Group. All involved are remaining mum on the sales price of the 12-acre complex, which boasts a location in the prestigious Far North Dallas submarket.

CBRE relied on targeted marketing to secure a buyer for the Class A Preston Park. “Far North Dallas in general and Plano in particular are among investors’ targeted submarkets in Dallas-Fort Worth, where we continue to see strong demand across a wide range of investors,” Eric Mackey, senior vice president with CBRE, told Commercial Property Executive. “Given its exceptional West Plano location, 1800 & 1820 Preston Park benefits from the surrounding area’s superior demographics, upscale residential neighborhoods and high-quality, professional workforce.”

Preston Park is 81 percent leased, with a roster of occupants featuring such creditworthy tenants as American Flood Research, Arrow Electronics and Health Texas. Completed in 1998, the property last changed hands in 2006, when A&B purchased the asset for $25 million from its developer, Hepfner, Smith, Airhart & Day.

The DFW allure

It isn’t just Plano that’s high on investors’ radar; the entire DFW office market is getting a great deal of attention, and pertinent figures support the sentiment. Though lower than sales in 2016, DFW’s office investment volume in 2017 reached $3.5 billion, per a report by commercial real estate services firm Colliers International. Transactions exceeding $300 per square-foot during the fourth quarter of 2017 included PRP Property Management and AXA Equitable Financial Services’ purchase of the 264,000-square-foot FedEx Office Headquarters in Far North Dallas for $79.7 million. TA Realty snapped up Berkshire at Preston Center, a 189,000-square-foot property in the Preston Center submarket, for $68.6 million. And Veritex Bank purchased the 96,500-square-foot Veritex Bank Plaza for $41.5 million, or a notable $430 per square foot.

“Investors continue to be interested in DFW as they seek strong, stable returns outside of the high-priced coastal markets,” according to the Colliers report. “Dallas-Fort Worth had the eighth highest sales volume in 2017, behind the major coastal markets and Chicago.”

Image courtesy of Alexander & Baldwin