The Metroplex’s Office Sector Holds Steady

The Metroplex’s office sector showed strong fundamentals during the first half of the year. The market’s development pipeline encompassing almost 5 million square feet ranked second nationally, according to CommercialEdge information. A total of 18 projects broke ground during the first six months of 2024.

While some metrics are still affected by postpandemic challenges, including the vacancy rate which rose 430 basis points year-over-year, Dallas is still a hotspot for investors, albeit at a slower pace. Six office properties came online in the first half of this year, marking a 49.2 percent decrease when compared to the same interval of 2023.

However, infrastructure projects such as the DART Silver Line, a 26-mile commuter rail project connecting Plano to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport that is scheduled for completion by early 2026, only enhance the metro’s appeal.

Second-largest development pipeline nationwide

In the first half of the year, the Metroplex’s office sector had almost 5 million square feet of office space under construction, accounting for 1.8 percent of existing stock—above the 1.1 percent U.S. average. The market ranked second nationally, being surpassed only by Boston (12.5 million square feet) and followed by Austin (4.3 million square feet), San Diego (3.9 million square feet) and the Bay Area (2.4 million square feet).

When factoring in projects in planning stages, Dallas’ office development pipeline stood at 12.1 percent of stock, more than triple the national average. Austin (14.8 percent) was the only market to surpass the Metroplex, while Houston (1.9 percent) and San Diego (6.7 percent) were far behind.

During the same period, 18 office projects expected to measure roughly 1.1 million square feet broke ground in the market. This represents almost 9.0 percent of the total developments that started construction across the country in the same interval.

In April, a joint venture between Pacific Elm Properties and KDC obtained $290 million in construction financing for the development of Parkside Uptown in Dallas. The 500,000-square-foot project broke ground last year and is scheduled for completion in 2027.

A month earlier, KDC topped out Wells Fargo’s office campus in Irving, Texas, dubbed Project Falcon. Set to measure 850,000 square feet, the two-building project will come online by the end of next year.

Completions nearly halved in H1

The Metroplex’s office sector saw six buildings coming online in the first half of this year, which added roughly 821,000 square feet to its inventory—0.2 percent of total market stock. Nonetheless, this marks a 49.2 percent decrease year-over-year, in line with ongoing commercial real estate trends.

Dallas-Fort Worth fared better than Phoenix (478,494 square feet), Los Angeles (483,175 square feet) and Miami (249,138 square feet). However, southwestern markets Austin (921,403 square feet) and Houston (1.3 million square feet) surpassed the metro.

In May, Stream Realty Partners completed and opened The QUAD in Uptown Dallas, a 12-story building. The 345,425-square-foot mid-rise is the first property in Dallas to achieve both WiredScore and SmartScore Platinum ratings.

Earlier this year, Crow Holdings delivered The Offices at Southstone Yards, the first mass-timber office building in North Texas. Located in Frisco, the seven-story property comprises some 242,000 square feet and is the first phase of a larger development.

Strong sales activity, despite low prices

Dallas-Fort Worth’s transaction volume in the first half of the year stood at $510 million. Assets traded at an average of $127 per square foot, considerably below the $172 national figure.

Prices in the metro also lagged those recorded in markets such as Austin ($439 per square foot), the Bay Area ($260 per square foot) and Phoenix ($167 per square foot), but surpassed the ones in Chicago ($89 per square foot) and Philadelphia ($94 per square foot).

In March, Triumph Financial purchased One Lincoln Park, a 257,000-square-foot property in Dallas, for $54 million—about $210 per square foot. The company acquired the asset from Piedmont Office Realty Trust and rebranded it as One Triumph Place.

A month earlier, Franklin Street Properties sold Collins Crossing, a 300,887-square-foot office building in Richardson, Texas. Goldenrod Cos. and Reserve Capital Partners acquired the asset, as well as an adjacent 3.6-acre parcel, where the duo plans to construct a mixed-use development.

Higher vacancy rates and asking rents

The Metroplex’s office sector registered a vacancy rate of 21.8 percent as of June, up 430 basis points year-over-year and well above the 18.1 percent U.S. average. Miami (12.0 precent) posted the lowest rate nationally, while markets such as Houston (23.8 percent) and San Francisco (25.4 percent) were on the other side of the spectrum.

In March, Granite Properties and Highwoods Properties signed a 118,484-square-foot leasing agreement at their 23Springs project in Dallas. Global law firm Sidley Austin LLP will occupy four and a half floors at the building, which is underway and expected to come online next spring.

The same month, Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute renewed its lease at The Pyramids at Park Lane South Tower, a 145,365-square-foot medical office building in the North Dallas neighborhood. The entity will continue to occupy 45,000 square feet at the six-story property.

Listing rates in the metro as of June stood at $28.99 per square foot, marking a 6.7 percent increase over the year, but remaining below the $31.67 national average. Peer markets such as the Bay Area ($53.28 per square foot) and Atlanta ($32.02 per square foot) performed better.

Dallas sees new coworking spaces

Dallas-Fort Worth’s shared space inventory at the end of June totaled roughly 5.4 million square feet across 271 locations. This accounted for 1.9 percent of the metro’s total rentable office space, slightly above the 1.8 percent national average.

The market surpassed Houston (1.7 percent), the Bay Area (1.2 percent) and Phoenix (1.7 percent), but lagged Atlanta (2.1 percent) and Denver (2.2 percent). Regus had the largest share of coworking space in the Metroplex, with 620,315 square feet, followed by Executive Workspace with 442,625 square feet.

Last month, Workbox entered the Dallas-Fort Worth market and opened a 50,000-square-foot coworking space at Asana Partners’ Victory Plaza. That space was previously occupied by WeWork, before it failed to renegotiate the leasing terms following its Chapter 11 exit.