Granite Properties has been transforming the old West End Marketplace for more than two years. On Thursday, the newly rebranded Factory Six03 officially opens, though its anchor tenant, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’ C1 Innovation Lab, has already moved in.
Granite president and COO Greg Fuller says the West End building has also signed a 6,000-square-foot lease for a law firm, though it can’t say which one just yet. Granite is in deep discussions for another 65,000 square feet of leases spread across a handful of potential tenants.
The eight-story, 215,000-square-foot office building will have some restaurant space on the ground floor that is still being built out. Granite is considering putting a 10-user food hall in the ground floor of Factory Six03, but has not ruled out using the space for more conventional restaurants either.
The possible food hall would be reminiscent of Atlanta’s Ponce City Market, Granite CIO Bill Brown says. Locally selected users would have limited kitchens and services, but share enclosed and patio seating areas. The food hall would also have a full bar.
Leasing interest has been strong, especially considering potential tenants have only been able to tour the space for about three weeks, Fuller says.
As it often happens with historic redevelopments, the $77 million project came in over budget and behind schedule as Granite encountered unforeseen circumstances such as a water well in the basement, voids in load-bearing walls, and a collapsed roof. Dallas-based GFF and historic preservation architect Architexas redesigned the building. General contractor DPR Construction and landscape architect Mesa Design Group redeveloped the building.
Granite’s completion of Factory Six03 comes on the heels of Crescent Real Estate breaking ground on another West End office property, The Luminary.
