We all know the exciting story of the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown Dallas, and that downtown is the largest employment center in North Texas. But what you might not know is that downtown Dallas has seen thousands of new jobs created just in 2014, with more to come in 2015 and beyond.
The majority of the new jobs have come from just a few tenants in two buildings, relocating both from the region and from out of state. We have also seen our fair share of renewals and expansions in these buildings and others. In fact, according to CBRE, 2014 downtown renewals and expansions add up to 1.6 million square feet.
Santander Consumer USA Inc. (hyperlink http://www.tomdundon.com/downtown-dallas-thanksgiving-tower-new-home-of-santander-consumer-usa/) has already moved approximately 1,000 workers into remodeled offices on eight floors of Thanksgiving Tower, with plans to expand to 14 floors in 2015. Thanksgiving Tower also saw new leases in 2014, including Vincent Lopez Serafino Jenevein P.C. and Reid, Collins, & Tsai LLP.
Woods Capital has $18 million in upgrades planned for Thanksgiving Tower. Work on retail space, lobby, and outdoor plaza renovations will be finished in late 2015.
Active Network and Omnitracs relocated this year from California to downtown’s 717 Harwood, bringing with them almost 1,500 jobs. And Lanyon, a leader in transient hotel program technology, leased space as well.
Active Network LLC is a technology provider that helps activity organizers automate and simplify their management software. Omnitracs LLC provides fleet management solutions to the trucking industry and recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of XRS Corporation.
Austin-based World Class Capital purchased the building, previously known as KPMG Centre, in March and is investing millions in renovations, including upgrades in the lobby and exterior.
Downtown Dallas is also seeing a surge of activity with the entrepreneurship and startup community. The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC) recently hosted the Second Annual State of Entrepreneurship, with more than 400 attendees. We learned that there are now seven co-working spaces with more than 60,000 square feet of space, three accelerators, and several incubators in downtown Dallas alone. The Grove in the West End Historic District and Common Desk in Deep Ellum have both recently expanded. Tech Wildcatters, Health Wildcatters, and Dallas Fort Work have all moved into Alto 211 in the Main Street District, and The DEC moved into a 10,000-square-foot space in the West End Historic District. It all adds up to hundreds of companies and jobs for downtown!
(For more information on startups and entrepreneurship activity in the region, check out the State of Entrepreneurship website.)
On top of everything else, there are 10 new hotels and more than 35 new restaurants and bars opening in the next 12-18 months, all bringing jobs to downtown.
We look forward to several major projects coming to fruition and adding to that growth in 2015 and beyond. The best is yet to come!
