“Thanks very much and welcome. This is a splendid day to be on the top of the hill in the best place you can be in Irving, Texas, right here, on Mr. Carpenter’s ranch—35 acres,” Tim Dove, president and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, said as he addressed a tent full of attendees at today’s groundbreaking for Pioneer’s new headquarters.
The development, which will span 1.125 million square feet, is scheduled for completion by winter 2019. The project is part of Verizon’s Hidden Ridge development in Las Colinas that will also include retail and residential space.
The CEO said the oil and gas company has been waiting a long time for this day. “This clearly is a red-letter day in Pioneer history,” Dove said. “The concept of [a] red-letter day goes into antiquity, which has to do with circling on the calendar, in red, the days that are of significant importance. And that’s certainly the case for Pioneer today.”
The company organized a building committee to collect input from employees on what the new 10-story office building should offer. Dove said the company is now comprised of more than 40 percent millennial employees. “We’re building this building for the millennials to grow into the next generation,” he said. There are currently about 1,100 employees who work in Pioneer’s headquarters in Irving and who will make the transition to the new headquarters upon its completion.
“Irving has been our home for a long time and we anticipate, with this building, it will be for generations to come,” Dove said. Pioneer got its start in Irving 20 years ago, and has been at its current location since 1997. The groundbreaking for its future home comes as the company completes a milestone, celebrating its 20th anniversary on August 7th.
The location’s access to the airport and nearby major highways made the site a clear choice for the oil and gas company. The company’s lease is coming to an end in 2020, prompting it to look for its next location. Said Dove: “We have employees who live all the way in Allen, Prosper, to southwest Fort Worth, to south of Arlington—the whole breadth of [North Texas] is represented by our employee population. They can come to Irving as a central point, where we can all come together as a team and as an organization. And that’s what makes Irving so special.”
The new headquarters will include a cafeteria and fitness center for employees. The design will include collaborative spaces that are in line with today’s work flow as well as a daycare center.
Duda Paine Architects is the project’s design firm, KDC is the developer, HKS is the architect, and Corgan Associates will lead the interior design. Austin Commercial is the general contractor.
“The land we’re standing on today is one of the greatest sites of undeveloped urban land in the United States,” said Beth Bowman, president and CEO of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber.
Steve Van Amburgh, CEO of KDC, said Pioneer’s marks the 11th project for KDC in Las Colinas and the most important and biggest that it’s had so far. “Irving developed a personality of being one of the most pro-business, pro-development groups to work with,” said Van Amburgh. “They would expedite things and we’re asking them to do that again now.”
Van Amburgh is confident that they will deliver the building on schedule. Van Amburgh said he considers KDC a corporate homebuilder: “This is a build-to-suit and it’s a build-to-suit for Pioneer.”
