Best Medical Project –Dallas Proton Treatment Center
When the Dallas Proton Treatment Center opens in 2016, it will be one of the few cancer facilities of its kind in the country. The treatment it offers, which uses a device that weighs as much as a loaded 737 jet, has been found to result in fewer side effects for cancer patients. ¶ The University of Texas Southwestern is collaborating with Advanced Particle Therapy in San Diego on the center. They’ve acquired 5 acres from an affiliate of Crow Holdings for what will be the first phase of Crow’s masterplanned redevelopment of the former Dallas Apparel Mart site along Stemmons Freeway. ¶ Last September, the Dallas City Council approved up to $7 million in TIF funds to help support the $225 million project. ¶ Sue Hounsel, senior coordinator for the city’s Office of Economic Development, says Dallas should see benefits even beyond job creation and tax gains from the center’s high-value equipment. “Based on experiences at other facilities, about 75 percent of patients come in from outside the area and stay at hotels, which will help with tourism,” she says. “This treatment is non-invasive, so patients will be able to go enjoy the area.” ¶ Will Mundinger is leading the project for Crow Holdings. Signet Enterprises is the developer. Rachel Brown of Jones Lang LaSalle put the initial land deal together. The project’s architect is Perkins + Will.
FINALISTS – Forest Park Medical Fort Worth; HCA North Texas-Alliance
Best Retail Project –Top Golf, The Colony
With business booming at its two other North Texas locations, Top Golf began looking for a third site in 2012. It tapped Luke Wilson and Terry Syler of The Retail Connection to help. The brokers evaluated 15 locations, culling through piles of market statistics and demographics. The trick was to find something in the northern path of growth, but not so close as to cannibalize Top Golf’s existing facility in Allen. ¶ Negotiations were underway on a site when Top Golf hired a new real estate director, Zach Shor. The search ultimately was refocused to the State Highway 121 corridor, particularly a stretch near where Nebraska Furniture Mart’s massive DFW store is under construction. The Colony stepped forward with a compelling incentives package, and a decision was made. ¶ Shor says working with The Colony was a breeze. “If I could copy and paste them all over the country, I’d do it,” he says. “They’re incredibly easy to work with and a very fun group. I’m in 40 markets, and they are atypical.” ¶ Top Golf’s venue in The Colony—its new prototype—opened in November 2013, and performance is already exceeding expectations. Along with Nebraska Furniture Mart, Top Golf is helping to create a brand new retail trade area, Shor says: “The whole area is just continuing to grow, and can only get better.”
FINALISTS – Nordstrom Rack, Galleria; Trader Joe’s, Inwood Village; Winco Foods, Old Orchard Village
Best Redevelopment or Renovation –Golden Triangle Mall
By 2010, time and a down economy had taken their toll on Golden Triangle Mall in Denton, and the nearly 800,000-square-foot center was posted for foreclosure. It was destined to go the way of Prestonwood or North Town or other failed malls, says Herb Weitzman, chairman and CEO of The Weitzman Group. But unlike those properties, Golden Triangle still had a reason to exist, he says: “It was neglected and lost ground, but the fortunate thing is that the location got better and better, with major infrastructure and road improvements surrounding it.” ¶ Weitzman’s development affiliate, Cencor Realty Services, joined forces with The MGHerring Group to acquire the mall in late 2011, and set about giving it a $60 million overhaul. The changes have helped save Golden Triangle from obsolescence. Not only has it held on to its anchor tenants—Macy’s, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Sears, and Barnes and Noble—the shopping center also signed new leases with a number of name-brand retailers. Occupancy now stands at 97 percent, and traffic and sales have greatly increased. What’s more, development of new standalone restaurants is occurring on the mall’s perimeter. ¶ Playing a key role in the project, along with Weitzman, were Gar Herring of The MGHerring Group, Aimee Bissett, Denton’s director of economic development, project architect Steve Elliott, and leasing agent Blake Shipp with the Weitzman Group, and Paul Burridge with the MGHerring Group.
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FINALISTS – City Place Fort Worth; Collins Center; Flextronics-Motorola
Best Industrial Project – LG Electronics
LG Electronics was outgrowing its space at AllianceTexas and knew it needed more room. It just didn’t know exactly how much more. In fact, the company’s square-footage requirement changed a half-dozen times during its search, as it evaluated various national consolidations and supply-chain strategies. Meantime, Hillwood had begun construction of a speculative industrial building at Alliance Center North, a new sector at its massive 17,000-acre masterplanned development in North Fort Worth. In the end, that project turned into a build-to-suit for LG Electronics, Alliance’s longest-running tenant. ¶ When it opens this summer, the facility will serve as the company’s central distribution hub for appliances, televisions, and other consumer electronics. At 1.1 million square feet, it was the market’s largest industrial lease of 2013. Dave Anderson with CBRE represented LG Electronics in the deal. Steve Aldrich and Tony Creme were the in-house representatives for Hillwood. ¶ With the big lease in hand, Hillwood has already begun work on a second speculative building in Alliance Center North. It’s important to have space ready to go when another tenant is ready to expand, Aldrich says: “One of the things we always preach is flexibility. It’s basically the first thing we say in every sales pitch and the last: ‘We challenge you to outgrow us.’”
FINALISTS – Ameri-Pac; Carolina Beverage Group; Walmart.com
Broker of the Year – Jack Gosnell, UCR
When Jack Gosnell got out of the Army in the early 1970s, he traveled the country looking for a place to start a career in real estate. He stopped in Dallas to visit a friend from college and landed a meeting with Henry S. Miller Jr. “I walked out of the door and said, ‘This is where I want to work.’” ¶ After Miller had a heart attack, he asked Gosnell, who had been a general’s assistant in the service, to become his aide-de-camp. That helped the young broker learn the real estate business “cradle to grave,” he says. ¶ Gosnell formed his own company in 1979, then joined UCR in 2004 and launched its UCR Urban division. He has always focused on infill projects, and 2013 was no exception. Gosnell brokered the sale of The Shops of Highland Park and 2619 McKinney (the former Hard Rock Café) in Uptown, and helped find space for numerous restaurants, including Parliament Bar and Mr. Mesero. He also worked on the retail components of Crescent’s new Cesar Pelli-designed Uptown tower and Mid Elm Lofts downtown. ¶ But the biggie is the $64 million revitalization of the Dallas Farmers Market. A champion for the city’s inner core, Gosnell is playing a key role in the market’s redevelopment. “It connects the four corners of downtown, with the convention center and hotel, the West End, and the Arts District,” he says. “The Farmers Market makes it complete. It’s monumentally important.”
FINALISTS – Gary Carr, CBRE; Brian O’Boyle, Ara-Dallas; Steve Thelen, Jones Lang Lasalle
Best Headquarters Project (Tie) – Conifer Health Soluions
In mid-2012, Conifer Health Solutions tapped Jones Lang LaSalle to help it determine the ideal location for its headquarters, as it had a number of lease deals set to expire across the country. According to JLL’s Steve Thelen, who led the search, a labor analysis showed its current home, North Texas, coming out on top. Winning the hotly pursued deal locally was Duke Realty. ¶ The developer had been shifting its focus away from office, disposing of the lion’s share of its office holdings to be more heavily weighted in industrial. But it held onto key office development sites, including Duke Bridges, situated along the Dallas North Tollway in Frisco. It proved to be a perfect fit for Conifer. The site was close to the company’s existing office, and it could accommodate growth—a lot of it. Conifer was not only seeking a 200,000-square-foot headquarters—more than double what it had—but the option to add another 152,000 square feet in the future. That’s 1,200 jobs initially, and the ability to add another 800. ¶ Recognizing the importance of retaining Conifer, the Frisco Economic Development Corp. delivered key incentives—and made it possible for Duke to meet a “super-accelerated” building delivery schedule, says Jeff Thornton, who heads the firm’s North Texas operations: “This one was a case study on a well-oiled municipality.” ¶ Dale Ray with Peloton Commercial Real Estate represented Duke. Corgan’s Matt McDonald was the architect.
Best Headquarters Project (Tie) – Epsilon
Sometimes deals are so convoluted and complicated, it’s a miracle that they ever get done. Epsilon’s global headquarters relocation is one of those deals. ¶ The technology services company was running out space at its home along Regent Boulevard in Irving. It began looking to add another 12,000 to 15,000 square feet nearby, and was eyeing space at 6301 Connection Drive. But property owner Piedmont Office Realty Trust was thinking bigger. Knowing that Nokia, the tenant in its sister building, 6201 Connection Drive, was occupying only part of the facility, it worked with its brokers from Peloton Commercial Real Estate on a scenario that would move Nokia to another Piedmont property, Las Colinas Corporate Center II, so Epsilon could lease the entire 250,000-square-foot building on Connection Drive and keep all of its employees under one roof. ¶ To make it happen, Piedmont acquired an 11-acre tract adjacent to the former Nokia space to accommodate Epsilon’s future growth. It also reworked a Nokia lease in another property it owned in Boston. Epsilon, meantime, had to find a tenant to sublease its Regent Boulevard space. “The stars definitely needed to align,” says Piedmont’s Damian Miller. “To make it even more complicated, everything had to happen contemporaneously. But it ended up being a win for all parties—not only Piedmont, but Epsilon and Nokia as well.” ¶ Peloton’s Sarah Hinkley and Grant Sumner represented the property owner. Cassidy Turley’s John Boyle and former Cassidy Turley broker Greg Biggs represented Epsilon.
FINALISTS –Neovia; Tyler Technologies
