It’s the first time Jones Lang LaSalle has done this extensive of a report on downtown and Uptown Dallas’ best-in-class office buildings — but the picture is coming clearer: There’s investment and leasing opportunity in those skyscrapers.
“When you look at the skyline for Dallas, you see a lot of red,” Evan Stone, managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle, told me, in reference to the firm’s recently released Dallas Skyline Report. “Those are buildings that have a lot of vacancy, but when you look at them they are good buildings and the locations are improving dramatically.”
The new report highlights the occupancy and lease rates of what the firm considers best-in-class buildings in downtown and Uptown Dallas. Like any good story, there’s a visual representation of the buildings and the corresponding floor vacancies.
Even though there’s a lot of red — or vacancy — in the report, that means there’s plenty of investment and leasing opportunities as the next real estate cycle gears up, Stone said.
“There is a lot of re-investing in these buildings downtown to help change them,” he said, adding that investors such as Tim Headington and Ray Hunt are helping to change downtown’s vacancy rate. Walter Bialas agrees.
“That’s what has given us optimism about our market here and in downtown and well positioned for this uptick in the market,” said Bialas, vice president and market research director for Jones Lang LaSalle.
Some of those properties to watch undergo major change in the near future: Thanksgiving Tower, Comerica Bank Tower and KPMG Centre.
“You’re going to see some significant moves in downtown in the next year to 18 months,” Stone said. “You’ll see downtown become an even more viable option.”
Courtesy of Candace Carlisle
Staff Writer – Dallas Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/04/10/jones-lang-lasalles-new-dallas-report.html?ana=cit