CTroyMathis
13 August 2003, 05:41 PM
First..., then ..., then malls, now corporate campuses... ;)
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Churches, schools take up residence in former corporate campuses
BY A. LEE GRAHAM , STAFF WRITER 08/09/2003
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9983968&BRD=1426&PAG=461&dept_id=186027&rfi=6
The corridors that birthed telecom network technology will inspire young minds if Alcatel USA Sourcing LP property becomes a Catholic high school.
Since the '80s, strip malls and car dealerships have seen their share of unusual tenants. But the trend now has churches and schools seeking space on corporate campuses.
"To my knowledge, this is the first time we've sold land for a school," said Alcatel spokesman Brian Murphy.
Thanks to a recently signed contract, about 35 acres on the northeast corner of Coit Road and Plano Parkway is expected to become John Paul II Catholic High School. The campus would accommodate students from Collin and northern Dallas counties.
"We thought it was a good deal for us," said Charles LeBlanc, director of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas.
Supporters hope to raise $25 million to build the planned school, which would occupy a 280,000-square-foot, two-story office building. Extensive retrofitting is anticipated, which would include classrooms, a chapel, cafeteria, library and laboratories.
School officials are confident that the latest plan will reach fruition. In 2000, plans for a $30 million school at Hedgcoxe Road and Preston Meadow Drive encountered lackluster support.
"We're confident this time we'll be successful," said LeBlanc, who saw something in Alcatel's vacant building that others did not: potential.
Shuttered by layoffs and relocations, vacant office buildings litter the landscape. Like corporate carcasses, they await purchase or demolition. Since a sagging economy gutted buildings big and small in the late '80s, realtors have struggled to fill the void.
Churches seem unlikely tenants, considering the renovations necessary to retool assembly plants and offices into spaces less clinical. But market conditions have driven a new trend.
"You're seeing more of these occupants purchase former office buildings," said University of North Texas economist Bernard Weinstein. "These sorts of purchases were highly unusual until the mid-'80s."
But things have changed. No longer are offices and factories the exclusive domain of lab professionals and factory workers. Such corporate spaces are as likely to be inhabited by pastors and students.
"Market conditions in Dallas-Fort Worth have created a lot of space for sale, especially with high-tech buildings," said Phil Baker, who represented the Catholic Diocese in the Alcatel deal.
Baker called the arrangement "a great fit" for the planned high school.
"Most high schools are built from the ground up, so this is one of those rare opportunities where a commercial office building was available at a very, very attractive price and the property is well-maintained."
While churches and schools enrich the community, they pay no taxes. So they lease space that otherwise would generate revenue.
"But that doesn't concern us," said John McGrane, finance director for the city of Plano.
"That's the nature of any community: you have churches and you have schools."
That reaction might surprise Weinstein.
"If I were the city of Plano, I'm not sure I'd be excited about it, particularly if the space goes off tax rolls because it will be exempt from taxation."
Yet tax-exempt organizations snap up corporate property every day. From Carroll school facilities in Northeast Tarrant County occupying former Food Lion stores to Ministerios Bethania USA apostolic church purchasing the former Ford distribution center in Carrollton, old properties find new uses.
"We're just grateful to have found the Alcatel site," said LeBlanc. "We're very fortunate."
.................................................. .....................................
Churches, schools take up residence in former corporate campuses
BY A. LEE GRAHAM , STAFF WRITER 08/09/2003
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9983968&BRD=1426&PAG=461&dept_id=186027&rfi=6
The corridors that birthed telecom network technology will inspire young minds if Alcatel USA Sourcing LP property becomes a Catholic high school.
Since the '80s, strip malls and car dealerships have seen their share of unusual tenants. But the trend now has churches and schools seeking space on corporate campuses.
"To my knowledge, this is the first time we've sold land for a school," said Alcatel spokesman Brian Murphy.
Thanks to a recently signed contract, about 35 acres on the northeast corner of Coit Road and Plano Parkway is expected to become John Paul II Catholic High School. The campus would accommodate students from Collin and northern Dallas counties.
"We thought it was a good deal for us," said Charles LeBlanc, director of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas.
Supporters hope to raise $25 million to build the planned school, which would occupy a 280,000-square-foot, two-story office building. Extensive retrofitting is anticipated, which would include classrooms, a chapel, cafeteria, library and laboratories.
School officials are confident that the latest plan will reach fruition. In 2000, plans for a $30 million school at Hedgcoxe Road and Preston Meadow Drive encountered lackluster support.
"We're confident this time we'll be successful," said LeBlanc, who saw something in Alcatel's vacant building that others did not: potential.
Shuttered by layoffs and relocations, vacant office buildings litter the landscape. Like corporate carcasses, they await purchase or demolition. Since a sagging economy gutted buildings big and small in the late '80s, realtors have struggled to fill the void.
Churches seem unlikely tenants, considering the renovations necessary to retool assembly plants and offices into spaces less clinical. But market conditions have driven a new trend.
"You're seeing more of these occupants purchase former office buildings," said University of North Texas economist Bernard Weinstein. "These sorts of purchases were highly unusual until the mid-'80s."
But things have changed. No longer are offices and factories the exclusive domain of lab professionals and factory workers. Such corporate spaces are as likely to be inhabited by pastors and students.
"Market conditions in Dallas-Fort Worth have created a lot of space for sale, especially with high-tech buildings," said Phil Baker, who represented the Catholic Diocese in the Alcatel deal.
Baker called the arrangement "a great fit" for the planned high school.
"Most high schools are built from the ground up, so this is one of those rare opportunities where a commercial office building was available at a very, very attractive price and the property is well-maintained."
While churches and schools enrich the community, they pay no taxes. So they lease space that otherwise would generate revenue.
"But that doesn't concern us," said John McGrane, finance director for the city of Plano.
"That's the nature of any community: you have churches and you have schools."
That reaction might surprise Weinstein.
"If I were the city of Plano, I'm not sure I'd be excited about it, particularly if the space goes off tax rolls because it will be exempt from taxation."
Yet tax-exempt organizations snap up corporate property every day. From Carroll school facilities in Northeast Tarrant County occupying former Food Lion stores to Ministerios Bethania USA apostolic church purchasing the former Ford distribution center in Carrollton, old properties find new uses.
"We're just grateful to have found the Alcatel site," said LeBlanc. "We're very fortunate."