Office condos

[evdallas]

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2003/11/10/daily4.html

I wonder if these will be new highrises?

"Shea Commercial opens local office
Mike Padgett
Correspondent
A Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company that specializes in office condominiums is opening a branch office in Dallas.


Shea Commercial is opening at 8499 Greenville Ave., Suite 205. The office is opening with a staff three brokers, and 10 are expected sometime in 2004, said Peter Meyer, a principal with Shea.

The company started office condos in metro Phoenix in 2000. So far this year, it has developed more than 1 million square feet of office condo space in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California.

Office condos have become popular because they offer a way for businesses to recover their costs associated with office space. Instead of leasing, the businesses can own their offices and later sell them. The properties function like investments, much like residential properties, said Jim Riggs, Shea president. "

[dallastophoenix]

they will likely not be highrises... if they're any indication of what they've built in the phx metro area. you're probably going to see traditional suburban commercial buildings coming from this company (a very plano/frisco feel...)

[evdallas]

Office condos a new concept on the rise
12:23 AM CST on Friday, November 7, 2003

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

An Arizona developer is taking a new approach to office buildings in North Texas.

Shea Commercial is building office condominiums, not rentals.

"We made the decision to expand about four to six months ago when we had a number of people who called us from Texas," said Jim Riggs, Shea Commercial's CEO and founder. "We thought the demand in your market would be similar to what we've seen."

Shea Commercial, which is based in Scottsdale, has developed more than 1 million square feet of office condos this year in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. "Our typical buyer is a small- to mid-sized company that is entrepreneurial or service-based," Mr. Riggs said. "That includes medical, financial planning, accounting, real estate and law firms.

"It's everybody who needs between 1,500 and 15,000 square feet," he said.

Mr. Riggs said the typical office condo buyer takes about 2,500 square feet. Depending on the location, between 30 percent and 60 percent of the buyers are medical companies.

Shea Commercial has two locations lined up in the Dallas area.

The first project is at the vacant northeast corner of Greenville Avenue and Royal Lane near Presbyterian Hospital.

"It will probably be a total of seven buildings, ranging from 5,600 to 14,000 square feet" and totaling about 60,000 square feet, Mr. Riggs said.

The developer has a second site under contract on Communications Parkway in Plano, where it plans a 40,000-square-foot office condo building.

"And we are definitely looking for more sites," Mr. Riggs said.

As part of its development program, Shea Commercial forms relationships with local lenders to provide financing for buyers. "We are setting up a financial program for your market right now with some banks," Mr. Riggs said.