By Steve Brown / January 26, 2023 / Dallas Morning News
Law firm Haynes and Boone is growing space in new office tower north of downtown Dallas
The lead tenant in a new Uptown Dallas area office building is significantly growing its footprint.
The Harwood No. 14 tower has been under construction since early 2021 on Harry Hines Boulevard north of downtown. Dallas law firm Haynes and Boone kicked off construction on the 27-story high-rise with a major lease and plans to relocate to the new building late this year.
Haynes and Boone — which plans to move from Victory Park — is now upping its presence in the new office tower.
The law firm is taking an additional 24,721 square feet in the building, pushing leasing in the project to 76%, according to developer Harwood International.
The more than half-century-old legal firm will occupy more than 40% of the office space in the project.
“The leasing in Harwood District is outperforming the Dallas market at a time when the Dallas market is outperforming the nation,” Kelly Whaley, director of leasing for Harwood International, said in a statement.
Other tenants in the tower include law firm O’Melveny & Myers and property investor S2 Capital.
The building was designed by Dallas-based HDF, Corgan and Tokyo-based Kengo Kuma & Associates. Manhattan Construction is the general contractor.
The new tower includes a two-story lobby, landscaped terrace, pocket gardens and a rooftop garden. There will be 17,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor.
Harwood No. 14 is the next phase of the 19-block Harwood District north of downtown Dallas. Harwood International’s project is eventually planned to include 11 million square feet in office, retail and residential developments.
Harwood International says the office space in its buildings are more than 90% leased.
And the developer is eyeing plans for additional office construction.
“We are confident in Harwood’s ability to fulfill requirements of almost any tenant with existing office suites, co-working space, new builds, as well as over six million square feet in development opportunity in the district,” Hannah Mesh, the firm’s leasing manager, said.
Harwood International also recently announced details of its 22-story luxury Swexan Hotel which is scheduled to open this summer.
The newest office buildings in the area north of downtown Dallas have all rented ahead of schedule and with higher-than-expected rates. The Uptown area and adjoining districts near downtown have the area’s highest office costs, with an average $44.3 per square foot in asking rent, according to analysts at CommercialSearch.
The 25-story Link at Uptown office high-rise, which opened on Olive Street early in 2022, is almost fully leased.
And other developers are scrambling to get new offices to the market to meet expected demand.
More than 1.8 million square feet of office leases were signed last year in the Uptown and Turtle Creek markets, according to estimates from property firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Almost all of the office leasing gains last year were in new or recently upgraded buildings.
“The flight to quality is still on full display in DFW as well as robust tenant demand in the market,” Mesh said.
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