COVER STORY, APRIL 2007

O&I PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Office and industrial tenants offered new amenities.
Daniel Beaird

Southeast Real Estate Business has spoken with several developers around the region to spotlight some office and industrial parks projects. The projects include NASCAR Plaza in Charlotte, North Carolina; Pompano Business Center and Rock Lake Business Center in Pompano Beach, Florida; Office Depot’s global headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida; and 2101 L Street in Washington, D.C. While some of the developers are completing the final buildings of office and industrial parks, other projects are being redeveloped and renovated to attract the best of tenants. To attract these tenants, many of these projects are offering amenities that used to not be the standard. And many developers are offering build-to-suit projects for certain clients.  

OFFICE DEPOT GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS

Flagler's Office Depot Global Headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida

Location: The Flagler Corporate Center in The Arvida Park of Commerce and The Old Course at Broken Sound, located between Yamato and Clint Moore roads on Military Trail in Boca Raton, Florida

Developer: Flagler Development Group and TIAA-CREF

Size: Approximately 625,000 square feet on 29 acres

Start Date: November 2006

Completion Date: Fourth quarter 2008

Current Activity: Flagler Development Group is overseeing the design and development of the build-to-suit headquarters complex. TIAA-CREF will lease the facility to Office Depot. The groundbreaking was held last November and construction of the building began upon receipt of the building permit last December. The 625,000-square-foot project represents the nation’s largest build-to-suit lease in 2006, and the largest in Florida’s history. The headquarters complex will be built on 29 acres within a 55-acre site, which Flagler Development Group owns jointly with TIAA-CREF. No official plans exist at this time to develop additional projects on the remaining 26 acres.

Amenities/Features: Office Depot’s existing headquarters facility is almost 30 years old, and, as a result, out of date. The buildings were costly to retrofit and did not offer the functionality needed to keep pace with Office Depot’s growing and increasingly diverse business. Office Depot concluded that it was more efficient and productive to have a new campus developed for them on a turn-key design build basis. The inside-out design concept allows Office Depot to efficiently function in one interconnected complex located in a Class A corporate environment.

POMPANO BUSINESS CENTER

IDI's Pompano Business Center in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Location: Intersection of Blount and Staples roads in Pompano Beach, Florida

Developer: IDI

Size: 34 acres; four buildings totaling 423,600 square feet

Start Date: January 2008

Completion Date: A completion date has not been set.

Current Activity: The project in is the site work phase. The site, which fronts Florida’s Turnpike, has good visibility. The park will provide access to the Turnpike and Interstate 95. It will also be located near three first-class seaports including Port of Palm Beach, Port Everglades and Port of Miami. It is within a 30-minute drive from three major airports in the tri-county area as well. It is a prime distribution site located at the central distribution point between West Palm Beach, Florida, and Miami.

Building A will contain 144,000 square feet; Building B will contain 93,600 square feet; Building C will contain 108,000 square feet; and Building D will contain 78,000 square feet.

NASCAR PLAZA

NASCAR Plaza will feature the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Location: Intersection of Caldwell and Stonewall streets in Charlotte, North Carolina’s financial district

Developer: Lauth Property Group

Size: 19 stories, 390,000 square feet

Start Date: March 2007

Completion Date: March 2009

Amenities/Features: The $100 million office tower will be connected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and integrated with the Charlotte Convention Center. It will feature a contemporary design and will be built to achieve LEED certification. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners designed NASCAR Plaza and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The office tower will offer good visibility, state-of-the-art amenities and Charlotte’s most recognizable business address.

NASCAR Images and NASCAR Licensing will serve as the anchor tenants of the office tower. They will occupy 110,000 square feet, and the remaining space is available for lease through Lauth. NASCAR Plaza is well located in downtown Charlotte and within walking distance to many of the area amenities. The site offers immediate access to Interstate 277, Charlotte’s inner belt. Parking will be available on site.

2101 L STREET

Charles E. Smith's 2101 L Street in Washington, D.C.

Location: 21st and L streets in Washington, D.C.

Developer: Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, a division of Vornado Realty Trust

Size: 10 stories, 378,000 square feet

Start Date: July 2006

Completion Date: December 2007

Current Activity: The site is being redeveloped. WDG Architecture originally designed the building for Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty in 1975, and is serving as the architect for the remodeling. The building systems required updating and the developer decided to completely reposition the building, including re-skinning the exterior to achieve a Class A product. SK&A is providing the structural engineering and GHT is providing the MEP engineering for the site. 

Amenities/Features: The building is located on a prominent corner, and the location is easily accessible to Foggy Bottom Metro station. An enclosed courtyard is located off the lobby and the building will also will have a rooftop terrace. The building provides extra office space in Washington, D.C., as vacancy rates are low and there are very few large blocks of space available for firms to lease.

Currently, the building is occupied by the Galileo restaurant, which will be fully updated and expanded. Citibank and Starbuck’s Coffee have also signed leases for 2101 L Street.


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