This package was originally published in Dallas-Fort Worth Real Estate Review.

Billingsley Co. was so confident the demand would be there for office space in Cypress Waters, the company decided to kick off construction on a speculative basis. The developer knew it had something few landlords could offer but many tenants want—new, efficient space, with a wealth of amenities, centrally located with close proximity to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and, perhaps most important, plenty of parking. Oh, and then there’s the lake, a rare commodity around these parts.

With a property this special, Billingsley Co. wanted to pay careful attention to design. It selected Omniplan as the architect for the multitenant park.

“Our vision for the Cypress Waters office park was to use green space and street design to create a much higher quality environment than is typically found in suburban, value office projects,” says Tipton Housewright, principal at Omniplan. “The attention to the spaces between the buildings, including the landscape design and art, has made the overall project very unique.”

The architect says Cypress Waters is a great example of how place-making and integrated mixed-use can be created at relatively low densities. “It’s the kind of environment that will attract the corporations and the workers of the future,” he says.

Moody Waters of Younger Partners is overseeing leasing of office space. He and his team were brought in at the beginning, when Billingsley Co. kicked off speculative development in the spring of 2013. Demand is strong for the space that remains available, he says.

“We have a number of deals working that will fill them up,” he says. “I suspect that a new building will get started early next year, if activity continues at this pace.”

1. 8840 Cypress Waters Boulevard, Dallas: A second speculative building that got underway about two months later. Meritage Homes has leased 15,760 s.f. of the project’s 164,784 s.f.
2. 8951 Cypress Waters Boulevard, Dallas: The first speculative building to break ground totals 188,440 s.f.
3. 2900 Ranch Trail, Irving: The first build-to-suit was a 31,450 s.f. headquarters for Cheddar’s Casual Café.

KEY PLAYERS

Developer: Billingsley Co.
Landscape Architect: StudioOutside
Architects: Omniplan (multitenant buildings), Corgan (7-Eleven Inc.), Good, Fulton & Farrell (Cheddar’s Casual Café)
General Contractor: Alston Construction (8951 Cypress Waters and 7-Eleven Inc.)
General Contractor: McFadden and Miller (8840 Cypress Waters, Nationstar Mortgage, Cheddar’s Casual Café)
MEP: Basharkah
Structural: Datum
Civil: Binkley & Barfield- C&P Inc.
Office Tenants: 7-Eleven Inc., Cheddars Casual Café, Nationstar Mortgage, Meritage Homes
Tenant Brokers: Avison Young, JLL, Swearingen Realty Group
Office Leasing Agent: Younger Partners