I've been in the Dallas area since 1984. I grew up in Richardson, went to college in Arlington, then moved to Lewisville, Far North Dallas, then to Sachse, and now I've come full circle and have been back in Richardson almost a year.
Richardson has always been known as the "Telecom Corrdor" because there are so many telecom companies right off the main highway, Central 75. You had Nortell, SBC now AT&T, Ericcson, and many more. Over the past few years, since telecom kinda went bust, we've had new tenants move in.
Back in 2003, there was over 7 million sqft vacant and ready for lease. As of June 2006, that is down to only 3 million sqft. 3 million sure seems like a lot, but it's filling up fast. Telecom still occupies about 60% of the buildings, but with other companies coming in, it's welcome even more companies that wouldn't have thought about the area. The main new tenant is Countrywide Home Loans. Their offices sit right in the middle of the Eiseman Center for entertainment. You can't get better advertising than that!
Even Fossil moved their small office to the main Corridor a couple of miles away from their headquarters. Overall, this area is leasing for $2-3 sqft less than North Dallas which is bringing everyone this way. Plus, with the DART rail system, easier access for employees if they don't want to drive to work.
Overall, Richardson is seeing a face lift and it's for the better. I'm watching my property values go up and up as more of these people are wanting to be closer to their jobs.
Here's more of the story.
Comments(0)