New Technology Park In Allen, Texas, Aims To Meet Area’s Rising Industrial Demand
Don’t mess with Texas when it comes to industrial real estate.
During the first three quarters of 2023, Dallas-Fort Worth was No.1 in the nation for CRE investment volume at $13.2B, with a heavy focus on industrial, multifamily and retail projects. Although sales and leasing activity in the area’s industrial market have slowed amid an uptick in new construction deliveries, rents continue to rise steadily, signaling strong growth and demand.
The industrial boom extends beyond the Dallas or Fort Worth city limits.
In suburban Mesquite, Capstar Real Estate Advisors plans to finish construction of a 750K SF warehouse later this year. In Garland, NTT Data is expanding its presence with a new 130K SF, two-story data center. And in Addison, a new 240K SF industrial park from Rosewood Property Co. and Lovett Industrial will include office and warehousing facilities.
In Allen, a city about 25 miles northeast of Downtown Dallas, the under-construction 746K SF 121 Technology Park aims to be one of DFW’s premier industrial parks focused on technology manufacturing.
“There's been great demand for this type of product for quite a long time,” said David Ellis, assistant director at Allen Economic Development Corp. “We’ve been missing out on many quality tech manufacturing deals. This park gets us back in the game for landing deals such as semiconductor manufacturing, which is hot right now.”
As an infill development spread across approximately 60 acres, Stillwater Capital’s 121 Technology Park will feature seven spec buildings to be constructed in two phases: four buildings in Phase 1, amounting to 370K SF, and three buildings in Phase 2, totaling 368K SF. It has already landed its first tenant, which will take over 94K SF. On the east side of the development, there will be a 20-acre mixed-use development with townhomes, retail and office, Ellis said.
“Capital investments of this nature are important because they pay a lot of property taxes to our city and our school district. That's how local governments and schools are largely funded,” he said. “This allows us to provide quality services to our citizens while lowering residents’ property tax rates.”
Technology has been a strength of this area for decades with the rise of Texas Instruments and Collins Radio. Over time, engineers, production workers and technical managers were attracted to Collin County’s affordable homes, safety and strong public schools, Ellis said. Later, these companies migrated northward to be close to the well-educated technical talent. It’s now estimated that there are 2 million workers within a 30-minute radius of Allen, with nearly 60% holding a bachelor’s degree.
Talent attraction and retention are consistently a top priority of technology manufacturers. 121 Technology Park was purposefully designed with these factors in mind, Ellis said.
“Many of these types of companies employ not only production workers but also white-collar employees such as engineers, scientists and corporate executives on-site,” he said. “Traditional industrial parks are typically located far from the white-collar labor force and lack the amenities required for these companies to recruit talent.”
Alongside 121 Technology Park, there are several large mixed-use developments coming online that will provide the amenities to help technology companies recruit white-collar labor as well as entertain prospects and clients. These amenities will include restaurants, retail and entertainment options.
In addition to talent attraction and retention, location plays a crucial role for technology manufacturers in determining where to establish a home base.
The technology park’s prime location on State Highway 121, or the Sam Rayburn Tollway, and proximity to U.S. Highway 75 provides excellent transportation access, he said. It also has direct access to DFW International Airport, which is 30 minutes away, and McKinney National Airport, which is 5 miles away, and is just over 1 mile from US-75.
The development is also located about five minutes from Collin College’s 340K SF technical campus, Ellis said. Tenants will find this to be supremely important when it comes to talent recruitment and retention.
The school's technical campus has more than 7,000 students enrolled in 20 academic programs, including engineering, robotics, automation technology, nursing and electrical construction.
“Collin College is an excellent community college that plays a vital role in our community,” Ellis said. “There are 55,000 students at Collin College in total, and they’re very innovative, resourceful and entrepreneurial. Our interactions with the college has been outstanding.”
In February, Texas A&M University announced a partnership with Collin College to launch an engineering academy at the school. Students in this new program will be admitted to Texas A&M’s College of Engineering in College Station after they have completed two years of coursework at Collin College. The first accepted class will start this fall.
“Overall, Texas is in desperate need of more engineers,” Ellis said. “This program is providing quality education at a fraction of the price. It’s going to be a huge amenity for businesses in the Allen area looking to hire local talent and will benefit the community in so many ways.”
This article was produced in collaboration between Allen EDC and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
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