Southlake Commercial Space Meets Economic Diversity

Southlake is home to more than 1600 businesses and non-profit organizations* – from multi-national corporations with thousands of employees and national retailers to independent restaurants and home-based businesses. This economic diversity is good for both the city’s product offerings and tax base.

Not too long ago, there were few commercial options for businesses to setup shop in Southlake. Today, there is thousands of square feet of commercial space, including office, medical, retail and industrial. An ideal example of ‘build it and they will come,’ Southlake Town Square was the impetus for much of the commercial development that exists today. With 125 acres and 3.3 million total square feet, Southlake Town Square comprises a mixture of retail/restaurant, office, and municipal space, along with residential brownstones.

However, there is more to Southlake’s commercial base than Southlake Town Square. Whether you are looking to buy or lease commercial property in Southlake, the availability extends from the east to the west ends of town and in a variety of configurations and options. The Southlake Economic Development Department partners with Xceligent to provide real-time commercial property searches and the ability to search by specific criteria:www.southlakesites.com.

According to Steve Shrum, co-managing partner of Glacier Commercial Realty, Southlake remains strong with the third highest rental rates in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, behind the Dallas Uptown area and Preston Center.

“The Southlake area has had a positive absorption of almost 75,000 square feet during the first half of 2010 compared to 31,000 square feet for all of 2009,” said Shrum. “That’s a good indication that the commercial real estate business is heading in the right direction.”

However, leasing activity in the Southlake area has been much stronger than sales or investment opportunities.

“Unless the investor has cash to purchase real estate, banks will not give desirable financing on an investment opportunity where the investor doesn’t occupy more than 50 percent of the building,” explained Shrum, noting average rental rates for office space ranges between $16-$22 per square foot plus tax, insurance, maintenance and utilities.

Because of its desirable location and attractive customer base, building owners do not typically offer economic incentives or “perks” to businesses seeking to locate within the affluent city.

“There is very little free rent or other incentives in Southlake,” said Shrum, who has lived in the community for 16 years and been in commercial real estate for 23 years. “I think the value is being in a community that really cares and takes an active role in ensuring that in 20 years, Southlake becomes a better place to be than it is today.”

*Source: Southlake Economic Development Department