ADT Stays Put in Boca Raton with New 171,500-SF Headquarters Office Lease

September 28, 2010
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Preparing for its impending growth spurt, ADT Security Services Inc. has entered into a lease agreement for the 171,500-square-foot office building at 1501 Yamato Road in Boca Raton, Florida, to house its new North American headquarters. A few incentives convinced the company that maintaining its home base in Boca would be a beneficial decision.

Boca Yamato LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAIT Financial Trust, has owned the three-story, Class A office facility at 1501 Yamato since RAIT foreclosed on the property in December 2009, approximately one year after former tenant Washington Mutual vacated the premises in 2008.

With ADT’s signing of a long-term lease with Boca Yamato, the world’s largest provider of commercial and residential security services has paved the way for an expansion and relocation from its current digs at One Town Center Road. ADT’s new North American headquarters on Yamato Road will also house the corporate operation so Simplex Grinnell, ADT Latin America, and corporate employees of Tyco International, ADC’s parent company.

An ADT spokesperson told CPE that the firm is working on the building to make it a better employee environment.

And there’s room for growth. ADT, which recently acquired Broadview Security and restructured ADT North America into separate commercial and residential/small business entities, is finding itself in increasing need of additional elbow room.

The spokeperson said that the new lease was really about growth, and the new building has a much more modern layout that will lend itself to collaboration. As the companies come together, the spokesperson said, they are working to grow their businesses in residential and commercial property security. ADT already provides services for 6.8 million residential and commercial customers across North America.

Remaining in Boca Raton, however, was not a given, the spokesperson said. The company looked at alternatives in the commercial real estate market nationwide. Eager to hold on to ADT and its statewide staff of 4,800, Florida officials joined forces with the City of Boca Raton to persuade the company to stay put. The state and the city put together matching funds for a $1.3 million incentive package linked to job creation; a deal that will eventually yield hundreds of jobs with competitive salaries.

ADT plans to complete upgrades to 1501 Yamato and relocate within the next few months. But the company is nowhere close to being done with office deals. The spokeperson said that the firm is constantly seeking alternative options in the commercial market to make sure it operates in the most efficient way possible.