Vanderbilt JV Buys 1.4 MSF Dallas Office Campus

Vanderbilt Office Properties, Hillwood Urban and TriPost Capital Partners have purchased The Towers at Williams Square, a 1.4 million-square-foot office campus in Irving, Texas, within Dallas-Fort Worth.

The sale price has not yet been disclosed, but the deal marks the market’s biggest office acquisition by price and square footage so far this year, according to Newmark, which brokered the deal on behalf of the seller and negotiated debt placement for the buyer. Beal Bank provided the financing, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.

Vanderbilt and Hillwood were also part of the previous ownership structure, together with Apollo Global Real Estate. The trio paid $330 million for the property in 2015. Vanderbilt and Hillwood now have a higher stake in the new setup, the same publication shows.

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Caterpillar, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of construction and mining equipment, headquarters the campus since 2022. The move was part of the Texas corporate relocation trend that began sweeping across the state earlier this decade.

The Towers at Williams Square debuted in 1985, within the 12,000-acre, mixed-use development Las Colinas. It features a 26-story central tower and two 14-story properties interconnected by copper-roofed arcades, as well as an adjacent five-story building.

The campus recently underwent a revamp, including $25 million in renovations throughout lobbies, amenities and shared spaces. The Towers at Williams Square was 76 percent leased at closing.  

Located at 5201-5221 N. O’Connor Blvd., the property sits on 18 acres near Lake Carolyn. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is roughly 9 miles west, while Interstate 635 runs about 8 miles away.

Newmark Chairmen Chris Murphy, Gary Carr and Robert Hill, as well as Director Austin Sheahan, represented the seller. Senior Managing Director Andrew Porteous and Vice Chairman Clint Frease, in addition to Senior Managing Director Chris McColpin and Director Josh Francis, arranged the acquisition financing.

Dallas office assets are priced above the national average

During the first quarter, Dallas office investment clocked in at $859 million, ranking third across the nation, according to a Yardi Matrix report. Manhattan led with $1.8 billion, followed by Miami ($892 million).

The Metroplex’s office assets changed hands for $222 per square foot on average, slightly above the national average of $220, the same source shows. Another notable deal closed during the first quarter when Pillar Commercial and Ascent Real Estate Advisors acquired Rambler Park, a 14-story property encompassing 310,943 square feet of office space.