Dallas was founded in 1881 and incorporated officially in 1856. It is the ninth largest city in America, and also the third largest in Texas State. Currently, the population exceeds 1,200,000 people, and is spread over an area of 342.5 square miles. The city of Dallas is the heart of this 12-county area, which extends as far as Forth Worth and encapsulates the Greater Dallas area. Greater Dallas homes in excess of 6.5 million people at present count.
Industries that dominate Dallas include energy, transportation, commerce, telecommunications, banking and IT-related industries; clearly, there is a very active business environment. It is often chosen by companies as the place to start a satellite location for this very reason.
In terms of the executive suite location options, the focus tends to extend from downtown Dallas (north of Route 80), up into the Addison/Richardson area and as far as McKinney. Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airport is also a major factor in executive suite locations, and plenty are located around Irving and Farmers Branch. Looking further west, there are also a number of business centers in Arlington, Grapevine and Fort Worth. Executive centers are generally located north and west of downtown Dallas, extending as far as Fort Worth to the west, and McKinney in the north.
For the conventional market, a reasonable average for raw, class A space would be approximately $24 per square foot. The downtown rate hovers at around $21.47 per square foot while rates for uptown Dallas peak at $34.28. Fort Worth tends to command rates of around $29 per square foot, with Plano just eclipsing this at $29.27. Conventional rates tend to reflect the popularity (or not) of certain areas within Dallas. Most Office Space enquiries focus on the Plano and uptown Dallas area, and few look in the downtown core.
Executive suite rates tend to be at their most competitive around Plano and along the LBJ Freeway with one-person interior offices on 12 month leases renting from $650 per month. The downtown area conversely tends to lease for about $1,000 per month on the same basis. Similar rates to those found in Plano extend across the airport area, with prices only peaking again when you get to downtown Fort Worth addresses, where the market rate mirrors that of downtown Dallas.
Availability is consistently good, with plenty of options for small one-to-three person set ups. Larger requirements can also be accommodated with advance planning. This availability does not mean, however, that centers are desperate to do deals, and rates are fairly predictable. Most of the executive suite locations in Dallas are owned by companies that have a strong presence throughout Texas and, as such, have multiple locations from which to choose. Independent operators fair less well, with only a few that manage to entice business away from the bigger executive suite providers. This also relates to the fact that bigger operators tend to have centers in more desirable locations; an important decision-making factor for many companies, particularly in image-conscious industries.