By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News
Set behind the new restaurants and shops popping up along RM 620 at Vista Parke Drive, the Offices at Four Points broke ground in mid-July at 7710 N. RM 620 with its first commercial units set to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021, said Dan Lewis, vice president of the center’s leasing and sales agency, TIG Real Estate Services, Inc.
The Class A office complex runs adjacent to the Center at Four Points, a shopping center that will offer a hotel, restaurants and retail to the project’s future employees, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two endeavors. With The Ferber Group developing the retail component of the parcel south of Vista Parke, Lewis said local developer Steve Harren determined there was a need for a higher quality office complex to fit into the new mixed-use development.
He said Harren closed on the site’s 9.5 acres in February and the project incorporates six office buildings of two floors apiece, ranging from 16,000- to 24,000-square-feet each.
“We’re focused heavily on design aesthetics and lots of glass,” Lewis said, adding the buildings’ architecture will be sleek and modern.
The project can be leased or sold to a tenant, and is offered in units as small as 2,500-square-feet, he said. Surrounding office spaces in River Place and the Four Points Centre accommodate larger businesses, Lewis said.
A significant portion of the buildings are expected to accommodate medical users, he said.
“I just think there’s demand for medical practices in that area, of numerous different types,” Lewis said.
Other interest in the project stems from medium-size businesses and marketing-type groups, with walkability to the new retail acting as a draw for office tenants, he said.
“In the office development world, obviously a lot has changed in the midst of COVID,” Lewis said. “Activity, at times, is difficult for certain businesses to make decisions right now so we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the activity at Four Points, which points to the concept that we’re delivering the right product.”
The infrastructure and sitework is complete with the concrete for the first two buildings anticipated to be poured at some point in September, Lewis said. The main route through the complex is expected to connect Vista Parke and loop around to RM 620 next to the Starbucks, with that construction beginning in about a month. Three buildings will be positioned on either side of the connecting roadway and three access points — including the signalized entrance on Vista Parke and two additional entrances onto RM 620 — are slated for the project. The RM 620 entrances will be right-turn in and right-turn out only.
According to Lewis, the back part of the shopping center — now encompassing the office complex — was originally destined for more retail, producing a higher traffic count than the office space. He said the developers of both the office and retail components of the tract worked together “to make sure the flow of this site works for everybody.”
“The other positive thing about this becoming a mixed-use development is that you have your retail, you have your hotel, you now have your office people,” Lewis said. “There’s shared times when everybody is active on the site and then there’s times when they’re not. The traditional office user is in from morning to 4 p.m. or 6 p.m., and the retailers are active at lunch time and evening time when the office people are gone. That’s one of the positives of this smaller, mixed-use development is (that) not everybody is driving at the same time.”
The project will have a common space, greenspace and walking trail connecting to a park area between the hotel site and the buildings facing the preserve.
“As part of our site plan development process, this owner is always looking for ways to preserve natural trees, oaks, and keep that piece of the greenery,” Lewis said.
The office complex includes only surface parking, with about four spaces per 1,000-square-feet, he said. The project is currently pre-leasing its units and developers are working with potential tenants to design spaces, he said.
With the larger office developments in the area, Lewis said employees need to drive to lunch as and navigate the traffic on RM 620.
“The exciting part about this development is that the amenity base is all walkable — the retail is your amenity base,” Lewis said. “Here, our office guys just walk out the front door and pick a spot.”
