JLL Consolidates DFW Offices Into 95K SF In Uptown For South Central Region HQ

JLL proved it isn't immune to the changing office landscape, with the brokerage consolidating four of its North Texas offices into a single, 95K SF space inside 2401 Cedar Springs in Uptown Dallas.

When the firm relocates to the redeveloped office tower in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Crescent Real Estate-owned building will officially become JLL's South Central Region headquarters.

JLL plans to occupy the fifth, sixth and seventh floors and maintain a corporate presence on the ground floor near the lobby. It was granted exterior signage rights by Crescent.

JLL will be pulling all DFW employees into the space, including workforces that are currently housed inside Bank of America Plaza in Downtown Dallas, Victory Park, Preston Center and all satellite offices in the region, Crescent Real Estate said. 

JLL inherited the Bank of America Plaza and Victory Park locations through mergers with HFF and Peloton Commercial Real Estate. 

JLL's move comes when companies across the country are reimagining their workspaces and appears to run counter to a forecast wave of companies transitioning employees to less-frequently used "office destinations" or "satellite offices" as more employees work from home.

Other office tenants have converted to the so-called hub-and-spoke office model where a larger central primary office is leased mostly for major meetings and gatherings.

"I think it was the overall package that was attractive to JLL," Crescent Real Estate Managing Director John Zogg said of his firm's redeveloped asset in Uptown. "I definitely think there was an emphasis to get everyone under one roof and to have one culture and to have a quality, highly amenitized location in a visible location where people would want to go and where their clients would want to go."

Given fears about the spread of the coronavirus, JLL found all of the air quality and ventilation controls incorporated into Crescent's redeveloped office building highly attractive, Zogg said. 

"They did ask a lot about Covid safety issues," Zogg said. "We do have proper filters and nanoseptic technology throughout the building. Our air systems are state of the art."

The property, which sits at the corner of Maple and Cedar Springs, also enjoys proximity to The Crescent Hotel and puts JLL employees within walking distance of properties housing influential developers, investors and capital providers. 

The office tower redesigned by architectural firm Corgan also gives JLL immediate on-site access to a large conference facility, catering kitchen, fitness center, social lounge, golf simulator and collaborative work stations. These amenities offer JLL a chance to host regional employee conferences and traveling executives on-site while also creating an attractive office destination for employees who don't work inside the building itself.

"I think it was the overall package that was attractive to JLL, but I think without question, having essentially a brand-new building [helped]," Zogg said. "We basically took everything out that was existing and started over, with the exception of the curtain wall, so it has all new systems, it has all new amenities and a centralized location."

JLL didn't respond to requests for comment.