Caterpillars Adds 50K sf to Irving Headquarters Lease

A construction equipment manufacturer is expanding its office footprint in Irving at a perfect time for the landlords.

Caterpillar will add about 50,000 square feet to its lease at the Williams Square office complex, at 5205 North O’Connor Boulevard, which is owned by a venture of Hillwood, Apollo Global and Vanderbilt Office Properties, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The lease expansion is a big win for ownership given the imminent departure of WeWork. The embattled coworking giant plans to reject its lease next month after failing to negotiate new terms with the landlords.

Williams Square, a four-building complex spanning 1.4 million square feet, is part of the Las Colinas mixed-use development. Caterpillar, which moved its headquarters to North Texas from the Chicago area in 2022, occupies space in the property’s west tower, although it’s unclear how much.

Caterpillar will begin building out its space on the sixth and seventh floors of the building this week, with architecture and design firm Corgan handling interior renovations. The project is expected to cost $10 million and be completed in May 2025.

In addition to Caterpillar, the Big 12 Conference will up the property’s occupancy rate this fall when it relocates from its nearby home, at 400 East John Carpenter Freeway, to a 14,000-square-foot space at Williams Square. The college athletics conference is trying to sell the two-story Carpenter Freeway building, which it has owned since 2006.

Caterpillar housed 120 employees in Irving when it moved its headquarters. Over time, the company expects its 230 Illinois-based employees to relocate to Irving, contingent upon future business needs.

Caterpillar’s decision to expand its footprint in Dallas-Fort Worth underscores the region’s attractiveness to major corporations. Caterpillar is one of 24 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in DFW, the outlet said.

—Quinn Donoghue