Hillwood Bags Three-Building Business Complex in DFW

A Dallas real estate titan snagged a three-building office/industrial complex in Irving that recently saw a lease expansion from one of its key tenants.

Hillwood, chaired by Ross Perot Jr., has acquired the 34-acre Freeport Business Center, at 8710 Freeport Parkway, 8550 Freeport Parkway and 8616 Freeport Parkway in Las Colinas and near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the Dallas Morning News reported. Terms of the deal, including price, were not disclosed. The seller was the multinational investment bank UBS.

The complex, comprising 383,000 square feet, is 70 percent leased. Notable tenants include the Boeing Company, Sirius XM, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Yardi Systems.

Boeing recently added 50,000 square feet to its lease in Freeport Business Center I. The 160,000-square-foot building was renovated in 2022, yielding upgraded lobby and common areas.

Space in the complex, which includes office, warehouse and logistics uses, is advertised online for $26 per square foot.

Hillwood vice president Steve Aldrich called the acquisition a “strategic move to obtain well-located, quality real estate in infill locations around North Texas.” The company was drawn to its proximity to the airport and several major highways, including State Highway 114 and Interstate 635, Aldrich told the outlet.

Another Irving office property changed hands in March, when Austin-based Capital Commercial Investments paid $9.1 million for the 164,000-square-foot building 4200 Regent Boulevard. That sale, equating to $56 per square foot, reflects the building’s dismal occupancy rate of 24 percent and broader challenges facing the office sector.

Stubborn remote-work trends continue to plague DFW, where office vacancies stood at 26.2 percent in the first quarter. Net absorption was at negative 1.1 million square feet.

There have been a few glimmers of hope, though. Dallas saw 2.5 million square feet of leasing activity in the first quarter, according to JLL, indicating that demand is starting to bounce back after dropping to historic lows during initial years of the pandemic.

—Quinn Donoghue