Financial tenants flock to Westlake’s Terraces on the Solana office campus

Office workers returning to one of Dallas’ Fort Worth’s largest business campuses are in for a surprise after working at home during COVID-19.

Last year, the more than 1 million square foot patios at Solana offices on State Highway 114 received a total reduction, adding extensive outdoor space and plush indoor facilities.

Investors in Glenstar Properties and Singerman Real Estate bought the largest section of the Solana project in Westlake in 2019. They spent most of 2020 renovating the buildings built in the 1980s.

The investment paid off. They retained most office tenants on campus while attracting new businesses.

“This project has excelled everything else in our portfolio during COVID in terms of new leasing, tenant renewal and growth,” said Matt Omundson, Glenstar Properties Principal. “Since COVID, we’ve done 177,000 square feet of new leasing and 205,000 square feet of renovation. We’ve got more leasing activity here than we’d ever anticipated.

The Solana office complex has offices for California-based Robinhood Financial, Core-Mark Holding Co., and expanded space for Goosehead Insurance.

Occupancy on campus went up from around 45% when Glenstar bought it to 75% leased.

“We have two tenant prospects now in the documentation to get us to 80%,” Omundson said.

Omundson said the State Highway 114 corridor through Westlake and Southlake would continue to attract financial firms. The area has large employment centers for Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade and Deloitte.

“Insurance and financial services companies are really drawn to the Westlake Corridor,” Omundson said. “That was a big advantage for our Solana property. Employers who try to put big footprints in the area can hire more effectively at a better cost.

Solana is an easy shuttle to affordable new neighborhoods in northern Tarrant County and Denton County, Omundson said.

“One of the big advantages we have from a work perspective is that there are skilled workers in Plano and Frisco, but it is very expensive to live there,” he said. “In the 114 corridor between Las Colinas and Alliance in North Fort Worth, the cost of living is so much less than the Far North Dallas area.”

To land that work pool for its Solana project, Glenstar has increased campus staffing and redesigned all of its public space.

New outdoor lounge and meeting areas, dining terrace and various seating options have made the campus many outdoor spaces more user-friendly.

“We have 75 acres so there is a lot of open space,” Omundson said. “We wanted to make it more usable. We created a living space for the tenants with music, a fire pit and bistro lights and with lounge chair seats.

“We see people doing job interviews out here,” he said.

The outdoor meeting areas and the spaces between the eight buildings are a great selling point for pandemic tired workers who want somewhere fresh air.

Inside, most of the changes are in building seven – an amenity center that includes a large food service operation, tenant lounge areas and a conference center.

A huge new fitness center includes an outdoor terrace that can be used for everything from yoga classes to entertainment events.

1 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. The redo added to a bar and lounge.

2 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo has added a new outdoor exercise and event grass.

3/10 developer Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. The redo adds outside lounge and dining areas.

4/10 developer Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. The redo adds outside lounge and dining areas.

5 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo added a new food service area.

6 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo added a new food service area.

7 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo has added new tenant lounge and meeting areas.

8 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo has added a fitness center.

9 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo has added new outdoor tenant lounge and meeting areas.

10 / 10Glenstar Properties has completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the patios at the Solana office campus in Westlake. Redo has added new tenant lounge and meeting areas.

Omundson said the new campus features are designed to attract a younger workforce.

“At Goosehead Insurance, the average age is 26,” he said. “Our average age of employee on campus is under 30. When we designed it, we wanted to recruit these workers and help [companies] recruit staff.”

Glenstar officials said they were careful not to get too heavy a hand with their Solana Makeover.

Designed by award-winning Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, the Solana offices were originally built to house thousands of IBM workers.

“We were very sensitive to what was going on here,” Omundson said. “We didn’t want to upset all those things that Legorreta and the original builders did.”

Dallas architect BOKA Powell and Des Moines-based landscape designer Confluence oversee the campus redo.

The Terraces at Solana is Glenstar’s second major North Texas office campus renovation.

The Chicago-based commercial real estate company recently completed a $ 50 million renovation of the Dallas Energy Square office complex on North Central Expressway near Lovers Lane.

“Every time we do one of these, we learn from it and do the next one better than the last one,” Omundson said.