Dallas Business Journal

Dallas-based design and construction firm Aguirre Roden has selected Search Plaza along North Central Expressway for its new corporate headquarters.

The firm will move into a full floor — 22,000 square feet — at Search Plaza in May, Executive Vice President Gary Roden said. The firm will exit a similar amount of space at 12700 Park Central Drive.

Search Plaza’s central location, high visibility and tenant-oriented ownership played into its selection, Roden said. The building is between Walnut Hill and Royal lanes.

Roden said the firm liked Search Plaza’s position next to a planned mixed-use project called Midtown Park, an $800 million redevelopment east of North Central Expressway.

“The upper Central Expressway corridor is a good area to be in,” he said. “The redevelopment that’s going on there is exciting.”

Aguirre Roden’s lease takes the 154,000-square-foot office building to almost 80% occupancy, said Manny Ybarra, founder and president of Dallas-based Pillar Commercial, which acquired the building in February. Built in 1984, Search Plaza was 65% leased when Pillar bought it. Lease rates are $17 to $19 per square foot annually.

The largest tenant in the seven-story midrise is HomeVestors, which occupies about 30,000 square feet. Aguirre Roden’s lease makes it the building’s second-largest tenant, Ybarra said.

“Aguirre Roden and its leadership have a rich history in Dallas,” Ybarra said. “Their selection of Search Plaza as their new corporate home is a huge victory for us.”

Mike Wyatt and Shiela Bellinger of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. represented Aguirre Roden in the transaction.

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