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Commercial Transactions Dallas Morning News, April 7, 2006

GlobalNet Training leased 9,388 square feet of office space in the Preston Park Financial Center at 4965 Preston Road in Plano.

 

Commercial Transactions Dallas Morning News, March 24, 2006

A&G Healthcare Services Inc. leased 15,629 square feet of office space at the Lakes on Tennyson at 5048 Tennyson Parkway in Plano.

Syms, an off-price retailer, leased 39,796 square feet of space in Collin Creek Crossing Shopping Center at 1001 North Central Expressway.

 

Legacy project to growDallas Morning News, March 23, 2006

Plano's popular Legacy Town Center is growing again with the addition of an office building and hotel.  Trammell Crow Co. and Jackson-Shaw Co. are joining with developer Karahan Cos. to add to the big retail complex in West Plano.  The project is located on the north side of Legacy Drive near the Dallas North Tollway.  The development is a significant expansion of the five-year-old Legacy Town Center, which already includes shopping, apartments, townhouses, hotel and office space.  Trammell Crow will construct an eight-story office town and Jackson-Shaw will build an eight-story hotel.  The hotel will also be connected to a nine-story condominium tower, a spa and retail shops.   Both of these developments will be part of the Shops at Legacy's third phase.  These projects are scheduled to break ground this summer.


Plano snags Austin tech company
Dallas Business Journal, February 17-23, 2006

General Bandwidth, a maker of gear for sending phone calls over the Internet, is moving its headquarters from Austin to Plano.  The company's move is part of a broader relaunch of the business to include a new name and a new set of products for the wireless space.  The company was drawn to Plano because of the telecom talent pool as well as the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's easy access to both coasts. 

 

General Bandwidth moving its headquarters to Plano:  Dallas Morning News, February 18, 2006

General Bandwidth Inc. is moving its headquarter from Austin to Plano, a move that initially will involve about 30 employees.  In addition to top executives and finance employees now based in Austin, privately held General Bandwidth will also move its Richardson-based research and development staff to the new new 20,000 square-foot office at Coit Road and Plano Parkway.  General Bandwidth said the company is adding products and increasing its workforce, and decided a North Teas location better suited its needs.  General Bandwidth, which sells products that provide voice service over networks, or voice over Internet protocol, had 2005 revenue of about $20 million.  Its customer base grew from 30 to 75 over the past year.

 

Jasper jumps over global AP recognitionPlano Star Courier, February 8, 2006

Plano's Jasper High School has been identified as having the strongest Advance Placement human geography program in the world.  The school received the announcement from the 2006 Advance Placement Report to the Nation presented by the College Board.  Results of last spring's AP exam taken by ninth- and tenth- grade students showed that a greater proportion of Jasper students succeeded in AP Human Geography then any other school in the world.

 

Books list Plano as one of "50 Fabulous Places to Retire in America"Plano Star Courier, January 29, 2006

Plano is considered a good place to retire because of mild winters and hot summers provide year-round outdoor options, there is not state income tax and the business climate is thriving, the authors of the publication said.  They praise the city's offering of continuing education programs, public transportation, recreation and cultural options.  Additionally, the authors highlight how residents can "go to a different restaurant every night of the year", that the city offers an "enormous" spectrum of medical care and is one of the top 25 safest cities in the nation.  Plano is one of two Texas cities listed in the book.

 

Tax breaks help Plano lure two firmsDallas Morning News, December 25, 2005

The Plano City Council wrapped up 2005 by granting tax abatements to a pair of technical firms.  City officials say each will bring jobs and revenue to the city and help foster a local climate of innovations.  Texatronics, which manufactures and tests circuit boards will add about 150 jobs at a leased facility at 1601 Summit Avenue.  Underwriters Laboratories, a global engineering company that test the safety of products, is moving to its new field office on Plano Parkway.  In addition to 29 jobs, Underwriters will bring a stream of corporate clients to Plano. 

 

Commercial TransactionsDallas Morning News, December 2, 2005

Guaranty Insurance Services, founded in 1957, has grown over the past 40 years to become one of the largest independent agencies in Texas. They have leased 12,000 square feet of office space at Plano Corporate Center I at 2301 W. Plano Parkway in Plano.

 

Rental firm set on LegacyDallas Morning News, December 1, 2005

Rent-A-Center will build a 170,000-square-foot corporate campus in Plano's Legacy business park.  The company has occupied leased space in Legacy on Tennyson Parkway since1998.  Rent-A-Center looked at other sites in Collin County before selecting a 15 acre site on Headquarters Drive that will allow for expansion.  The company currently has a little over 400 employees.  Construction will start December 12 and the building will take about a year to complete. 

 

Bigger digs for Rent-A-CenterPlano Star Courier, October 26, 2005

Rent-A-Center Inc. is boosting its Plano presence by constructing a new campus in the Legacy business park at the northeast corner of Headquarters Drive and Parkwood Boulevard.  Rent-A-Center, who employs approximately 400 in Plano, operates 2,880 stores nationwide and in Canada and Puerto Rico.

 

Texas ties with Massachusetts in "high-tech" rankingDallas Business Journal, October 20, 2005

Texas is home to some of the top-performing technology companies in the United States, according to Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.  Texas tied with Massachusetts for having the second-highest number of tech firms listed on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 with 41 high-tech firms each.  Of the 41 companies in Texas, 20 are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Plano-based SyChip Inc., a semiconductor maker for wireless Internet appliances ranked highest of the DFW companies at number 10.  Other Plano companies listed included Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc. at number 327 and TECSys development Inc. at number 376.

 

Plano honors top real-estate deals of the yearPlano Star Courier, October 19, 2005

The Plano Economic Development Board honored 28 people in eight categories for the first One Sweet Deal real estate awards.  From light industrial facilities in east Plano to new construction in Legacy business park, honorees closed deals in all parts of town.  They are:

Best Office Deal – Expansion : Capital One Services, Inc.

Kim Brooks   

Steve Williamson

Jack Eimer       

Transwestern Commercial Services

 

Kelley Kackley

John Gates

David Stack                 

The Staubach Company

 

Best Office Deal – Retention: North Texas Tollway Authority

Scott Jessen

Scott Morse

Colliers International                   

 

Best Office Deal - Existing Space: FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Services

Allison Fannin

Tracey Fults

Cushman & Wakefield

 

Jeff Ellerman

Larry Toon

Lance McIlhenny

Brad Blankenship   

The Staubach Company

 

Best Office Deal - New Construction: Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union

Jeff Ellerman

Brad Selner

Brad Blankenship               

The Staubach Company

 

Best Retail Deal: Floor and Décor Outlets of America

Terry Syler

David Levinson         

The Retail Connection

 

Jean Russo               

Cushman & Wakefield

 

Best Industrial/Flex Deal - Retention/Expansion: Tekelec

John Leinbaugh               

IDI

 

Jeff Ellerman

John Gates                   

The Staubach Company

 

Best Industrial/Flex Deal - Existing Space: Creation Technologies, Inc.

Wayne Swearingen

Jack Griffin             

Barclay Commercial Group, Inc.

 

Best Industrial/Flex Deal - New Construction: McDowell Label & Screen Printing

Mike McCartan

Jeff White             

Mark V Commercial Realty

 

Mark Klein               

RE/MAX Premier

 

Real Estate Report:  Dallas Morning News, October 16, 2005

HRM Resources leased 8,000 square feet on the second floor of Heady Investments' Parkway Centre IV office building, on the west side of the Dallas North Tollway north of Park Boulevard.  The six-story, 156,000-square-foot building is set to open in February.

Plano snagging 1,500 new jobsDallas Business Journal, October 14-20, 2005

Countrywide Financial Corp., the mortgage lender, is buying a 420,000-square-foot office facility at 1000 Coit in Plano and planning to fill it with 1,500 new employees.  The complex includes 180,000 square feet of office space, a 162,000-square-foot data center and 52,000 square feet of lab space, as well as a warehouse and full-service cafeteria. 

Countrywide buys more office space:  Dallas Morning News, October 8, 2005

Countrywide Financial Corporation is adding to its office space Plano.  A partnership of Dallas-based Westmount Realty Capital LLC and Buchanan Street Partners released that it has sold the 420,025-square-foot office and technical building located at 1000 Coit to Countrywide, the California-based mortgage company. 

Plano budget raises fees, adds city jobs, doesn't boost tax rateDallas Morning News, September 13, 2005

The Plano City Council approved a budget of more than $360 million for 2005-06, a plan that does not call for a tax rate increase.  It is the 15th consecutive year Plano has not raised its tax rate. 

 

Turnpike into D/FW set to open todayPlano Star Courier, September 9, 2005

The drive to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport gets easier today.  Segment IV of the President George Bush opens between Interstate 35E in Carrollton and Interstate 635 in Irving, providing relief to thousands of drivers to D/FW.  The 5.4-mile, $338 million project, will open almost five months earlier than its originally scheduled January completion date.  With the new segment, the turnpike will span the distance from State Highway 78 in Garland to SH 161 in Irving, which ends at SH 183 at the D/FW's south entrance.  The tollway is a six-lane, north-south controlled road that spans seven cities in three counties. 

 

Survey says:  D/FW ranks among top sport cities Dallas Business Journal, August 4, 2005

The Dallas/Fort Worth area has landed a spot among the top sports cities in North America, according to a ranking of 388 cities by The Sporting News.  Dallas/Fort Worth ranked eighth.  Once a city meets a minimum criteria, The Sporting News takes a 12-month snapshot of its sports atmosphere, putting emphasis on such factors as regular-season records, playoff berths, bowl appearances, tournament bids, championships, overall fan fervor and fan knowledge.

 

UTD tops in wired degreesDallas Morning News, August 1, 2005

UTD ranked first in the country in the number of computer-science degrees awarded, according to a survey from the American Society for Engineering Education.  Additionally, UTD gave more computer-science degrees to women than any other university in the country.  UTD's Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science awarded 575 computer-science degrees in the 2003-04 school year and ranks second in the country in the number of female professors in computer science.

 

Lincoln starts 8-story tower ar Legacy site:  Dallas Morning News, July 26, 2005

Lincoln Property Co. has begun work on the first of two office buildings it is planning in West Plano's Legacy business park.  The eight-story building is under construction at the southeast corner of Tennyson Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway.  The 208,000-square-foot Lincoln Legacy One will be ready for tenants next summer.  Across the street from Lincoln's project, CarrAmerica Realty Corp. and J.P. Morgan Asset Management are building a six-story office building.  About a block away on Tennyson, developer Myers & Crow is building the first of two buildings in its Parkwood Plano in Legacy office complex, which will open in December.

 

North Texas Tollway Authority buys Plano office complexDallas Business Journal, July 18, 2005

The North Texas Tollway Authority has purchased the two-building Gleneagles Office Complex in Plano.  The NTTA already occupies about 50,000 square feet in the 163,000-square-foot building complex, which consists of two buildings that are about 82,000 square feet each.  NTTA spent more than a year evaluating its options for expansion.  The NTTA is authorized by the state to build and repair turnpikes in North Texas through the issuance of turnpike revenue bonds; to collect tolls and maintain and pay debt service on those projects.

 

Ericsson to hire about 370 for new centerDallas Business Journal, July 1, 2005

Ericsson announced plans to open a new research center at its North American headquarters in Plano.  The center will bring about 370 new jobs to Plano that will be filled over the next 18 months.  Ericsson will partner with Cingular Wireless to create new features for wireless handsets at the facility and focus on hardware and software for traditional telecommunication services.  Ericsson employs approximately 1,500 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and 50,000 worldwide.

 

Area cos. make Fortune's list of fast-growing small businesses:  Dallas Business Journal, June, 22, 2005

Seven Texas companies made Fortune magazine's list of 100 fastest growing small public companies.  Plano-based Advanced Neuromodulation, a maker of implantable devices to manage chronic pain, held the No. 36 spot. 

 

Children's Medical Center Legacy to open in 2008Plano Star Courier, June 15, 2005

An October groundbreaking is set for Plano latest addition to a thriving health-care community.  Children's will occupy 68.7 acres at the southwest corner of Preston and Hedgcoxe roads.  When opened in early 2008, the $102 million resource will offer 72 beds, an urgent-emergency care center, four operating rooms, a laboratory and radiologic services.  The Plano and Dallas facilities will comprise the only academic health-care centers in North Texas solely dedicated to serving children from birth to age 18.  Collin County's youth population is expected to exceed 600,000 by 2008.

 

Office building will be added to W. Plano's Legacy ComplexDallas Morning News, June 15, 2005

West Plano's popular Legacy Town Center complex is getting more office space.  CarrAmerica Realty Corp. and J.P. Morgan Asset Management are developing a 156,000-square-foot building near the Dallas North Tollway.  The six-story building, Three Legacy Town Center, will be located at Tennyson Parkway and Bishop Road and will be ready by May 2006.

 

Capital One shifting California jobs to Plano:  Dallas Business Journal, June 8, 2005

Consumer leading Capital One Financial Corp. has announced that they will move part of their auto financing operations and about 200 jobs from San Diego to Plano, Texas.  Capital One will close its Internet auto finance operation in San Diego and eliminate about 290 jobs there by 2006.

 

Baylor Plans to build heart hospital in PlanoDallas Morning News, May 24, 2005

Baylor Health Care System plans to break ground June 7 on a 68-bed hospital in Plano that will specialize in cardiovascular care.  The Texas Heart Hospital of the Southeast is a partnership between Baylor and 86 North Texas cardiovascular doctors.  The $106 million facility will be built southeast of Plano Parkway and Allied Drive, near the Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.  The full service, 180,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in January 2007 and will employ between 450 and 500 clinicians and support staff.

 

Real Estate Report:  Dallas Morning News, May 22, 2005

Mortgage Information Services, Inc. leased 20,298 square feet of office space at the Lincoln R&D complex at 6501 Windcrest Drive in Plano.

 

Cramer taps Plano for America HQDallas Business Journal, February 25- March 3, 2005

Cramer Systems, a London-based maker of telecommunications software, has moved its Americas' headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Plano.  Cramer moved into a 6,400-square-foot space on the North Dallas Parkway and consolidated many functions of its Americas' operations there.  It has an option for 1,200 square feet of additional space, giving the company room as the 30-person local staff grows to a projected 50 by the end of this year.  The Plano location houses executives of Cramer's Americas' operation, including sales, engineering, human resources, marketing, accounting, customer care, alliances, training, and information technology.  The Plano office will be the central point of the Americas' operations, which spans five other offices located in Toronto, New Jersey, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Cramer Systems employ 250 worldwide.

 

Real Estate ReportDallas Morning News, February 6, 2005

Plano Antique Partners leased 50,000 square feet at Parkway Crossing at 800 North Central Expressway in Plano.

 

Developer plans offices off tollwayDallas Morning News, January 5, 2005

The latest market surveys indicated that the Dallas office market has turned the corner.  Construction will start next month on a speculative office complex in Plano.  Myers & Crow Co. will build its Parkwood Place in Legacy office complex on Tennyson Parkway just east of the tollway.  The 13.5  acres, two-building development is across the street from the popular Legacy Town Center, which has retail, residential and commercial space.  The first building, targeted at small and midsize tenants, will have 100,000 square feet of space in three stories. The building is scheduled to open in October.


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