Centex Construction Headquarters Decision Up in the Air

DALLAS-Lease or sell? That’s the question confronting Centex Commercial Development, which has been tasked with deciding the fate of Centex Construction Co.’s 35-year headquarters location in Dallas.

The leading construction company has completed a move to Citymark, a class A, 217,596-sf high-rise that’s more in keeping with the image that the builder wants to project, says an insider. Owned by its parent, Centex Corp., the construction division is now occupying 45,000 sf and its name has gone up on the building at 3100 McKinnon in the Dallas CBD.

The move puts the fate of its 30,000-sf, single-story structure at 10150 Monroe Dr., an address in a less high-profile section of North Dallas, into the hands of a sister entity. A deadline for the decision has not been set. Tod Newman, Centex Commercial Development CFO, tells GlobeSt.com that “we’re looking at both options” and plans on staying flexible in the decision-making process. Ideally, he says, the building is well-suited for a single tenant. The strategy will be to evaluate the strength of the market to see if a buyer can be found in today’s real estate climate.

It was quite a task to bundle up 35 years, but it’s done. “It was a pretty basic move,” says Mark Layman, Centex Construction senior vice president. “But, we’re glad to be here.” About 100 employees moved in the headquarters shift that was all handled in-house and without the need for a broker. The relocation also puts Centex Construction’s local office and its headquarters in the same building.

The 45,000 sf entails half of Citymark’s first floor and all of the sixth and seventh floors. Layman says several sites were evaluated, but Citymark won hands down. The 14-year-old office building also is home to Mesa Design Associations, NBC broadcasting station, Espidotcom, a Baylor University office and Circa Capital. Asset manager Harwood Management Services says most leases range from 2,000 sf to 9,500 sf. The lead spot, new furniture and fixtures and its name on the building all go along with the image makeover for the construction company.

The relocation comes with the latest Centex Construction announcement that it’s just reached a milestone on a $33.5-million project for the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. The Dallas-based contractor is building a 218,000-sf school for 1,600 students in kindergarten through grade 12 for the tribe. The Mescalero tribe is the only community on the Bureau of Indian Affairs Educational Facilities replacement list to begin a school’s construction with its own funds.

Construction crews are ready to go on interior finish-out, with an eye on a May 2002 completion. In tackling the project, Centex has hired subcontractors from the communities of Ruidoso, Albuquerque, Alamogordo, Las Cruces and El Paso. “We always try to be a good neighbor,” says Sara Misquez, Mescalero president. “This part of New Mexico is isolated from the rest in some ways. If we don’t stick together and help each other out, no one else is going to do it.