On September 18, a group of Young Guns members had the opportunity to tour the Cypress Waters master-plan development as part of The Real Estate Council’s About Town event series. Owned and operated by The Billingsley Company, the 1,000-acre Cypress Waters sits on the border of Dallas, Coppell and Las Colinas and boasts a five-minute ride to DFW International Airport. Though only a third of the acreage has been developed, the property connects 4.5 million square feet of office and retail space, with 10,000 multifamily units and three schools along with parks, trails and a lakeside town center. It also offers a nearly equidistant commute to Dallas, Fort Worth and Frisco.
Through a partnership with Lime Scooter, our Young Guns (myself included) turned heads zipping through the streets to gain the perspective of the tenants that work, live and play within Cypress Waters.
Our first stop was the unfinished second floor of 3100 Olympus, in a part of Cypress Waters known as The Sound, where we were greeted by The Billingsley Company’s Lucy Burns and Marijke Lantz and learned a bit about the history of the development and some of the company’s plans for expansion. “The Billingsley team hyped the master-plan development as an HR department’s dream,” said Will Daniell, senior analyst at Piedmont Office Realty Trust. “A hiring company within the development will be able to attract a skilled labor force with the abundance of amenities throughout the development, including retail tenants such as Flying Fish and Rodeo Goat opening locations overlooking North Lake.”
With scooter dust flying behind us, we made it to the multi-family component of the tour to get a closer look at The Sound’s future site and sped past the new townhomes. We arrived at the Bleecker Street neighborhood’s offices and were taken through the hotel-like lobby and several of its amenities. Ashley Lewis, a sales analyst at CBRE, said, “Neighborhoods at The Sound are beautiful! Touring Bleecker Street was a treat.” Bleecker Street’s general manager greeted us at the hotel-like lobby and toured us through several of their amenities. Daniell said the pool’s Las Vegas-style cabanas and bar reminded him of a speakeasy with an incredible fireplace and mantle for chilly winter days.
Billingsley Commercial’s vice president of construction development, John Gardnier, greeted us at our next stop: the still under-construction 3201 Olympus, a 25,000-square-foot office and lab space. “When Billingsley first brought me aboard, they told me it would be for two to three buildings,” Gardnier said, “and here we are on numbers 11 and 12.” Even the construction was innovative. Gardnier said that tilt wall construction is typically for structures no more than three or four stories tall, but added that his team had been successful in getting aggressive with more complex, five-story builds.
Our tour ended near the lake’s bank, at 9797 Rombauer Road, home to Zales’ and Smoothie King’s respective headquaters. Marijke said the 300-acre lake would feature a five-mile trail resembling the one around White Rock Lake that would be completed in three years. She also said the lake was once home to weekend getaways and was a popular year-round waterskiing destination.
“Touring Cypress Waters with TREC Young Guns About Town was a great event that gave me the opportunity to see why companies such as Nokia, Nationstar Mortgage and 7 Eleven selected this mixed-use development for their office locations,” said Alexandra Jennings Cullins, who works with office brokerage services at CBRE. “Additionally, it was interesting to hear from Lucy Burns with Billingsley [about] what they’ve learned from older portions of the park and the exciting plans for the future of Cypress Waters. I hope to tour the park again in a few years to see how it continues to transform.”
Young Guns About Town: Cypress Waters Scooter Tour
