Among Richardson’s most significant economic development accomplishments in 2016 has been the creation and operation by the Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP) of the East Arapaho Task Force, a consortium of major property owners, employers and other stakeholders in the core of Richardson’s Telecom Corridor whose mission is to identify the priorities for enhancing economic vitality in the area. The approximately 1,000-acre district, located on the east side of Central Expressway and bounded on the north by Campbell Road, on the south by Apollo Road, on the west by Greenville Avenue and on the east by Plano Road, is characterized by single-story, office/showroom (or just “flex” for short) buildings. In fact, about 75% of all of Richardson’s flex space is located in the district, and when the Telecom Corridor slumped in 2001-2004, the vacancy rate in those flex buildings soared to almost 40%.
Today, vacancy has resided to nearer its historic 8-10% range at just over 13%, but there are still challenges in readapting and redeveloping a number of properties to meet current market demands. To jump start that goal, REDP has been successful in attracting a couple of outstanding, technology-centric companies to the East Arapaho district:
Most recently, Applied Concepts, Inc. purchased the 40,088-SF flex building (formerly Stratmark) at 855 E. Collins with plans to move its entire 135-employee operation there in the 3rd quarter of 2017 as their Plano lease expires.
Founded in Richardson in 1977 by electrical engineer Alan Mead, the company has become the premier supplier of radar guns (“Stalker” brand) for both traffic and sport applications. In the traffic control area, ACI holds the majority of the US market, serving over 5,000 law enforcement agencies. In baseball and other sports, ACI is the overwhelmingly dominant market player. ACI introduced its auto radar business in 1990 with the first TI-built DSP chip-enabled police radar gun. The company holds 29 patents in radar gun technology that enable the tracking of any projectile at speeds up to 900 mph.
Earlier in the year, REDP was successful in securing the relocation of the corporate HQ and operations of Aprima Medical Software, a 320-employee technology company from Carrollton. Founded in the early 1990s, under the name Millbrook Medical Software, Aprima has grown over the years to now support 2,000 physician practices in 47 US states, Puerto Rico and Guam. With its 2011 acquisition of DFW-based Healthcare Strategies, Aprima is now able to add a revenue cycle management (RCM) offering to its clinical software product. Aprima just recently occupied 55,000 SF in the 3-story office building at 1010 E. Arapaho, which is owned by Momentum Realty, a locally-based property owner.
A complete list of significant 2016 non-retail business expansions and relocations follows.
# | Company | Business | Type | From | Occ. | Address | Square Feet | Type Space | Jobs | Broker | Web Address |
1 | Mobilous | Tool for faster, cheaper app development | Relocation | Dehli, India | Lease | 1201 International Pkwy. | 1,000 | Flex | 5 | None | www.mobilous.com |
2 | Medical Practice Solutions | Billing and services for medical practices | Relocation | Dallas | Sublease | 2600 NCX | 38,000 | Office | 120 | Clint Madison Cushman & Wakefield | www.mpsbilling.com |
3 | Service King | Billing and services for medical practices | Relocation | Richardson | Sublease | 2600 NCX | 38,000 | Office | 200 | Stuart Smith Cushman & Wakefield | www.serviceking.com |
4 | e2v | Development of high-reliability semiconductors | Relocation | Richardson | Lease | 1301 E. Collins | 6,000 | Office | 20 | Matt Waldon Pillar Commercial | www.e2v.com |
5 | Global Optics | Fiber and cable installation | Expansion | San Antonio | Lease | 800 Security Row | 10,000 | Flex | 40 | Brett Lewis Lee & Associates | www.globalopticsus.com |
6 | Paragon Services, Inc. | General contractor | Relocation | Carrollton | Lease | 1820 N. Greenville | 13,166 | Flex | 40 | Sarah Catherine Norris E Smith Realty | N/A |
7 | Pedeatrix Medical Group of Texas | Medical practice | Expansion | Richardson | Lease | 3001 E. PGBT | 13,000 | Office | 35 | Tommy Nelson CBRE | dallas.pediatrics.com |
8 | Aprima Medical Software | Software for physicians' offices | Relocation | Carrollton | Lease | 1010 E. Arapaho | 55,000 | Office | 280 | John Roper CBRE | www.aprima.com |
9 | Just Construction & Mgmt. | Interior finish for retail stores | Relocation | California | Buy | 1000 E. Campbell et al | 37,879 | Flex | 200 | None | www.jcandm.com |
10 | HH Architects | Design firm for church facilities | Relocation | Dallas | Lease | 2221 Lakeside | 16,361 | Office | 50 | Clay Vaughn CBRE | www.hharchitects.com |
11 | Reflect Systems | Digital displays for retail settings | Relocation | Dallas | Lease | 2221 Lakeside | 15,350 | Office | 45 | Sharon Friedberg Fischer | www.reflectsystems.com |
12 | KBM Group | Data-centric consumer marketing company | Renewal | Richardson | Lease | 2050 N. Greenville | 54,752 | Office | 200 | Deborah Borum Beltway | www.kbmg.com |
13 | Voss | Unified communications platform provider | Renewal | Richardson | Lease | 2301 N. Greenville | 5,821 | Office | 20 | Deborah Borum Beltway | www.voss-solutions.com |
14 | Applied Concepts, Inc. | Maker of the "Stalker" brand traffic and sports radar | Relocation | Plano | Buy | 855 E. Collins | 40,088 | Flex | 135 | Paul Tikacek JSC | www.stalkerradar.com |
15 | Genpact | Business process outsourcing | Expansion | Richardson | Lease | 3101 E. PGBT | 21,000 | Office | 100 | Tommy Nelson CBRE | www.genpact.com |
16 | SolarCity | Installs solar systems for residential and business | Relocation | Dallas | Lease | 1371 N. Glenville | 11,000 | Flex | 25 | Joshua Barnes Holt Lunsford | www.solarcity.com |
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| Totals | | | | | | 369,841 | | 1,515 | | |