RealPage puts exclamation point on first half of 2015 activity in Richardson

By John Jacobs
Executive Vice President


The RealPage project put an exclamation point, or maybe several, on the first half economic development activity for Richardson’s Telecom Corridor® area.

For those who don’t know RealPage, the company was founded in 1998 by UT Austin grad Stephen Winn. RealPage develops software that manages real estate through a subscription (“Software-as-a-Service”) model. They serve 10,000 customers, including the ten largest multi-family property management companies in the US, that collectively oversee 9.5 million residential units and over 200 million square feet of commercial space.

The company has grown through acquisitions of smaller software companies fueled in part by its 2010 IPO, which raised $150 million. Most recently, RealPage acquired for $49 million Louisville-based Indatus, a cloud computing services company. Overall, RealPage has over 4,000 employees with the primary concentration in DFW and another large contingent in South Carolina. The company has over $400 million in annual revenues.

A key factor in the relocation decision was the presence in Richardson of a 400,000-square-foot office space that will accommodate RealPage’s current 250,000-square-foot occupancy as well as significant future headcount growth. RealPage plans to make a number of interior improvements to create an inviting, comfortable and collaborative work environment that its employees will love.

Additional considerations in RealPage’s relocation decision were proximity to UT Dallas’ 23,000-student talent magnet as well as Richardson’s rich high-tech history and globally recognized technology brand.

Other first half highlights are:

• TD Ameritrade, which reports indicate has purchased the 73,000 SF data center facility at 1811 Renner developed by Stream Data Centers;  

• Amerisource-Bergen, which found Fobare Commercial’s repurposed 1225 Alma office building with 8:1000 parking to its liking for a customer contact center;  

• Kathrein Group, a German telecom company that found its way to the Telecom Corridor® area from Medford, Oregon. Amongst other products, the $1 billion+ (sales) company makes car mounted mobile antennas, such as the dorsal-fin shaped unit on the roof of BMW’s;

• TNT Dental, which is redeveloping the old 500 Lockwood Post Office building into a hip, cool workplace that’s within walking distance of Alamo Drafthouse, Taco Joint and the other restaurant/retailers that make some people refer to the Heights Shopping Center as “Little Austin”;   

• Avnet, a large Phoenix-based distributor of technology parts and equipment and a long-time Richardson corporate citizen moved its regional sales and accounting office within the city