Richardsons Expansion, Relocation and Retention Projects for 2010

Richardson can look back on 2010 with a sense of overall positive economic growth and a resurgence of activity across all of its technology-based companies. Despite uncertainty and volatility in the national economy, Richardson recorded 28 expansion, relocation, start-up and retention projects.
The result was 1,918 new or retained jobs and the occupancy of 560,483 square feet of office and flex space.

 Technology companies were responsible for 50% of the project activity: 

• IEX, an Israeli-owned telecom company, renewed its commitment to Richardson in over 37,000 square feet at the Palisades I office building at 2425 North Central Expressway.
• HR Smart, an employee performance software company, renewed its stay at Granite Properties - 2929 N. Central Expressway.
• Samsung Mobile continued to expand its footprint, taking 16,000 square feet of additional space.
• Banking software company Custom Credit Solutions expanded to Richardson and relocated to office space near the thriving Eastside mixed-use development. The company also grew its workforce to 70.
• Richardson picked up two great companies to complement its sizeable cloud computing sector with ViaWest, a co-location operator, and Firehost, a super-secure data storage and services company.
• Stream Realty’s $30 million boutique data center was completed at Renner Business Park with a corporate user in mind.
• In semiconductors, TriQuint Semiconductor made a multi-million dollar investment in its plant at 500 W. Renner Road and added 300 new workers.
• Benning Power is another “green tech” that came to Richardson. In business since 1937, the company is a German based, family-owned maker of highly efficient power converters and transformers.  Benning purchased a 70,000 square foot building at 1220 Presidential Drive. 

• Richardson’s most strategic corporate addition in 2010 was id Software, inventors of popular computer games such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake and Rage. The highly successful and well-known software gaming company leased 57,100 SF (two floors) at Collins Crossing, 1501 N. Greenville Avenue.

• Richardson already had the makings of a gaming software cluster with Presagis (military war game software), Nerve Software (fantasy world games) and UT Dallas’ Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering. The addition of id Software creates a formidable cluster in Richardson for state-of-the-art software gaming companies.

On the technology-users side, there were several significant real estate related projects: 

• Ebby Halliday Realtors consolidated two local sales offices into a new 10,150-square foot office building to kick off Phase II at The Shire on the Bush Turnpike.
• Integra Realty Resources, a prominent real estate consulting firm, moved its headquarters to some of the new office space at Eastside.
• The biggest move was made by Hill & Wilkinson. This prominent commercial construction firm relocated its 235 employees and corporate headquarters to Richardson at 2703 Telecom Parkway.