Suburban Infill With Town Square Gains Competitive Advantage in Raleigh

[ By Edward J. Fritsch ]

GlenLake is a 100-acre high-end commercial and residential development in Raleigh, North Carolina being developed by Highwoods Properties.

GlenLake is a high-end commercial and residential community in a prestigious location in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods' hometown. Situated on 100 acres of gently rolling terrain, the mixed-use development is designed around a public town square, creating a pedestrian-friendly environment.

In the summer of 2003, the new Highwoods management team implemented a strategic planning process to understand how the company could better enhance shareholder value. One of the strategies identified as crucial to the company's long-term success was building a portfolio of "differentiated assets" to enable it not only to outpace market absorption trends, but also to more successfully endure future downturn business cycles. Instead of "suburban sprawl," Highwoods would now focus on "suburban infill" and develop differentiated properties in specific locations with high barriers to entry.

Nine proposed office buildings at GlenLake will have exterior spaces that unify them without their being identical. GlenLake One is complete and opened at 98 percent occupancy.

Highwoods' GlenLake development is a prime example of this strategy. GlenLake One, the first Class A office building, was a speculative development delivered during an extremely soft market. Yet, despite overall market weakness, occupancy at GlenLake raced to 98 percent, with above-market net effective rents.

Highwoods chose to work with three Atlanta companies who created the award-winning GlenLake One: Cooper Carry Inc., the architect; Barrett Woodard Inc., the mechanical/electrical engineer; and Uzun & Case, the structural engineer.

The underlying idea behind GlenLake was to create a suburban office park in which the buildings create exterior spaces that would unify and tie the properties together, as opposed to creating artificial barriers that separate, something which seems to occur so often in suburban environments.

This is a phased project, with development taking place over a number of years. To achieve a unity of expression without the buildings being identical, architectural forms that were clearly distinctive and recognizable, yet seamless within the context of the entire project, were selected.

GlenLake Four, a 158,000-square-foot building, is expected to be completed in Fall 2006. Its contemporary design will mirror GlenLake One.

GlenLake Four, a six-story building encompassing approximately 158,000 square feet, is the second of nine proposed buildings. Construction began in August 2005 and the building is already 47 percent pre-leased. It is expected to be completed in the fall of 2006. Its classic contemporary design will mirror its predecessor, GlenLake One. The building exterior will feature massive columns with accented arches, while the interior boasts vaulted ceilings, custom cherry paneling and marble floors. The six floors, ranging in size from about 20,000 rentable square feet to 28,000 rentable square feet, will have nine-foot ceilings, with the exception of the first floor, which is set at 12 feet.

The building lobby's walls will be cherry hardwood paneling that will offset marble floors. The doors will be a pre-finished cherry veneer to extend the richness of the wood throughout the space.

Highwoods at a Glance Since its founding in Raleigh in 1978, Highwoods has invested well over $1.5 billion in new development, of which more than $400 million has been in the Triangle. The company is committed to the growth and prosperity of its community. Highwoods has developed a plan to begin development of $200 million to $300 million of properties, through 2007, in a number of submarkets where inventory is scarce and where its firmly established land position and leasing team will capture near-term demand. The most recent project is the 29-story mixed-use complex in downtown Raleigh that will include office, retail and parking space, as well as 10 stories of residential condominiums. RBC Centura intends to move its U.S. corporate headquarters to the building when it opens in 2008.

Town Square as Focal Point
GlenLake is a success story because of its prime location and high quality. Its unique infill location differentiates it from the competition, since there is no viable land remaining for office development in this active and extremely popular submarket.

The two-year GlenLake rezoning project was conceived and implemented only after conducting numerous consulting studies and meetings with neighbors, the adjacent school, state transportation staff, city and elected officials, as well as a host of environmental agencies. The 100-acre site had formerly been a family homestead and horse farm, rezoned for office and residential development.

Besides the lake, tree-lined streets and extensive sidewalk system, GlenLake has as its focal point its Town Square. This public area features generously landscaped lawns, terraced floral beds, two reflecting pools, sculptured walks and four contemporary gazebos. To preserve the natural environment, an existing lake was kept and enhanced with the construction of a new dam. Above and below street level, the Town Square is one reason GlenLake is beyond business as usual. One of GlenLake's unique features is the investment in the protection of electronic and digital technology. Beneath the streets, to meet the needs of today's digital world, a concrete-encased conduit and vault system carrying electrical power and voice/data telecommunication lines services the square as well as the surrounding business community.

The gazebos provide a convenient out-of-office place to relax, meet or continue working via the wireless Internet system available throughout the Town Square. Streets of architectural pavers and granite curbs surround the Square, to complement the urban feel of adjacent buildings and reinforce a sense of arrival.

The GlenLake project calls for four more office buildings to surround the Town Square area in the heart of the office portion of the development, making this an 875,000-square-foot corporate campus.

In conjunction with the development of GlenLake Office Park is the residential aspect of this project, developed by Premiere Homes Inc.

Edward J. Fritsch is president, CEO and a director of Highwoods Properties.