Irving mayor: Why the Texas Stadium site will become a corporate magnet

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Michael-Chase Eaton, Aerial Photography Inc.

The former site of Texas Stadium is currently being used to house highway construction equipment. Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne says she’d like to see it developed to include a mix of high-end retail, housing and recreation.

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Candace Carlisle

Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal

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The former site of Texas Stadium — home of the Dallas Cowboys before AT&T Stadium was built — could not only become a high-end retail destination, but a corporate magnet.

Think of the $1.5 billion CityLine development, which will be home to State Farm Insurance's regional hub, as well as one of Raytheon's business units. And don't forget the $2 billion Legacy West project that's underway with Toyota's $350 million corporate campus and FedEx Office's new home base.

That's along the lines of what San Diego-based development firm OliverMcMillan has in mind for the former entertainment node in Irving — and the firm would need a major corporate tenant to make that happen.

"There is corporate interest in the site, but I can't comment beyond that," Mayor Beth Van Duyne told the Dallas Business Journal. "We are negotiating with someone, but it's an ever-developing project that the city is actively working on."

The 78-acre site has the ability to hold millions of square feet of corporate office space and house thousands of corporate employees, she said. Even though there's speculation Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc. is looking at the property, Van Duyne said she can't comment either way, citing a non-disclosure agreement with a real estate broker representing an undisclosed company.

"There's a lot of play on the site right now and it's really too early to speculate," she told me. "I can confirm there's a lot of interest and a lot of negotiating, but it's too soon to speculate on who the future tenant will be."

Texas Stadium hasn't existed since it was imploded in 2010. The land is being used to hold highway construction materials for the expansion of State Highway 183.

The Texas Department of Transportation has a long-term lease on the land for $1.5 million a year, but Van Duyne said there's a stipulation in the agreement that allows Irving to move the transportation department's staging site to another part of the freeway if a developer is interested.

A real estate broker familiar with Irving real estate and American Airlines said he doubted the airline would choose to move their headquarters anytime soon, citing a number of leases signed by U.S. Airways for space in Arizona for the next five years. And the airline owns its fairly pricey corporate campus in Fort Worth, which would make moving a difficult economic decision.

Fort Worth also has a number of economic incentives tied to the airline keeping its headquarters within the city for the next few years.

Candace covers commercial and residential real estate and sports business.