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September 2005 • Volume 2, Issue 9 This issue home | Past issues | Chamber home City's Office Space Filling Up Telecom Corridor® Rallies With Non-Tech Companies During the first six months of 2005, the Telecom Corridor® area led North Texas in office leasing. Richardson's recent success in luring tenants is being credited to a diversified business base, a rebounding economy and local and state incentives. At the peak of the tech boom in 2000, almost 90,000 people worked in the Telecom Corridor. By 2001 and 2002, that total plummeted to 75,000 and the area led North Texas in company layoffs and consolidations. Now, said John Jacobs, senior vice president of economic development for the RCC, non-telecom companies account for almost half of the growth in the Telecom Corridor. “In 2000, of the prospects we were seeing, 90 percent of them were high-tech, and most of those were telecom companies,” he said. “This last year, we are balanced about 55 percent tech companies and 45 percent non-tech companies.” Major non-tech employers include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Sherwin-Williams Co., Countrywide Financial and Fossil. Richardson also has the benefit of being conveniently located near major freeways and light-rail stations. “Transportation goes hand-in-hand with workforce and labor,” Jacobs said. “Transportation has been one of the secrets of Richardson 's success over the years.” Office rents in the area are also a plus – they average less than $17 per square foot annually, compared with about $20 in West Plano and Frisco, according to The Dallas Morning News. Public sector concessions have also helped fill Richardson's commercial space, including Countrywide Financial's big office deal, which included $20 million in local and state incentives. |
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