Groundbreaking Set For Gardere's Future Home at McKinney & Olive

Groundbreaking held for luxury office tower at McKinney & Olive in Dallas which will be home to the Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP law firm starting in late 2016.

Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC broke ground June 19, 2014, on the long-awaited $225 million tower at McKinney & Olive, with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP set to be the anchor tenant upon completion in the fall of 2016.

Being constructed at 2021 McKinney Avenue, next to The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, the 20-story McKinney & Olive tower will be a LEED Gold Certified, Class AA structure. The building will feature 480,000 square feet of luxury office space along with 50,000 square feet of retail space, including three restaurants, a ground-level piazza, a fitness center, a Concierge Level rooftop garden and a conference center.

"With the conveniences of dynamic Uptown, state-of-the-art interior and architecture, and numerous efficiencies, the McKinney & Olive tower will allow us to accommodate our continued growth while providing a highly efficient, modern environment in which to serve our clients," says Gardere Chair Holland N. O'Neil. "We are excited to be a part of Crescent's newest development and to be breaking ground on our Firm's future Dallas home."

McKinney & Olive is designed by famed architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Mr. Pelli is known for designing some of the world's most architecturally compelling urban landmarks, including the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia and the World Financial Center complex in lower Manhattan.

Gardere finalized the 15-year, 109,000 square-foot lease with Crescent Real Estate Holdings in April and is set to occupy floors 9 through 12 of the new building by late 2016, with highly visible signage on the building. This move coincides with the expiration of the Firm's 26-year lease at Thanksgiving Tower. Gardere was represented by Jeff Ellerman and Phil Puckett of CBRE.

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an Am Law 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest's largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in the areas of corporate, energy, environmental, financial services, government affairs, hospitality, intellectual property, international, labor and employment, litigation, private equity, real estate and tax.

Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a fully-integrated real estate company owned by Barclays Capital and Goff Capital. Through its subsidiaries, Crescent manages and develops premier, Class A office buildings. Crescent also holds investments in resort residential developments in locations such as Scottsdale, Vail Valley, and Lake Tahoe; a luxury hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas; and the wellness lifestyle leader, Canyon Ranch®. For more information, visit Crescent's Web site at www.crescent.com.

For more information, contact Dorothy L. Seals at 214.999.4019 or dseals@gardere.com.