By John English
Contributing Writer
A mass timber construction building — essentially what’s described as a massive wooden office — is slated for Crow Holdings Development’s Offices at Southstone Yards, a 45-acre, mixed-use development in Frisco. Crow recently announced plans for the development, located at Spring Creek Parkway and Sam Rayburn Tollway 121. The mass timber construction office building will serve as its centerpiece.
The Offices at Southstone Yards is designed by Duda|Paine Architects in partnership with Gensler and represented by CBRE.
According to a news release, with more than one million square feet of office space slated within the development, this first office building will bring 235,000 square feet of “innovative, differentiated, highly amenitized, and environmentally friendly office space in seven stories of the first mass timber construction in North Texas.”
Crow Holdings Director of Communications Adam McGill said that the company’s original time frame for completion of the project is still on track.
“The construction process has been on schedule and according to plan, with the project’s delivery expected in the fourth quarter of this year,” McGill said.
The new development will feature retail venues, restaurants, and hotel space, along with more than 1,000 urban living and townhomes and nine acres of green space with an aim toward wellness and outdoor amenities.
When the project was first announced in 2022, Cody Armbrister, Senior Managing Director of CHD’s office team, said the development offers a variety of features that residents and businesses alike would find appealing.
“In a post-pandemic work environment, employers and their valued teams have increased their expectations and seek an office environment that delivers a dynamic experience – one that enriches their daily lives and is supported with virtues of wellness, flexibility, and enhanced amenities,” Armbrister said. “We are pleased to be able to provide the Offices at Southstone Yards as an option to employers seeking to meet those expectations for their teams, to help achieve their company’s ESG-related (Environmental, Social and Governance) objectives, and to create a healthier, higher-performing workplace.”
McGill said Crow Holdings has received a lot of positive feedback about the Offices of Southstone Yards construction so far.
“The Frisco community – especially city officials and other key stakeholders – have been incredibly supportive of the project,” McGill said. “Our building, the Offices at Southstone Yards, is the first in a 45-acre, mixed-use development that is planned to include office buildings, residences, restaurants, and open space.”
The most unique aspect of the development project has to do with the composition of the buildings themselves.
Crow Holdings asserts that compared to more commonly used building materials like steel and concrete, “mass timber construction is more sustainable, provides greater design flexibility, results in a lighter environmental footprint, offers higher thermal insulation, and creates a warmer, more engaging, and productive workplace.”
McGill said that he anticipates a strong response from prospective residents and businesses to the Offices at Southstone Yards due to the sheer number of desirable features of the new development.
“No tenants have been officially announced as of yet,” McGill said. “But the opportunity to lease office space in such an innovative, carbon-friendly, dynamic, biophilic building continues to generate interest.”
See more of the project at Offices at Southstone Yards.
