Shared office provider heads to Dallas Arts District with new operation

Written by Steve Brown, Real Estate Editor

A New York-based shared office provider has landed in Dallas’ Arts District with its first project.

Serendipity Labs Coworking is taking 29,000 square feet in the KPMG Plaza tower on Ross Avenue near Pearl Street for its first local location.

The building’s developer, Craig Hall, also is making a capital investment in the shared office firm, which has more than 100 locations under development.

“We looked at a variety of co-working spaces,” Hall said. “Their co-working approach we thought was unique and superior to everyone else in the market. It’s a higher end.”

Serendipity Labs is taking space on KPMG Plaza’s 17th floor and in the lobby.

Hall said the Serendipity Labs location will be an amenity to both his office building and the hotel and condo tower he’s building next door. “We thought it would enhance the overall office for our other tenants in the building,” he said.

Serendipity Labs’ space in KPMG Plaza will include about 3,000 square feet on the first floor that will be used as a creative venue. The space faces the project’s sculpture walk connecting Ross Avenue and Flora Street.

“We are having a first-floor presence where we can host and support cultural events in an amazing venue that exists in few office projects,” said John Arenas, founder and CEO of Serendipity Labs. “It will meet the more sophisticated needs of enterprises and companies that are trying to spur innovation and attract talent.

“In all of our locations, we support local artists and art communities with art shows and cultural events — everything from music to wine.”

Arenas said the Arts District location was very appealing to his firm. “We wanted to have a flagship location in Texas that reflected the upscale nature of our brand,” he said.

The Serendipity Labs facility should be open by November, Arenas said. With the deal, KPMG Plaza is more than 85 percent leased.

Other tenants in the KPMG Plaza tower include KPMG, Jackson Walker, Teknion, UMB Bank, Spencer Stuart and Sedgwick.

Serendipity Labs said last year that it planned to expand to the Dallas area with multiple locations. It has a franchise agreement with an affiliate of Texas-based Worth Hotels to be the development partner for the new D-FW locations.

Serendipity Labs has opened its first locations in the Chicago and New York areas and has facilities in the works in Florida, Connecticut, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio.

“We are opening in city center hubs where we establish our brand definition,” Arenas said. “And then we open in suburbs and secondary markets from there. We look to do the same over time in the Dallas area.”

Hall said he invested in the company after looking at other shared office providers.

“I like the fact that it’s upscale and I’m very keen on entrepreneurship in general,” he said. “I think there will be a shakeout in co-working because there are so many companies going into it.

“The ones that have the right offering and vision will do well.”

Several shared office companies are making a play in the Dallas office market. New York-based WeWork has shared office locations in Uptown, downtown and Plano.

Co-working firm Industrious is building a large office in the One Arts Plaza building on Flora Street that will cater to entrepreneurs and startup companies.