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Texas

Solar power outfit inks major leases in Allen, eyes IPO

‘The two largest vacancies in Allen are being wiped out,’ says Dan Bowman of Allen’s Economic Development Corp.

805 North Central Expressway in Allen with Sol-Ark chief technology officer Tom Brennan and Dan Bowman of Allen’s Economic Development Corp (Cushman & Wakefield, LinkedIn)
805 North Central Expressway in Allen with Sol-Ark chief technology officer Tom Brennan and Dan Bowman of Allen’s Economic Development Corp (Cushman & Wakefield, LinkedIn)

A Plano-based solar energy firm is moving its corporate headquarters and operations one town over, to Allen.

Sol-Ark leased an entire two-story, 115,000-square-foot office building, at 805 North Central Expressway, from Gladstone Commercial Corporation, and a 180,000-square-foot industrial space, at 915 Enterprise Boulevard, from an LLC with the same Chicago address as Revantage, according to appraisal district records.

It is the latest economic development win for Allen, north of Dallas in Collin County, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Details of the leases were not released, but the City of Allen has offered economic incentives up to $1 million, depending on how many new jobs the move creates.

The two-story building is just east of the popular Watters Creek shopping district and previously housed operations of Frontier Communications. The industrial building will be used for production, research and design, product support and repairs.

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“They are going to take our largest manufacturing building and our largest vacant office building,” said Dan Bowman, the Allen Economic Development Corporation’s executive director. “The two largest vacancies in Allen are being wiped out.”

Sol-Ark sells a line of solar-generating and energy-storage technology products for personal and commercial use. Founded in 2013 by local veterans and power engineers, the company says it’s in the process of preparing for an initial public stock offering next year.

“Sol-Ark is the type of innovative company that will thrive in Allen,” said Bowman, adding that the company could eventually have 400 employees in the Allen buildings. “We know that solar power technology is a booming sector within the energy industry and we are thrilled to have Sol-Ark investing in our community and becoming one of Allen’s largest employers.”

The Sol-Ark deal is by far the largest of various recent corporate moves to Allen. Other notable relocations include Pushpay, a faith-based fintech company; OmniLife, a multi-level marketing company from Mexico; and San-Diego-based MD7, which says it plans to invest $6.8 million in its new headquarters in the Watters Creek mixed-use development.

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— Maddy Sperling

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DFWIndustrial Real EstateLeasing