Lockheed Martin Subleases Fort Worth Offices Amid Remote Work

Lockheed Martin exited a massive portion of its office space in Fort Worth, even as its headcount grows.

Roughly 60 percent of the company’s space at Fossil Creek Business Park is up for lease, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

That includes 375,000 square feet at 5401 North Beach Street and another 163,000 square feet at 5555 North Beach Street, nearly 540,000 square feet combined. The buildings are owned by Austin-based Capital Commercial Investments and classified as Class B office space.

The defense contractor leased the buildings to support sustainment services and supply chain operations for its F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft programs, and it had planned for over 4,000 employees to work across the sites. It’s unclear how much office space the company still uses, but it’s no longer fully occupying either building.

Lockheed, which is Fort Worth’s biggest employer, is adjusting space to accommodate “new work rhythms” post-pandemic, Lockheed spokesman Ken Ross said.

Lockheed has embraced hybrid and remote work, but it hasn’t reduced its workforce. The company employs about 19,200 people in Fort Worth, up from 17,900 in early 2019, most of them at its nearby F-35 fighter jet assembly plant.

Lockheed’s office downsizing adds more pressure to a Fort Worth office market already grappling with lagging demand, especially for Class B space. Class A properties saw positive net absorption in the second quarter, but Class B buildings posted a year-to-date net loss of over 566,000 square feet, according to JLL.

Doug Agarwal’s Capital Commercial Investments is a prolific buyer of struggling office buildings in Texas. It also owns the former Exxon-Mobil campus in Irving ,and the former JCPenney headquarters in Plano, where it is planning a mixed-use development with Dallas-based Streetlights Residential, a subsidiary of the Trammell Crow Company.

— Judah Duke