WareSpace, a Maryland-based industrial operator, is redeveloping the former Fry’s Electronics store at 700 East Plano Parkway in Plano into small industrial suites. The 175,000-square-foot property has been vacant for four years and will be transformed into spaces ranging from 200 to 2,500 square feet.
CEO Levi Cohen said the project aims to create “a small business hub for the community.” He added, “We’re coming with a unique offer. We’re not putting in like a huge, big box industrial site with tractor-trailers coming in and out 24/7. We make the buildings look nice as well. They’re not an eyesore.”
Cohen did not disclose asking rents but noted that lease terms are flexible, allowing companies to rent space for six months or a year without long-term commitments. WareSpace properties attract tenants such as local tradespeople, candle-makers, and online resellers.
The company operates 20 locations nationwide, including four other sites in Texas—three in Dallas-Fort Worth and one in Houston.
This project highlights adaptive reuse opportunities for large retail vacancies resulting from bankruptcies and closures of retailers such as Forever 21 and Party City. Some vacant stores have been repurposed by experiential businesses or fitness operators; others are being converted to industrial use.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has seen significant growth in its industrial market over the past decade. It now ranks third nationally behind Los Angeles and Chicago. Despite rapid expansion leading to increased supply, vacancy rates declined from 9.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024 to 9.1 percent a year later, according to Partners Real Estate (https://partnersrealestate.com/).
However, Cohen said market strength was not his company’s main motivation for investing locally: “For us, it’s not even about being an industrial hub. It’s more that there’s just a significant amount of people moving there,” he said. “We know there’s just a huge market for us there, just based on the population count and the trajectory of where the city’s going.”
