Sep. 14--The owners of the Galleria office towers in Far North Dallas have shifted gears and hired a local company to market the high-profile properties.

Leasing of the 1.4 million-square-foot office complex has been handed over to John Bowles Co., the real estate firm said Monday. The three office towers -- which adjoin the popular shopping mall -- are about 90 percent leased.

"This will be our biggest leasing assignment," said John Bowles, who founded the 13-year-old commercial real estate company. "It's very competitive out there and we understand the challenges of this market."

The Galleria towers were purchased in mid-2008 by a California-based investor, Cannon Commercial of Los Angeles. The buildings -- which represent one of the largest office spaces in suburban Dallas -- were constructed between 1981 and 1990.

Major tenants in the project include FedEx, Highland Capital and Invesco.

The buildings front along Noel Road north of LBJ Freeway and have previously been marketed by international real estate service firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

"It's a very big deal to a local firm of my size to acquire a listing such as this," said Bowles Co.'s managing director Ed Pachecano. "This is about bringing in new tenants and increasing occupancies.

"We are opening a satellite office in the building to handle the project."

John Bowles Co. already leases several dozen Dallas-area office projects, including several along the North Dallas Tollway in Addison. But none of those are as large as the Galleria buildings.

"We've been given a mandate to get these buildings lease up," Bowles said. "The Galleria is just about as close to the intersection of Main and Main as you can get and has every feature tenants can want."

Along with the shopping mall achored by Nordstrom, Macy and Saks Fifth Avenue stores, the Galleria complex contains a the newly remodeled Westin Galleria Dallas hotel.

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