'W's' Big D: Pickens, Staubach, Starbucks

by Mark Silva

The new "Dallas:"

T. Boone Pickens, Roger Staubach and George W. Bush, all within walking distance of a Starbucks.

The former president is taking out office space in a Preston Center area that places him in proximity to the offices of Pickens, the wealthy oilman who has become the national pitchman for alternative energy, and Staubach Co., the real estate firm founded by the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who is active in GOP politics.

"The neighborhood is an oasis of office and retail buildings amid residential areas, 5 miles north of downtown,'' Bloomberg News notes. "Thousands of people work at Preston Center's energy companies, law firms, shops and restaurants and now face the prospect of bumping into the former U.S. commander-in-chief.

"He will be just another customer, but we'd want to make him feel special like we do with all our customers," said Pammie Betts, 35, manager of the nearby Starbucks.

The Bushes are returning to the town where they lived before Bush ran for governor of Texas in 1994. Bush had been managing general partner of a group that owned the Texas Rangers baseball team - and he made millions when the team was sold. Laura Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University, and her home church, Highland Park Methodist, sits at campus edge. And the former president is building his presidential library, museum and "Freedom Institute'' at SMU.

"A lot of people are excited to have the Bushes back," Marsha Lindsey, 57, owner of Lucky Dog Barkery, tells Bloomberg. She sells products for pampered dogs such as the Bushes' Barney and Miss Beazley. "I'd be thrilled if we could feed their Scotties."

Later this year, Bush will occupy 8,000 square feet of space in Sherry Lane Place, a modern, 20-story building. The 10-year lease starts at $38.95 a square foot, the General Services Administration says. Sherry Lane lies between the Bushes' new home in the Preston Hollow neighborhood and the site where his presidential library and museum will be built. The Bushes also plan to spend time at their Prairie Chapel Ranch outside of Crawford, 120 miles south.

The office neighborhood is popular with lawyers who don't want to be downtown, small accounting firms seeking proximity to wealthy clients, and investors who need office space outside their homes, according to Larry Denisoff, president of the office division of Weitzman Group.

Fidelity Investments, TD Ameritrade and E*Trade Financial Corp. have offices in Preston Center.

"You've got a lot of very wealthy people who live and work there or nearby," Denisoff told Bloomberg. "Most of the retail locations stay full all the time, no matter what happens with the rest of the economy."

Wire services contributed to this report.