The managing partner of Haynes and Boone's Texas office steps out on a glass-encased terrace overlooking the downtown Dallas skyline, taking a break from a meeting in a corner conference room with plush seating, wood panels and floor-to-ceiling windows to admire an increasingly desirable view.

Taylor Wilson takes stock of the corporate law firm's new address in one of the country's most sought-after office districts, a neighborhood known as the Harwood District. Where other law firms might be cutting back on space, the Haynes and Boone office already has grown since the firm moved into a tower dubbed Harwood No. 14, taking its 125,000-square-foot lease to more than 150,000 square feet to make room for the firm's expansion. The office is the firm's largest among 19 locations globally.

Across the nation, landlords in major U.S. cities are struggling to fill their office buildings, but in the Harwood District, developed by real estate firm Harwood International, that is not a problem. This part of the city, which is less than a mile from downtown, is known for being an office magnet, with more than 2 million square feet of office space comprising 10 buildings that are 93% leased. In fact, Harwood International is preparing to break ground in the district on Harwood No. 15, a speculative office tower.

The local real estate firm, which has overseas offices in Geneva and London's West End, designed its namesake district to include expansive parks and gardens, as well as an on-site museum showcasing over 80 artworks of ancient Samurai culture, enriching tenants with an other-worldly quality not seen in office hubs in Texas. The offerings allow Harwood International to charge premium rents that help buck the trend of what has become a slower-to-lease office market.

At full build-out, the 19-block Harwood District, sandwiched between Uptown Dallas and Victory Park, is expected to triple in size, taking the more than 3 million-square-foot mixed-use development to more than 11 million square feet of high-end offices, plus hotel, residential, restaurant and retail space. For tenants like Haynes and Boone, the location aligns with its business.

"It's always been important for the culture of our firm to have a strong office environment," Wilson told CoStar News. "We want our offices to be near the center of business activity in the cities where we are located. We want to be near our clients, and in this city, we have done that being in the Harwood District."

Wilson said the environment includes collaborative spaces such as a winding staircase connecting meeting areas and an in-office eatery serving chef-prepared meals. The building's light-filled luxury fitness center overlooks a 12th-floor rooftop garden complete with oak trees that offer shade for colleagues to walk a curving path or companies to entertain with skyline views. Lawyers, known for putting in long hours at the office, now can have a bit more work-life balance brought to their door, Haynes and Boone said.

To be clear, there's no guarantee the initial success will hold up once the novelty of the area wears off. And the difference in climate can make the landscape design, at times, feel a bit out of place. Even so, the ethos can be traced back to a life formed by both Switzerland and Dallas that this office property is trying to mesh.

Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, founder and CEO of Harwood International, grew up in Geneva and came to Dallas just out of college in 1979 to make a name for himself in real estate. He joined Henry S. Miller Co., a real estate services firm that built the careers of some of Dallas' legendary brokers such as Roger Staubach, the NFL Hall of Famer and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who founded his namesake tenant representation advisory, The Staubach Co., in the late 1970s and sold the firm to JLL in 2008.

Barbier-Mueller ventured on his own in the 1980s and built the Harwood District's first office building, now called Harwood No. 1, in 1984 for Rolex after landing a deal with the Geneva-based watchmaker through his Swiss connections. The foundation for the new district was then set.

"My aim to infuse Dallas with a bit of Swiss livability has inspired the development of the Harwood District, starting with the first Rolex building in 1984," Barbier-Mueller told CoStar News. "This project was not just about real estate development; it was about creating a community-centered environment that prioritizes walkability, accessibility and a quality of life, mirroring the ethos of Swiss cities."

Switzerland, known for its symbiosis between nature and urban life, is reflected in the Harwood District with its effort to project clean and orderly architectural lines. Restaurant-goers are meant to linger over lunch at the eateries, followed by walks through the district of expansive gardens — with Harwood International's in-house security team acting as crossing guards to help pedestrians move through busy intersections. But this is where the Swiss-meets-Texan combination could be problematic.

The hot weather in Texas is quite unlike Switzerland's mild June, July and August. Texas is known for its sweltering summers, as well as tornadoes and sunny skies sometimes gracing the same day in spring and fall. Residents have taken their time embracing a walking culture seen in Europe and in denser U.S. cities.

Still, Rolex must have felt at home in the Harwood District because it chose the area for its second building, completed in 2018, that the watchmaker uses as a sales and service office. The office building, the first designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kumo in Dallas, twists from the ground and sets “new architectural benchmarks in the city," Rolex said.

Kengo Kuma and his firm Kengo Kumo & Associates also designed Harwood District's first boutique hotel, Hôtel Swexan. The 134-room hotel opened a year ago with a name that refers to the developer's multigenerational Swiss-Texan family heritage and was built to represent “Swiss hospitality meets Texas charm.”

The luxury 22-story hotel has two ballrooms and four smaller meeting spaces, as well as five restaurants and a rooftop infinity pool.

The district's success has led Harwood International to mull another Harwood-branded boutique hotel or a Harwood District in London's West End, where the firm owns property, including the Cleveland House and 46 St. James Place.

For office tenants such as Haynes and Boone, which has had a decadeslong relationship with Harwood International, the district's livability seems to resonate. The law firm relocated to the Harwood District from an office less than a half-mile away in nearby Victory Park.

"The access to an on-site fitness center and proximity to the Katy Trail were important factors to the firm to help support a healthy lifestyle for employees," said Wilson, Haynes and Boone's managing partner. "The nearby hotel and restaurants also make it convenient for clients to come into town to visit."

The Swiss-born Texas developer has spent more than four decades creating the Harwood District. In that time, the district has evolved as Harwood International bought land and real estate, amassing acreage between Uptown Dallas and Victory Park neighborhoods. Having purchased the acreage at lower costs decades ago gives the developer a competitive advantage.

Harwood International, unlike some of its peers, has other competitive advantages in its portfolio, with in-house services ranging from design services to general contracting to hospitality to property management. The company raises its own grass-fed cattle to serve the district's restaurants. Bringing those services under one roof, Barbier-Mueller said, cultivates "a cohesive, efficient and customer-focused approach to real estate development," adding to the atmosphere of the properties.

His two sons, Alexis and Oliver, serve as Harwood International co-presidents and oversee the firm's hospitality arm with 20 restaurants, including its catering and eateries at Hôtel Swexan. Developing a go-to hospitality group and creating its own restaurant brands with interior design not seen elsewhere in Dallas has helped solidify the Harwood District as a destination.

Happiest Hour, a sports bar with a rooftop terrace overlooking the American Airlines Center, is one of the highest-grossing bars in the state. Other eateries, including Saint Ann Restaurant, Dolce Riviera and Marie Gabrielle Restaurant, have long been some of the district's main restaurants for business lunches.

For Harwood No. 15, the developer has designed steam rooms, saunas and a cold-plunge pool for guests after they work out at the building's fitness center. The office tower is expected to have a conference center, a 20,000-square-foot rooftop park and an on-site restaurant.

With Barbier-Mueller's children now contributing to the shape of the Harwood District, he said their involvement not only ensures the family's ongoing effect on the urban landscape of Dallas but also brings fresh perspectives and innovation to the firm.

"The district's future, under the capable hands of my sons and eventually, my grandchildren, highlights a legacy project that transcends mere buildings — it's about creating a lasting, beneficial impact on the city," Barbier-Mueller added.

The Harwood District's proximity to Uptown Dallas adds to the neighborhood's gravitational pull for office leases in the city, said Robbie Baty, vice chairman and office tenant representation leader for the Dallas-Fort Worth region at brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

"Class A office space in Uptown has seen some of the highest demand of anywhere else in the city," Baty told CoStar News, adding he hasn't been surprised by Harwood's office leasing success.

"When you have buildings to accommodate all kinds of tenants, with Harwood No. 14 being the most expensive option to Harwood No. 1 being a value option, as well as land availability for new projects to continue to grow your portfolio and attract companies to newer buildings, you'll do well," Baty said. "They also do a good job of amenitizing their district with all the mixed-use elements an office tenant could want."

Other Uptown Dallas office towers, including McKinney & Olive and The Link at Uptown, have remained nearly completely leased. A nearby office project that's a year away from completion, 23Springs, is more than half leased after landing an agreement with a law firm. Other nearby projects, including Goldman Sachs' build-to-suit office campus and Bank of America Tower at Parkside Uptown, are expected to add to the neighborhood's vibrancy.

"The No. 1 thing that tenants want is walkability and to see energy around a building — it's just as important as what's happening inside a building," Baty said. "If your building has a lot of energy in and around it, including restaurants and amenities for tenants, it will be attractive to tenants. If it's on an island, you'll have a harder time."

Sara Terry, a longtime local broker, said amenities are important when marketing high-end office space.

"For premium office space, restaurants and retail space is incredibly important, and people need a place to be social," Terry, who is not involved with leasing at the district, told CoStar News.

Grant Sumner, partner and co-founder of Forge Commercial, said the area benefits from its location at the end of the Dallas North Tollway, which brings executives and professionals from the northern suburbs and gives companies "the ability to pull educated employees" from throughout the region.