Former Dallas Hotel That Hosted Beatles, Hendrix And Zeppelin Becomes Affordable Housing
It may not be one of the Houses of the Holy that Led Zeppelin wrote about for its 1973 album of the same name. But the hotel that once housed the powerhouse band and a plethora of other rock ’n’ roll royalty, including The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Who, will soon become a mixed-income housing development in the Dallas Design District.
Work began earlier this year on a $55M effort to revive the former Cabana Hotel as mixed-income multifamily housing, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
“When we found out this [property] was available, we saw the makings of a great project,” developer Zach Krochtengel of Sycamore Development, a subsidiary of Sycamore Strategies, told Bisnow during the event’s groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.
The 10-story, 300-room hotel at 899 Stemmons Freeway became a hot spot for celebrities and politicos like former President Richard Nixon making Dallas stops. It was built in 1962 by hotelier Jay Sarno, who went on to develop Caesars Palace and Circus Circus on the Las Vegas Strip.
Dallas City Council approved the project for up to $41M in tax increment financing through the city’s Design District TIF district last year. The historic component of the property allows for more financial flexibility, which should make the project a priority for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Krochtengel said.
Sycamore Development's plans for the Cabana Design District project call for nearly 158K SF of rentable space spread among 175 units. The facade, the common area's terrazzo flooring and the original pool deck shade covers are all considered historic and will be restored as part of the project.
The developer is also considering licensing original photography from the building’s heyday and other ways to honor the property’s storied history.
Sycamore officials said construction is expected to wrap up in the first quarter of 2026.
After hotel operations originally ended at the property, it was turned into a county jail for a time. Centurion American bought the building from the city in 2017 with a $100M plan to revitalize it. When that didn’t pan out, the company put the property back on the market last year, and Sycamore scooped it up, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Revitalizing the property and recognizing its historic significance to the city was important to Dallas City Council Member Omar Narvaez, who spoke at the groundbreaking. There is a lot of shopping and recreation that happens in the Design District, but this project will allow people to call the area home once more, he said.
“The residents that are going to get to live here, whether they're paying fair market or they're getting a subsidy, they're going to have a really amazing place to live for the rest of their lives and for generations to come,” Narvaez said.
This isn’t the first affordable housing project Sycamore Strategies has taken on in Dallas. Lake Highlands residents opposed the mixed-income Cypress Creek at Forest Lane project the company proposed near Forest Lane and U.S. 75, though the city council ultimately approved it. While that project is no longer moving forward, the company's $28.5M Cypress Creek at Montford Drive, a 168-unit multifamily development at 14119 Montfort Drive in Dallas, is under construction.
Hunt Capital Partners is Sycamore’s development partner on the Cabana project, and Andres Construction is serving as the general contractor.
“Transformative projects don't happen without a tremendous amount of buy-in,” Krochtengel said during the groundbreaking event. “The city of Dallas has bought into affordable housing. They bought into putting it in high-opportunity areas, and … we look forward to continuing to push forward our mission of delivering affordable housing in unique and thoughtful ways for the entire community.”
