4 Historic Downtown Buildings Getting Major Renovations
The once-sleepy office hub that was Downtown Dallas has become a live/work/play neighborhood unlike anything the central business district has ever seen. As real estate cycles leave vacant office buildings, warehouses and schools in their wake, some developers have snapped up these historic buildings. Here is a look at four Downtown buildings that have a vacant past and mixed-use future.
Factory Six03
Factory Six03 will be Granite Properties’ first historic redevelopment project when it delivers next month. The former industrial building at 603 Munger Ave. in the transforming West End has a storied past as a candy and cracker factory and indoor mall. The $73M project has about $16M in historic funding because the building is registered on the Texas Historic Commission and the National Registry of Historic Places. Architects GFF and Architexas and contractor DPR are transforming the 215K SF space into creative office, at least two restaurants, a coffee shop and retail. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas will move into 32K SF across two floors.
The Statler
The $225M redevelopment of the circa 1956 iconic hotel and joining Dallas Central Library by Mehrdad Moayedi’s Centurion American Development Group will have 219 apartments, 159 hotel rooms and 20K SF of meeting and events space. Pre-leasing of the Statler Residences’ 219 units of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans has already started. Residents will move in May 1. The hotel, which has been vacant since the early 2000s, is slated to deliver in late summer or early fall. In January, the Internal Revenue Service opened an investigation into $26.5M worth of financing for the $225M redevelopment because of concerns "that the debt issuance may fail one or more provisions" of the tax code. Sarah Dodd, a spokesperson for Moayedi, told D Magazine the funds being used for the Statler project are not in question nor are they in jeopardy because of the investigation.
Dallas High School
The former high school built in 1907 will become a mixed-use office when it delivers later this year. Perkins+Will architects has leased about half of the office space in the 105K SF redevelopment, and Foundry Ventures has leased about 18K SF for its co-working concept. Developer Matthews Southwest plans to develop the remainder of the six-acre site with ground-up developments, but not until DHS delivers and leases up. About 10K SF of retail space on the ground floor will likely be restaurant space. Merriman Anderson/Architects is the historic preservation architect on the project, which is being renovated by Balfour Beatty. Perkins+Will will pursue LEED CI, WELL Building Standard and Fitwel certifications for its office.
The Drever
When Drever Capital Management delivers the 50-story skyscraper at 1401 Elm St., the historic building will have 35K SF of office space, 13K SF of event space, 324 apartments and 25K SF of retail. Hotelier Thompson Dallas will have 218 rooms and at least one restaurant within the tower. The 1.5M SF building has $75M in tax credits and a $50M tax increment financing. Though the project has had a couple of liens filed and removed, Drever Capital Management said the project will deliver in December 2018 as planned. Merriman Anderson/Architects is designing the redevelopment constructed by Andres Construction.
