Slew Of DFW Skyscrapers Hit The Market

Dallas-Fort Worth skyscrapers and historic trophy buildings are hitting the sales block, capping off a particularly full sales market despite the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.

DFW has eight office buildings taller than 10 stories listed for sale, according to CoStar Group data. They total 1.6M SF of office space for sale in the Metroplex.

The largest is the 439K SF Oil & Gas/Star Telegram Buildings in Downtown Fort Worth, according to CoStar Director of Market Analytics Paul Hendershot. That property is composed of two historic towers, one 16 stories and the other 19 stories, and is being listed by Younger Partners' Scot Farber and Tom Strohbehn. 

“The two-tower complex is a stunning example of art deco and gothic design,” Farber said in a press release. “Located in the thriving Fort Worth CBD adjacent to the renowned Sundance Square, the property presents a compelling combination of stabilized office space and the value-add opportunity to alter an existing use and reposition one of the buildings to mixed-use by including multifamily or hospitality.”

Though the sellers of these eight buildings have not said why they chose to put their buildings on the market now, Hendershot said the pandemic's impact and ongoing foreign investor interest in DFW could have prompted owners to list their assets.

"There may be a few owners who feel the economic pain brought on by the pandemic and are looking to unload a property," Hendershot said. "The lion share of the deals taking place are not distressed properties being listed as fire sales. The sales price has been holding steady at over $200 per SF, with many Class-A properties well over $300 per SF."

Another major DFW office asset hitting the market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is the Tower Lakeside Campus in Richardson, a 16-story building listed by Cawley Management. 

According to Costar, the other listings above 10 stories are:

• The Oncor Building at 115 West Seventh St. in Fort Worth — 16 stories, 300K SF.
• 7920 Belt Line Road in Richardson — 11 stories, 185K SF.
• 2730 North Stemmons Freeway-Tower West building in Dallas — 12 stories, 98K SF. 
• 2710 North Stemmons Freeway-Tower North in Dallas — 12 stories, 71K SF. 
• 2720 North Stemmons Freeway-Tower South in Dallas — 12 stories, 70K SF.
• 2700 North Stemmons Freeway-Tower East in Dallas — 12 stories, 44K SF. 

"While the largest buildings may make the headlines, the number of total listings in the market has been steadily increasing in 2020," Hendershot told Bisnow in an email.

In the first quarter of 2020, there were 986 total office building listings in DFW, followed by 1,046 in the second quarter and 1,110 in the third quarter, Hendershot said.

Today, there are 1,149 office buildings for sale, the highest level reached in a decade, according to CoStar.