Luxury hotel to rise at Mockingbird-Central
Retail-condo complex to replace former Hilton
09:27 PM CST on Monday, November 8, 2004
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...lton.db9a2.html
Developers have bought the aging Hilton Inn – more recently called Hotel Santa Fe – at Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway and plan to turn it into a luxury hotel, shopping and condo complex. Work on the $80 million project will start before the end of the year and includes a 10-story residential high-rise. The original 1960s hotel tower will be renovated to be operated by San Francisco's exclusive Kimpton Hotels. The redevelopment will also contain about 25,000 square feet of lower-level retail with loft-style condos above it in a low-rise building facing Mockingbird Lane.
Realty America Group
The complex at Mockingbird Lane and Central Expressway will feature a hotel, shopping center and high-rise condos. "We want to return this property to its glory days," said Kip Sowden, principal with Realty America Group, which bought the property on Monday in partnership with Behringer Harvard Funds. "We don't think there is a better location in Dallas-Fort Worth than the corner of Mockingbird and Central." Developers are hurrying to catch up with what they see as immediate demand for hotel rooms and housing. Since DART opened its light-rail station at the intersection in 1996, the surrounding neighborhood has increased in importance. The popular Mockingbird Station retail, cinema and apartment complex is just across the street, and new rental units have been built nearby.
But the old Hilton Inn has languished. Since 1993, it has been owned by the Maharishi School of Vedic Science, founded by 1960s spiritual icon Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was still operating as Hotel Santa Fe until Monday, when the staff and guests were notified that it would close immediately. Other developers had tried to buy the hotel from the Maharishi and redevelop it without success. One sale that fell through resulted in a lawsuit. "That site really does deserve a premier development given the location, and it's on public transit," said investor Robert Behringer. "We've looked at this property for years, but we didn't have the patience to reel this one in. "When Realty America told us that they had control of this property and were interested in a partnership with us, we were very excited," he said.
Construction plans
Demolition will start within 45 days. The new owners will turn the nine-story hotel – built in 1967 – into the 185-room Hotel Palomar. Low-rise buildings just south of the hotel will be demolished to make way for the 60-unit, 10-story condo high-rise. There's also room on the 5.5-acre site for a third condo building, developers say. Allie Beth Allman & Associates Realtors has already started marketing the building and has about 10 presales. The condos will range in price from about $300,000 to more than $1 million, said agent Kyle Crews. "We expect the sales to go very fast," Mr. Crews said. "The success of the W and Ritz-Carlton hotel and condo buildings have proven the success of this concept."
The W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences are under construction across from American Airlines Center, and the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton are planned for a site in Uptown. Developer Ken Hughes, who built Mockingbird Station, said the project will be a boost for the area. "It's very significant, and it should cause more things to happen," he said. "Kimpton is a great boutique hotel operator."
High marks for manager
Founded in 1981, Kimpton has 38 hotels in North America. The company recently opened hotels in San Francisco, Boston and New York and has a hotel under construction in San Diego. "After we studied Kimpton, we knew they were just the right hotel group to bring in for their first project in Texas," said Jeff Berry of Realty America Group. Dallas-based Three Architecture designed the new buildings and drew up plans for redeveloping the original tower, which was designed by noted local architect Ralph Kelman. Construction should be under way by the first quarter, and the entire project is set to be finished in April 2006.
"We have waited a long time for the development of this property, and this is the perfect opportunity," said Dallas City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill. "This area is poised for great things, and I know the neighbors will be pleased to see this happening." Behringer Harvard Funds, which underwrites national real-estate investment funds, also recently bought several Dallas-area office buildings.
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