Long coveted Turtle Creek block in central Dallas to be used for apartment and office building development
Two 8 story mid-rise apartment towers with 347 units in first phase; office towers to follow in second phase
Prime Oak Lawn property that's been fallow for 26 years to be used
for apartment and office building development.
By STEVE BROWN
Published: Dec 2, 2011 11:16 AM
Developers are eyeing an Oak Lawn block that's long been considered the best construction site on Turtle Creek.
The 6-acre tract at Turtle Creek Boulevard and Cedar Springs Road has been vacant since the 1980s when builders knocked down an old office building.
Back then the plan was to construct a 30-story office tower complex. But the real estate crash put an end to that scheme.
And for more than a quarter of a century the land — owned by General Electric Pension Trust — just sat.
Now apartment builders and an office developer are looking at new projects for the property, which GE will help fund.
Columbus Realty Partners, one of Dallas’ most experienced apartment builders, has filed plans with the city of Dallas to build a 347-unit rental project on the north half of the property.
Two buildings about eight stories tall would be built on both sides of Dickason Avenue at Sale Street.
Columbus Realty CEO Robert Shaw declined to discuss plans for the project.
But details at City Hall say the building will be designed by JHP Architecture, a firm that’s worked on multiple urban-style apartment projects in Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood and other close-in locations.
Columbus Realty has partnered with GE on some of its projects in Collin County. And Shaw pioneered the Uptown apartment building market starting in the 1990s.
The property owner is also working to develop the south half of the Turtle Creek block for office space.
“GE can get a much better return on their investment by developing that property,” said Dallas broker Newt Walker. “A lot of people have looked at buying the site, but the cost has always been too high.”
The last time the property sold was in 1984, when a Pennsylvania developer paid more than $125 a square foot for the land. It’s still one of the highest prices ever paid for a large tract in Oak Lawn.
The hillside property that once housed the Gulf Insurance Building has large trees around the perimeter and old parking lots at the rear.
In 1997, luxury hotel operator Ritz-Carlton considered the block for its Dallas hotel and condominium project, but the deal stalled. Years later, the Ritz was built closer to downtown on McKinney Avenue.
Just south of the GE property, another empty tract at Turtle Creek and Bowen Street was purchased this summer by developer Hillwood. The 6-acre tract, once planned for a high-rise seniors housing complex, fronts the Katy Trail.
Hillwood bought that property for office and residential construction.
Article:
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...nstruction.ece