The Dallas Morning News' historic former headquarters building in downtown Dallas is being sold to a partnership that includes the region's biggest commercial builder.
Developer KDC is paying $33 million for the 7.2-acre site at Young and Houston streets. It's partnering with Dallas restaurateur and businessman Mike Hoque in the deal.
Dallas-based KDC has built millions of square feet of suburban office space for companies including Toyota, State Farm Insurance, JPMorgan Chase and Liberty Mutual Insurance.
The pending sale of the vacant office building and surrounding campus comes a year after The News relocated its offices to the historic Dallas Public Library building on Commerce Street downtown.
KDC and partner Hoque Global - who together made a pitch for Amazon's coveted second headquarters on a building site near Dallas City Hall - have signed a contract to acquire the property and are set to close before the end of the year.
The News' former headquarters is next door to the Dallas Convention Center and across the street from the rail transit hub at Union Station.
The News' parent company A.H. Belo Corporation has been hunting a buyer since last year for the 69-year-old newspaper offices and former printing plant building at 508 Young St.
The company talked with several potential buyers before reaching the agreement with KDC and Hoque Global.
"From the standpoint of the city's well being, this is a wonderful outcome," said A.H. Belo CEO Robert Decherd. "These guys know the city, care about the city and are here for the long term.
"Compared to the other scenarios, this is a great win for Dallas," he said. "And our company realizes the proceeds it deserves from its historic investment in this site. "
A.H. Belo previously said it expected to receive at least $30 million for the property.
Dallas architects GFF evaluated the old newspaper headquarters to study how parts of the structure - designed by noted architect George Dahl - could be repurposed in a new development. KDC and Hoque Global have also been working with the architects.
The News property is one of the largest development sites in downtown Dallas with the potential for several million square feet of construction.
"From our perspective, the southwest quadrant is the next part of downtown's evolution," Decherd said.
Officials with KDC and Hoque Global would not talk about the transaction saying they don't comment on pending transactions.
The property purchase will give KDC and Hoque Global almost 30 acres of real estate on downtown's south side, making them one of the largest owners in the central business district.
KDC and Hoque Global hired world-renowned Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects to design a more than 8 million-square-foot development for their 20-acre property on Canton Street near Dallas City Hall.
KDC is just finishing up a 10-story office project in the Epic development in Dallas' Deep Ellum district.
The company is best known for its $1.5 billion mixed-use CityLine project in Richardson. KDC also is a partner in the $3 billion Legacy West development in Plano.
Hoque Global has investments in multiple downtown-area properties. The company has operations in the restaurant, hospitality, event planning, technology, logistics and transportation businesses.
joshua.dodd wrote:Hopefully, this will incentive the redevelopment of the former Renaissance Arena lot.
itsjrd1964 wrote:joshua.dodd wrote:Hopefully, this will incentive the redevelopment of the former Renaissance Arena lot.
I would guess you mean *Reunion* Arena.
itsjrd1964 wrote:joshua.dodd wrote:Hopefully, this will incentive the redevelopment of the former Renaissance Arena lot.
I would guess you mean *Reunion* Arena.
KDC and partner Hoque Global - who together made a pitch for Amazon's coveted second headquarters on a building site near Dallas City Hall
...close by the end of the year...
...KDC won't comment on pending contracts...
A. H. Belo Corporation said Friday it has sold its former campus of The Dallas Morning News in downtown Dallas for $28 million to local developer and co-owner of Highland Park Village Ray Washburne.
The purchase price is made up of $5.6 million in cash paid at the closing on Friday and a two-year seller-financed promissory note of $22.4 million.
Washburne said he will spend the next couple of months getting a plan together and could begin construction by the end of the year.
eburress wrote:Washburne said he will spend the next couple of months getting a plan together and could begin construction by the end of the year.
Construction on what???
I don't know how long it takes to plan a significant project, so I wonder what the scale of this redevelopment will be if it's based on a plan they're able to whip up in "the next couple of months."
cowboyeagle05 wrote:Do we think he has some undisclosed office tenant? Ray Washburne could have found someone willing to sign on to some level of commitment enough to make it worth getting a phase 1 moving. Paying your own money upfront and promising more later seems like they are confident on an early stage development and expect to fill up the project once it's going vertical. Banks around here don't lend unless a lead tenant signs on but also lead tenants around here have also not been willing to sign unless a project is started. In this case, he could get it going enough to get later stage tenants interested. Maybe the High-Speed Rail group is looking at signing on to some space?
In either capacity, if this even starts we are finally seeing some stuff happen south of Jackson with the Farmers Market East Quarter tower planned to start and something on this end might finally trigger more redevelopment heading towards I-30.
Matt777 wrote:Who owns the old Reunion Arena parcels again?
Chris Sapphire wrote:You know what would be badass on this piece of land? A freakin' CASINO! Can you imagine? Winstar Dallas, MGM Grand Dallas, Horseshoe Dallas! Dallas would benefit so much from casinos. Plus, I wouldn't have to drive all the way to Oklahoma anymore. Just a thought.
NdoorTX wrote:Could it be possible this would be used as the new campus for El Centro College? Maybe the County will build up the educational facilities and Washburne can build the rest?? Residential units, mixed use office and retail? If the area is as desolate as some say, the influx of thousands of students can really add dynamism that spills over to other surrounding areas. Hopefully, Union Station.
ArtVandelay wrote:NdoorTX wrote:Could it be possible this would be used as the new campus for El Centro College? Maybe the County will build up the educational facilities and Washburne can build the rest?? Residential units, mixed use office and retail? If the area is as desolate as some say, the influx of thousands of students can really add dynamism that spills over to other surrounding areas. Hopefully, Union Station.
When the news broke that El Centro was not just upgrading their current campus but looking for a new one, this site was the first thing I thought of. Very interesting idea but do you think it works with a community college? I would much rather have seen one of the public universities build a downtown campus (UNT/Titche-Goittinger notwithstanding).
muncien wrote:For a big site like this, you would have expected to see zoning applications and approvals before closing. Some contingencies need to be mitigated before jumping into an endeavor of this scale. Kinda strange that that didn't happen... or, did we just not see it?
Chris Sapphire wrote:You know what would be badass on this piece of land? A freakin' CASINO! Can you imagine? Winstar Dallas, MGM Grand Dallas, Horseshoe Dallas! Dallas would benefit so much from casinos. Plus, I wouldn't have to drive all the way to Oklahoma anymore. Just a thought.
“We are going to keep the existing building and convert it into a 200- to 300-room boutique business hotel, completely saving the exterior character of the building,” Washburne told me.
He pointed out that the buildings (there are two) are very close to the Dallas Convention Center, which has virtually no entertainment district or activities within walking distance. Washburne wants to give the center a huge asset by creating a thriving district: the hotel, restaurants, possibly a Gilley’s or Billy Bob’s venue.
In other words, a lively, fun place for conventioneers to hang out, just down the street.
“There are no activities at the convention center’s front door,” he said. “On the back end is the Omni, which is doing very well. Then there is the back end of the convention center, where buses drop people off. It’s kind of uninspiring.”
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