Hamilton Properties Plans Makeover for Downtown Landmark Complex

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

As part of its ambitious plan to redevelop downtown Dallas, Hamilton Properties has taken on the most challenging project yet. The development company plans on converting the vacant Lone Star Gas complex into rental housing. Hamilton partnered with Central Dallas Development Corp. for the project, while PNC Bank serves as lender and equity partner.

The old commercial buildings that are to be redeveloped were developed beginning in the 1920s and through the 1970s, with the largest being a 13-story tower built in 1930. The first to be remodeled is the newest building on the block, a 12-story marble-and-glass office tower that will be turned into 107 affordable apartments. With rents ranging from $250 to $750, the apartments will serve residents earning as much as 60 percent of the local median income—less than $60,000 for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The ground floor of the tower will host a leasing office and a fitness center, while the Jackson Street side of the building will have an outdoor dining area and a movie screening plaza.

With the first project set for completion within a year, Hamilton plans on moving on to the two oldest Lone Star Gas brick buildings, designed by legendary Dallas architects Lang & Witchell. One of them is a 13-story tower that is considered to be one of downtown’s best art deco landmarks. Some of its features, such as the lobby’s ceiling decorations and the elevator lobby, will be restored, with the ground floor being designed for retail space. The rest will be remodeled into 123 apartments, half of them affordable rentals and the other half full-market-rate units. The other eight-story office building on Wood Street will serve as a parking garage for the project.

The city of Dallas approved more apartments that are to be developed by Billingsley Co. as part of its latest mixed-use development. Set on four corners of the Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 190, the project is to include three or four 16-story office towers and apartments that will also include restaurants and retail space on the ground floors. Part of the project will neighbor Billingsley’s existing Gramercy on the Park apartment community.