DTD | Arts District: Hall Arts Tower (Lone Star site) (~50 ST.)

[cowboyeagle05]

Well i think the ideas was to have lots of lawn space... if so then that limits what can be done with landscaping...

I have heard that they want to build a unified box office somewhere in the district that folks and drive by and pic up tickets easily.

Thats what the stair well box in front of the Winspear is for they just didn't have the budget to build in the interior a later phase it has become. Its close to the Meyerson side of the Winspear. One side of it has stairs to the parking garage below the other half of it was designed to house the unified box office. For now it just has adverts on the outside exterior.

[DFW]

Today, I went to HKS on McKinney Ave. for a rare delivery. I noticed in the lobby that the Hall Arts District Development model has changed since the last time I went there; it includes the Museum Tower as well, and looks cool! The Hall Arts District taller tower appears to be 37 or up to 40 stories tall. I took a pic with my phone camera but was not good enough to post. Someone please, go there and take a pic to post. Thanks!

[ladarron]

Today, I went to HKS on McKinney Ave. for a rare delivery. I noticed in the lobby that the Hall Arts District Development model has changed since the last time I went there; it includes the Museum Tower as well, and looks cool! The Hall Arts District taller tower appears to be 37 or up to 40 stories tall. I took a pic with my phone camera but was not good enough to post. Someone please, go there and take a pic to post. Thanks!
They shorted the tower???

[DFW]

They shorted the tower???

Yes, the original tower was to be about 50-stories and with no separate office tower.

[jovangonzales]

Honestly, they could put really any 20+ story building(s) and I'd be happy with it. That unfinished base needs to be covered. Besides, 40 stories is still pretty tall! Museum Tower is going to be 42 stories, so 40 stories should fit in perfectly and make that end of the skyline fill in more. Maybe a shortening of the model indicates some scaling back to actually get it off the ground? (I know it's already kind of "off the ground" lol).

[skys the limit]

An updated rendering of the first Hall Arts Center tower can be seen on the website of the architectural firm that has designed the towers, HKS:

http://hksinc.com/#/about-hks/portfolio/on-the-boards?rgb=w&ssp=true&gallery=53&id=17

After entering the HKS website, click on "Portfolio" on the top menu.

Click the far right arrow two times to scroll to the panel of projects that contains the Hall Arts Center. Place your cursor over the lower left hand square, which is the Hall Arts Center link. Click the image and you will then see an incredible, absolutely stunningly beautiful, what appears to be, 50 or 50+ story skyscraper rendering that is similar to the renderings we've all seen already but significantly more sophisticated and urbane in its sleek good looks.

There are four renderings in all, two of the skyscraper itself and two of the interior lobby.

To read more detail on the HKS website about the project, click on "Information" that can be seen on the far left immediately under the first image of the Hall Arts Center tower.

In looking at the new rendering on the HKS website, with the Chase Tower to its left, it really looks to be at least 50 stories tall, if not taller. The new look of the Hall Arts Center Tower is really COOL!

[DFW]

No, what you are looking at on their website is the original design which was taller; apparently they have not updated their website that is why you do not see the second tower next to it.

[dfwcre8tive]

When would construction need to begin in order for a 2015 completion?

[carousel]

When would construction need to begin in order for a 2015 completion?

Is this project really moving forward?

[MDE]

Coming soon? New downtown Dallas towers in the works

...“We are responding to inquiries from potential tenants and do have some favorable discussion under way,” said developer Craig Hall, who owns the vacant block across from the Meyerson Symphony Center facing Ross Avenue and Routh Street.

“We are excited about our current plans for the first phase of the project, which would be just under 500,000 square feet of office and restaurant-retail space.

“We are hopeful for a late this year or early 2012 start,” Hall said.

Since Hall’s building would be built on top of an existing underground parking garage, construction time would be shorter than usual.

Of course, Hall says, several things still have to happen to make the project a reality.

“I don’t want to jump the gun and say we are moving forward when plans are not yet firm,” he said.


Just two blocks away from Hall’s site, Billingsley is hustling to get started on its Two Arts Plaza building at Flora and Routh streets.

...Billingsley said the high-rise she’s planning at Routh and Woodall Rodgers Freeway won’t include residential space but will have lower-level retail.

Also: http://www.dallasnews.com/incoming/20110127-nb_26blockd_17745439.jpg.ece/ALTERNATES/w260/NB_26BLOCKD_17745439.JPG

Along with Hall’s and Billingsley’s projects, investor and developer Spire Realty Group is pitching plans for a 21-story office tower in its 12-acre project at Ross and Routh.

Spire’s planned Block D building would have 360,000 square feet of office space plus retail and residential.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/20110127-coming-soon-new-downtown-dallas-towers-in-the-works.ece

[AeroD]

Ah, development porn.

[AZDallasite]

Wow, so if Hall, Spire, One Art II & Harwood's next bldg all begin within next 12-18 months, there will be lots of cranes flying in Dallas. Can Dallas really absorb all of the Class A space? Seems pretty aggressive.

[cowboyeagle05]

I would think all three are competing for basically the same tenants so not until one of them gets enough percentage of tenant space leased before the other guy will the project get off the ground. I wouldn't expect three projects will start just one of the three if any.

[Kelley USA]

If I'm beaing realistic, the only one I could see getting off the ground would be Two Arts... Hall has wasted our time for far too long now and the Spire Development is still a long shot IMO. As for Harwood, you never know with those guys!

I'm honestly surprised that Two Victory Tower isn't in the race here... Office leasing in VP is at about 90% right now.

[R1070]

The area around the Arts district is going to boom in the next run. That end of downtown will totally transform that end of the skyline.

[eburress]

I think any of these projects would be nice, but I'm personally pulling for Hall's tower because of it's height and how nice it will be to get rid of that horrible eyesore in the middle of the Arts District (Stonehenge). Plus, it will further help to fill the gap between downtown and uptown.

[mjblazin]

Whatever gets built, I hope it includes fixing San Jacinto east of Pearl. That segment would not qualify as a leg on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. DART must be ruining buses traveling those several blocks until the Ross/75/45 overpass.

[MDE]

Whatever gets built, I hope it includes fixing San Jacinto east of Pearl. That segment would not qualify as a leg on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. About 7 years ago, they allowed a company to trench the street to put in high-speed Internet lines. They patched it over instead of repaving. Then a few months later, another company did the same thing. Don't know if it's ever been resurfaced since then.

[DFW]

I went once again today at HKS office at McKinney Ave and noticed at the lobby yet another change to the styrofoam model of the proposed Hall Tower, this one appears to be 50 to 52-stories. The upper floors of the tower part are twisted, very interesting looking tower.

[gchrisbailey]

I went once again today at HKS office at McKinney Ave and noticed at the lobby yet another change to the styrofoam model of the proposed Hall Tower, this one appears to be 50 to 52-stories. The upper floors of the tower part are twisted, very interesting looking tower.

This seems like the same rendering we've seen before...wish they would update their site with the one you saw...

http://hksinc.com/#/mixed-use/portfolio?rgb=w&ssp=true&gallery=33&id=9

[Dbadger]

It is a little misleading because when you read the details it sounds like the building has been already built.
It does not say anything about the fact that this is a proposed design or 'in the works'.

[tamtagon]

As frustrating as it's been waiting for something to happen, I'm glad nothing was built here during the most recent Uptown building boom - I think most of the commercial use architecture has had an ordinary look, uninspiring, and disconnected from the neighborhood block.

Hall has infuriated a lot of people with the delays, but he does seem intent to deliver something truly impressive.

Additionally, I'm okay to wait patiently because I suspect whatever Hall builds on this property will have a significant art gallery/museum presence. The Hall Office Park in Frisco is wonderfully designed for the suburban location and has what appears to be an impressive collection of art:

http://www.hallofficepark.com/images/library/Sections/ArtTourflyer.pdf

I think Craig Hall will be a significant contributor of art work on display in the Dallas Arts District, and I also think the interaction between this building and its block will overcome some of the problems many have observed about the Arts District.

[NThomas]

Good god, can y'all please stop the bickering and get back to the topic at hand? Or continue it on a thread about the definition of market absorption of Class A space, or over PMs, or somewhere people care?
Until then...

...the rest of us can ooo and ahh:

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/72/rendering1.png http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5231/rendering2.png
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/4827/picture1pv7.png http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/9784/model.png

[tamtagon]

I'm a big fan of big fins on cars, but on buildings.

[Tucy]

Until then...

...the rest of us can ooo and ahh:

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/72/rendering1.png http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5231/rendering2.png
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/4827/picture1pv7.png http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/9784/model.png

Let me start.

Ooooohhhhhh. Aaaahhhhhh. A 28% vacancy rate on the horizon . . .

;-)

[tamtagon]

Let me start.

Ooooohhhhhh. Aaaahhhhhh. A 28% vacancy rate on the horizon . . .

;-)

Posts focusing on the topic of office occupancy have been moved from this thread to a more appropriate location:

http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=7328

[metrosteve]

Posts focusing on the topic of office occupancy have been moved from this thread to a more appropriate location:

http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=7328


Thank you from all the rest of us! lol

[carousel]

R those two renderings situated on the same block

[tamtagon]

R those two renderings situated on the same block

Yes, two skyscraper foundations are built into the parking below.

[jovangonzales]

Oh man. Imagine the electricity bills on those suckers. They're extra amazing to look at though. OooOOOOoOOO.

[maconahey]

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/116/hallt.jpg

[NThomas]

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/116/hallt.jpg
I remember the walls around the site were painted months ago, but how long has that sign been up?

[lakewoodhobo]

I remember the walls around the site were painted months ago, but how long has that sign been up?

It's been there since the Winspear opened, I'm pretty sure.

[cowboyeagle05]

Yeah I took a picture of it back then while taking pics of the Winspear and Wyly after the grand opening.

[msutton]

Wow. I like.

[carousel]

Those two towers would be great additions.

[Kelley USA]

I wasn't real sure where to post this, so it's going here.... This from the DBJ about Compass looking for 150,000 sf of space. I don't have a paid subscription, but you can read a few lines of the article:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/print-edition/2011/04/08/bbva-seeks-up-to-150000-sf.html

[lakewoodhobo]

Wow, that's great that they're specifically looking in the downtown/uptown area! Really supports what this article from yesterday said about companies looking to relocate to the urban core from the suburbs:



“Right now we have the most positive feeling about downtown that we’ve had in a long time,” notes Duane Henley, managing director at Transwestern.

Some of that optimism stems from potential relocations by companies outside the city and state. “The list [of interested candidates] is surprisingly long right now. Though some have stated a preference for a suburban location, the majority have not. I think there will be some reasonable candidates for downtown,” says Eimer.

Also, the lack of lease expirations in the past three years has kept the overall downtown office market dormant. “We’re coming out of that in the next 15 to 18 months,” says Henley.


http://nreionline.com/finance/news/developers_build_dallas_financing_0407/

[cowboyeagle05]

What is a little sad is that Victory Park could use one of these high profile tenants in a restarted Victory Tower project but there is no longer a developer interested in Victory Park since it currently has a downer stink on the area. The district needs a pick me up project to inspire renewed interest and whether that is a good residential project or office tower I don't know what is likely to come first.

The vacancy rate may be high in Downtown Dallas but most of these currently looking companies want new buildings and only new buildings so unless one of these projects can get financing the companies will just move somewhere else around town. We are gonna see more 80's office towers go vacant. That will be the hardest to deal with though because like Elm Place these "old" office towers aren't really designed well to be flipped into condos and/or apartments like many of the other projects in the past. Its an interesting problem to have.

[AeroD]

Wow, that's great that they're specifically looking in the downtown/uptown area! Really supports what this article from yesterday said about companies looking to relocate to the urban core from the suburbs:

There is a weird dynamic that is probably understated...some folks do not want to be near their jobs. Some folks do not actually mind commuting a distance to get to work. Odd I know, but their view is that they want to keep work and home at a distance.

[maconahey]

"North of Ross is the New Downtown."

By Robert Wilonsky, Thu., Apr. 7 2011 @ 1:42PM

Wuh-oh. Hang on. Looks like you can forget that Downtown Dallas 360 plan. Why? Well, says right here: "North of Ross is the new downtown. South of Ross is a problem." At least, that's what Billinglsey Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Michael O'Hanlon says today in a National Real Estate Investor piece about the race to build, baby, build more, more, more office space in and around the Arts District. Then again, O'Hanlon would say that: After all, Lucy Billingsley put One Arts Plaza on the market earlier this year to finance the building of Two Arts Plaza, which, if all goes according to plan, will be followed by Three Arts Plaza.

Which is but one bit of development planned for that part of town: The piece mentions that Craig Hall -- remember him? -- still plans on building his long-stalled Arts District tower ... at some point. Possibly. More than likely. Maybe.


"Right now we think the timing is pretty good to do a building. We have some advantages over other people," emphasizes Hall, referring to the parking garage, performing arts venues and the overall location. "But even with our advantages, it's still a tough market to get financing."

The general consensus among local real estate brokers is that the Billingsley and Hall buildings have the best chances of getting built in the next wave of construction, if they can achieve at least 50% pre-leasing from the downtown tenants now in the market. But waiting in the paddock are two other strong contenders.


http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/04/north_of_ross_is_the_new_downt.php

[cowboyeagle05]

If you were at NorthPark this last weekend you might have noticed the Dallas chapter of AIA had an exhibit of local Architectural firms. HKS had a display including this model and renderings of Hall Arts Tower I would assume this is an old design and is not the current one. I post it here for yall to chew on.

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7693/photo1kc.jpg
By cowboyeagle05 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/cowboyeagle05) at 2011-04-12
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/6320/photo5zeg.jpg
By cowboyeagle05 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/cowboyeagle05) at 2011-04-12
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/9784/photo2vl.jpg
By cowboyeagle05 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/cowboyeagle05) at 2011-04-12
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3811/photo3kl.jpg
By cowboyeagle05 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/cowboyeagle05) at 2011-04-12

[Kelley USA]

Definitely have not seen that before... That's a new design from what I gather. Furthermore, it indicates the whole tower is residential. I'm guessing the smaller tower next to it will be office...

[MarkL2023]

The office design is in fact the new design. I don't know how likely that res tower design is though

[lakewoodhobo]

I was thinking this would be a newer design too, especially after reading the description you posted. The residential tower is pretty innovative for this part of the world.

[cowboyeagle05]

Definitely have not seen that before... That's a new design from what I gather. Furthermore, it indicates the whole tower is residential. I'm guessing the smaller tower next to it will be office...
If you notice the shorter office tower seems more mature in design while the residential tower has a completely separate design direction making the project seem disconnected. Course doing so would allow both the residential property and the office property to somewhat operate separately and have even different owners if Hall wanted to sell anything off.

[Kelley USA]

From what I could count, the office tower appears to only be 18-20 stories...

[R1070]

wow! if this got built Dallas' skyline would be Amazing!

[carousel]

Is there a time frame for this project?

[DFW]

Now you all know this is the model I saw at the HKS lobby at McKinney Ave as noted back at posts #502 and #519.
Anyway it is more like a 40-story and not a 50-story tower, I like this type of design better, but I don't like the shorter office tower it appears to be out of place.