DALLAS | Hall Arts Center | 45 fl | 29 fl | 16 fl | Pro

[desertpunk]

Hall Arts Center:

16 story office tower

29 story residential tower

45 story mixed use tower

4th tower of unknown use or dimensions


Bizjournals

Developer Craig Hall weighs options on Arts District development

Dallas Business Journal by Candace Carlisle, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, November 4, 2011, 4:10pm CDT



Developer Craig Hall is in the midst of having construction drawings prepared for Hall Arts Center, a $160 million, 17-story office tower project off Ross Avenue in the Arts District.

Should the 500,000-square-foot development land a major tenant or two, the project could begin as early as late January and would be the initial phase of a three-phase, $500 million project.

That could change Monday.

That's when the Dallas City Council is expected to vote on Hall’s request to create a new subdistrict within the Arts District allowing building signage, which can be an important factor in Hall Financial Group landing large tenants.

[...]

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Dallas Observer

After 25 Years, Craig Hall May Build in Arts District. But First, He Needs Lots of Big Signs.



You remember Craig Hall, right? He's the developer who's been talking since forever about building something fancy in the Arts District -- like, say, that stalled-out tower where presently there sits a parking garage on Ross. Only, remember, he and the city got sideways over unpaid lease monies and TIF-for-tats, which didn't do anything to speed up construction on a tower that's been talked about since ... 1986. So, yeah. If you don't remember, that's fine too. It's been a while.

But, he's back -- before the city council, matter of fact, this coming Wednesday, when the council will vote on letting him create a new subdistrict within the Arts District Special Provision Sign District. Why the need? Because Hall wants permission to put four signs on the building he now says he's going to build across from the Meyerson -- the Hall Arts Center, which, as you'll note, is a shadow of a shadow of the original proposal. They're all so-called "tenant identity signs," one of which would be nine feet tall by 50 feet long, another of which could be as large as nine feet tall by 60 feet long.

[...]

[desertpunk]

Hall's earlier proposal for an Arts District twin 50 story tower complex:

image hosted on flickr

Hall Arts Center Towers, twin 50 story skyscrapers planned for the block immediately across from and just south of the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Dallas Arts District by skys the limit2, on Flickr

[Dallas star]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Hall's earlier proposal for an Arts District twin 50 story tower complex:

image hosted on flickr

Hall Arts Center Towers, twin 50 story skyscrapers planned for the block immediately across from and just south of the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Dallas Arts District by skys the limit2, on Flickr

Would be amazing.

[blakeaustin]

coolish! ^

[desertpunk]

A long time coming: Dallas Arts District office, residential project close to a start

For almost 25 years, one of the most prominent blocks in downtown Dallas’ showcase Arts District has been a jumble of leftover concrete and steel columns. The decrepit property on Flora Street across the street from the Meyerson Symphony Center has been a sharp contrast against a street lined with architectural landmarks and world-class cultural facilities.

That incongruity may soon end.

Developer Craig Hall, who’s spent years pondering what to do with the key property, is on the verge of kicking off development. Hall is finalizing plans for a 16-story office building and a 29-story residential high-rise on the property. A future phase would also contain a hotel and more condos. “We plan to pull our building permits on the office building before the end of the year,” said Hall, who’s been looking at designs for the property for more than a decade. “I’m excited about the opportunity to finally get something going.”

Arts District proponents couldn’t be more pleased at the prospects for a project that’s been stalled since the 1980s. “I consider it to be the most important development site in Dallas,” said Veletta Forsythe Lill, Arts District executive director. “It’s located across the street from the Meyerson Symphony Center and the Winspear Opera House. “There are few neighbors in the world of that scale.”

Stonehenge’

Over the years the Arts District has developed with more than $1 billion in projects. But the block bounded by Flora, Leonard Street, Ross Avenue and Crockett Street hasn’t changed much since developers abandoned the property in the late 1980s.

A Chicago firm that owned the block planned to build two 50-story office skyscrapers on the land. But after constructing a seven-story underground garage, it shut down the project, leaving unfinished support beams and walls cluttering the landscape. “It’s the property we lovingly refer to as Stonehenge,” Lill said. “Out-of-towners are always asking, ‘What’s that supposed to be?’”

Hall enters picture

The downtown block had already gone through a series of building schemes when Hall bought it in 1995. He paid $10.5 million for two Flora Street tracts and a smaller property on the south side of Ross. When asked back then how quickly he planned to start construction, Hall said, “Not real soon.” But he admits that the Arts District project has been idle longer than anyone could have imagined. “We’ve done a wide range of plans and models over the years,” he said. “Our key design guy has been working on this for more than 10 years.”

Architect HKS Inc. has created plans for a 450,000-square-foot office building that backs up to Ross Avenue, leaving room for restaurants and retail along Flora Street. The building has a rounded corner design, with an exterior of glass and metal fins. The second tower will have only about 40 condominiums and is planned to start after the offices are done in late 2014 or early 2015.

The first two buildings in the Hall Arts Center are significantly smaller than what was proposed for the property in the 1980s.

[...]

[desertpunk]

Craig Hall on His Arts District Project

It looks like real estate developer and investor Craig Hall is prepping to move forward with the first phase of his long-planned Arts District complex. Here’s what Hall had to say about the development in a recent D Magazine special issue on Klyde Warren Park:


Also eager to pull the trigger is Craig Hall, who owns two blocks of land between Flora and San Jacinto streets. Currently, the northern end of the site is home to a 2,000-spot underground parking garage.

The 17-story first phase of Hall Arts Center will total about 460,000 square feet of office space. Hall aims to get a building permit in December and start construction mid-year 2013, depending on the outcome of current discussions with prospective tenants. Restaurants and rooftop entertainment venues will be built with the first phase; the site also features green space.

Plans for future phases include a 29-story residential tower, a 45-story mixed-use building with a hotel on the lower floors, office in the middle, and 75 condominiums on top; and a fourth tower whose use is to be determined by market demand.

[desertpunk]

KMPG Signs Onto Hall Arts Center

The race to build the next office tower in central Dallas is about to be out of the starting gate.

Accounting firm KPMG has finally decided where it will locate its downtown office, real estate brokers who are tracking the deal say. After looking at options in Uptown, property execs familiar with the transaction say that KPMG has decided that developer Craig Hall’s new building in the Arts District is the best option.

KPMG has been scouting for new digs since its namesake tower on Harwood Street went into foreclosure last year. The accounting firm wanted to keep its operations in the downtown area and considered several new buildings in the works. KPMG was also interested in Crescent Real Estate’s office and retail tower planned on McKinney Avenue.

Brokers say that Hall Financial’s planned project on Flora Street got the edge because of its location across from the Meyerson Symphony Center and its shorter construction time. The 16-story, 454,000-square-foot office project is being built on top of an existing underground parking garage.

Hall Financial took out a building permit for the development late last year. The building would open its doors in 2015.

[...]

[desertpunk]

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