A distressed high-rise on the eastern edge of North Dallas changed hands, and the buyer is sinking millions into its revival.
Bradford Companies acquired the 12-story Uptown Tower at 4144 North Central Expressway for an undisclosed price after the property’s former owners, Pillarstone Capital REIT and Whitestone REIT, filed for bankruptcy late last year to avoid foreclosure, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
The 254,000-square-foot building, completed in 1982 and last renovated in the ’90s, had become an emblem of Dallas’ aging office stock with major structural issues, deferred maintenance and only 50 percent occupancy at the time of sale.
Dallas-based Bradford is planning a $10 million overhaul to include adding a fitness center and coworking suites, renovating restrooms and upgrading the lobby with a golf simulator and coffee kiosk. Another $10 million has been set aside for tenant improvement allowances to lure new leases.
“We feel very optimistic that we’re going to restore the property to a position that’s competitive within its submarket and raise the occupancy on a submarket basis,” said CEO Kevin Santaularia.
The deal closed after a rocky sale process, with seven bidders and a fractured ownership structure complicating negotiations. Still, brokers say the building’s location near the Knox-Henderson neighborhood and Fitzhugh Avenue, an area that’s seen significant reinvestment, made it an attractive turnaround play.
That interest reflects broader momentum for the historically overlooked east side of Central Expressway. Artemio De La Vega’s $1 billion development, The Central, is transforming 27 acres, also on the east side of the expressway, into a luxe, mixed-use district meant to compete with the city’s westside hubs.
Also nearby, NexPoint is investing $445 million to convert the former Cityplace Tower into housing and a luxury hotel, thanks in part to a city-approved tax abatement. The projects suggest that capital and developers are no longer snubbing the eastern flanks of Dallas’ urban core.
Bradford hopes its Uptown Tower renovation can serve as a low-cost, high-amenity alternative for law and financial firms priced out of flashier Uptown properties.
— Judah Duke
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