One of the original office buildings in Dallas’ Harwood District has a new owner, adding another chapter to the slow-motion reshuffling of one of Uptown’s most distinctive office enclaves.
Dallas-based Cawley Partners acquired Harwood No. 1, a seven-story, roughly 106,000-square-foot office building at 2651 North Harwood Street, and plans to renovate the property in the first half of the year. The Dallas Business Journal reported that the deal closed Dec. 30 and was announced Jan. 6, according to a statement from the buyer.
The building, developed in 1982 by Harwood International, was the first office project in the 19-block district and was originally built for Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex. The building is about 50 percent leased, with tenants including Cadence Bank, Huron Consulting Group and Unifeye Vision Partners.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but the Dallas Central Appraisal District last valued the property at $25 million, including about $7.6 million for the land. First United Bank sold the building after regaining control through a November foreclosure auction, where it posted a winning bid of $27.2 million, according to public records.
The sale comes amid mounting pressure on Harwood International, the firm led by Gabriel Barbier-Mueller that spent decades assembling and curating the district at the seam of Uptown and Victory Park. Over the past year, several Harwood buildings have traded hands, often at moments of financial distress. In 2024, Harwood sold four office buildings — Harwood No. 2, 6, 7 and 10 — totaling nearly 900,000 square feet to private equity giant TPG.
Late last year, law firm K&L Gates signed on at Harwood No. 4, a tower known for its Asian art-filled lobby. But uncertainty still hangs over future development. Harwood landed a $100 million loan from TPG’s real estate arm to jump-start construction of Harwood No. 15, though that project has yet to break ground after Jones Day, long expected to be the anchor tenant, backed out, The Real Deal previously reported.
Cawley Partners, best known for suburban office developments along the Dallas North Tollway in Plano and Frisco, plans to overhaul the lobby, corridors, restrooms and top-floor lounge, as well as build out roughly 50,000 square feet of spec suites. Renovation work is expected to begin late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter, a spokesperson told the publication.
The building still bears a nod to its origins, with a Rolex clock in the atrium, even though the watchmaker later decamped to another Harwood tower.Â
— Eric Weilbacher
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