Downtown Dallas’ Chances of Revival

9 November 2025

There are two types of people in Dallas real estate: those who think downtown Dallas peaked in the twentieth century, and those who say the urban core’s best days are ahead.

Folks in the former camp point to the collapse of the city’s identity as an office destination, accelerated by the pandemic and made worse by public safety issues. Those on the opposite side urge the public to be patient and let the $3.7 billion convention center renovation project do its magic and usher the city into a new era.

Of course, for biggest cheerleaders in both of those groups, weighing in on the future of Dallas’ downtown isn’t just a matter of perspective; it’s a bet with pretty high financial stakes.

As Pacific Elm’s Jonas Woods points out, “There’s a serious financial incentive to push tenants to more expensive buildings.”

Suburban office owners and tenant rep brokers both stand to gain when downtown tenants head elsewhere. Therefore, it pays to maintain the perception of downtown as dangerous and undesirable, he asserts.

Woods, on the other hand, has bet his career on the transformative power of adaptive reuse for downtown Dallas, contending that the urban core has a future as a live-work-play destination if only the aging office stock can be reimagined.

It’s not just theoretical for Woods, who’s also AT&T’s landlord. The telecoms giant has been contemplating a move to the suburbs, which could have troubling effects for its downtown home at Whitacre Tower, the 1.1 million-square-foot office behemoth at 208 South Akard Street.

Regardless of who’s right, it’s undeniable that the downtown pessimists are persuasive. In addition to AT&T, the Dallas Mavericks and Stars are similarly contemplating moves to the ‘burbs as they run up against leases at American Airlines Center (which isn’t technically downtown, but does a lot more for downtown than an arena in Plano would).

Check out this month’s magazine for more on the factors affecting downtown’s revival chances.

Here’s what else is going on in Texas real estate news:

Erwin Nicholas II is Mr. Real Estate. He made a name for himself as the luxury broker for the Houston glitterati — which typically requires the utmost discretion. Nicholas set off on an atypical path when he started marketing Spurs legend Tony Parker’s Hill Country hacienda, tapping Twitch streamer Kat Cenat, who was looking for a place to host a 30-day “subathon,” to jolt the marketing of the property.

Speaking of the Spurs, the San Antonio basketball team was on the ballot this election and won. Alamo City voters approved two constitutional amendments to provide funding for Project Marvel, the $4 billion plan for a downtown entertainment district that includes a new arena for the team. Voters approved $311 million in venue tax for the arena and $192 million for a new stock show and rodeo district.

File this under unexpected election day results: Democrat Taylor Rehmet won the majority of the vote in the Texas Senate District 9 race, a district President Donald Trump won handily in 2024. The district includes wealthy Fort Worth suburbs Southlake and Keller. Rehmet is likely headed to a runoff with runner-up Republican Leigh Wambsganss. The rub? Casino magnate, Mavs owner and major Republican donor Miriam Adelson was dumping cash into the race in support of pro-casino candidate Republican John Huffman. Huffman’s loss to Wambsganss, who has firmly opposed any expansion of casino gambling, leaves Democrat Rehmet as Adelson’s only option when it comes to her hopes for extending her Las Vegas-based gambling empire into DFW.

Almost $600 million worth of commercial real estate loans tied to properties in Texas headed to foreclosure auction on Tuesday. Houston has been hardest hit, month after month, and November was no different. July Residential’s five-property multifamily portfolio was scheduled for sale after the firm allegedly defaulted on an $81.5 million mortgage from Voya.