A storied but battered West Coast firm is taking its moment to double down on Dallas.
San Francisco–based Shorenstein Investment Advisers acquired Sterling Plaza, a 19-story, 313,600-square-foot office building in Dallas’ Preston Center submarket, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
The building at 5949 Sherry Lane is 87 percent leased and underwent renovations in 2023. The price wasn’t disclosed, but the acquisition marks Shorenstein’s second major Dallas office investment in under a year, following its 2024 purchase of International Plaza II.
Built in 1984 and last appraised for tax purposes at $113 million, Sterling Plaza sits near Park Cities and Preston Hollow among the city’s wealthiest enclaves and counts Sammons Enterprises, Walker & Dunlop and NMS Capital among its major tenants. K-Star Asset Management is slated to move in later this year. Shorenstein plans to enhance the building’s lobby and outdoor areas and create a more hospitality-focused experience to build on last year’s amenity upgrades.
Sterling Plaza has changed hands multiple times over the years, with past owners including Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners and, more recently, KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III, which acquired the tower for $73.5 million in 2013 as part of a three-building, $268.8 million portfolio deal.
The Preston Center submarket claims the lowest office vacancy rate in Dallas at just 8.4 percent, according to JLL. It’s a rare pocket of strength in a national office market still struggling with high vacancies.
For Shorenstein, it’s a notable bet on Sun Belt stability as the company tries to steady its own foundation.
The third-generation firm, once among the country’s most influential office landlords, has spent the past two years shedding trophy assets in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco amid rising rates and plunging valuations. CEO Brandon Shorenstein inherited control of the firm in his 30s after his father’s death, just as nearly $1 billion in pandemic-era loans went into distress and several major properties were seized or sold at steep losses.
Critics say Shorenstein’s decision to keep buying office assets deep into the downturn made things worse. But the firm has reemerged this year as a more opportunistic buyer, deploying what remains of its last investment fund in targeted markets like Boston, Atlanta and now Dallas.
— Judah Duke
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