$36M Dallas Loft Project Gets $16M Green Light

The 76-year-old Davis Building conversion will be the handiwork of Atlanta-based Regent Partners, Hamilton Properties Corp. of Denver and Dallas' Barker Nichols LLC. Reid Freeman, Regent's hospitality vice president, tells GlobeSt.com that abatement will require six weeks before construction can begin. Two floors or 21,104 sf are dedicated to retail and entertainment and 18 floors will be lofts. Five floors of lofts will be ready to occupy in winter 2003 and the remainder will deliver about four months later. Pre-leasing begins in August.

The financing alone has taken one year to piece together, says Tim Jordan, senior director for Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP in Dallas. Bank of America provided the three-year construction loan, with two one-year extensions. The loan was floated at LIBOR plus 300 basis points. Additional financing came from the City of Dallas and HUD and TXU Energy Services. Chevron TCI Inc. bought the tax credits to facilitate the project. "Pulling all the pieces together took longer than anticipated," Jordan explains, crediting the borrower with "patience and perseverance."

Regent bought into the project last summer, culminating four years of planning by Hamilton and Barker Nichols. "We had the size that lent some credibility to what they are trying to do," Freeman explains. It's been at least a decade since Regent has undertaken a Dallas project and even then, it was primarily retail development as opposed to residential.

Freeman is the development officer in charge of the public-private undertaking, with Regent's Craig MacKenzie serving as project manager. Jurado Design Group of Dallas is charged with the interior design while Dallas' Beeler Guest Owens Architects LP holds the overall design contract. Regent's wholly owned subsidiary, J.A. Jones Construction Co., is the general contractor.

The high-rise was constructed in 1925 for the Republic National Bank and was once the city's tallest office building. Freeman says the development team has agreed to halt its National Register application and let the city lead the way in the spring when it intends to apply for a historical district status with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The building's neo-classical design features a four-story base with a grand entrance in the center. A 20-story addition was completed in 1931. The structure has been known as the Davis Building since 1954.

Units, ranging from 665 sf to 3,000 sf, will have high-end finishes, high ceilings and open floor designs. Amenities include a pool, hot tub, exercise room, rooftop terrace and parking in an adjacent garage.