Harwood International's New Division Unveils $100M Condo Project

Harwood CEO Gabriel Barbier-Mueller and Harwood Living president Julie Morris will share the dais with Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and several council members at the 2 p.m. debut of a 10-foot model at the 2828 N. Harwood St. sales center. The 202-unit Azure, bearing a spring 2007 delivery, will rise at 2900 McKinnon St. on 1.3 acres in Harwood's 12-block footprint in Uptown. The site will take three months to prep, with the expectation that the Azure will start to go vertical by midsummer.

Barbier-Mueller tells GlobeSt.com that he's been waiting nearly two decades for Dallas to emerge as a luxury condo market. "I waited for this area to create a need for an urban residential environment," says the developer of one million sf of trophy office and retail space in Uptown and heir to a family responsible for developing 45,000 residential units in Switzerland.

The project site was ticketed for another office building in Harwood International Center until three years ago when Barbier-Mueller started mapping out a new plan, sped along by Uptown's top-performing commercial markets and the return of condos as hot properties in most US metros. He then laid the groundwork for Harwood Living, now a team of 12 brought together to lead the Azure's development and sales plus act as a model for a branded residential portfolio.

"We are exploring other markets," Barbier-Mueller says, "but at this time we're focused on the Azure, which will become the showroom." He adds it's too preliminary to discuss other locations, but did say the search includes the US and Europe. He's also not ruling out a sister project for Harwood's Uptown blocks. "It depends on the success of this one," he adds. "But as Dallas continues to mature, I think that's certainly a possibility."

The Azure will break ground with some condos sales closed and several prospects eyeing penthouses. The number of sales isn't being released. However, early buyers have been from out of town, including one with homes in Mexico, Europe and Dallas. "We're well ahead of where we thought we'd be," Barbier-Mueller says.

Morris predicts the Azure, with units from $400,000 to $4 million, will be sold out before construction is done. Each floor is designed with eight units, ranging from 881 sf to 5,025 sf and terraces of 134 sf to 3,940 sf. The high rise will take up one-third of the 1.3 acres and the balance will be laid out with gardens and an Olympic-size swimming pool with private cabanas. Underground parking will feature two-vehicle, private garages.

The Azure is being touted as a new landmark for the Dallas skyline with "a walk-to-life lifestyle" for its proximity to upscale entertainment and restaurant venues along with a built-in, resort-style amenities comparable to a five-star hotel. Cabinetry will come from Germany; stones will be imported from France; and the skin will be floor-to-ceiling glass for unobstructed views from the tallest building in Uptown, 375 feet or nearly 140 feet higher than its neighbors.

As Uptown booms with condo development, Barbier-Mueller says his team's created a niche in the luxury arena. "We don't have a hotel with it. We are focused on privacy and exclusivity of the 200 residents," he says. "We are definitely offering a new style of lifestyle."

Barbier-Mueller's Harwood is partnering with Westbank Projects Corp. of Vancouver, BC on the development, designed by James KM Cheng Architects Inc., with offices in Vancouver and New York City, and Gensler Architects, a San Francisco-headquartered international firm with offices in 25 cities. Dallas-based SWA Group is the landscape architect while Gensler and Lauren Rottet of Los Angeles teamed on interior designs. Harwood Living is overseeing a sales team that includes Gullotto Group/Ebby Halliday Realtors and the Seattle-based Rennie Marketing Systems. Barbier-Mueller says 70% of the subcontractors are in place while the decision is still out on a general contractor.