Hartnett Law Firm Games Out Plan for Off-Market Purchase

"We were looking for years," Will Ford Hartnett, the state representative for District 114, tells GlobeSt.com about the off-market acquisition of 2920 N. Pearl St. "It's been fairly difficult for us to find space for what we need for ourselves in a good location." The 10,476-sf, three-story office building not only is the right size, but it's a half-acre, class A location near the intersection of Pearl and Wolf streets, across the street from Harwood International Inc.'s under-construction Azure residential high rise and the soon-to-start Stoneleigh expansion.

The seven-attorney firm, always a tenant in a Dallas CBD trophy, hired Benson Hlavaty Architects to redesign the building, constructed in 1988 for the non-profit organization. "We will gut the inside and renovate it from a non-profit look to a law firm look," Hartnett says. The project's cost is being kept under wraps as is the acquisition price.

The former central office for Big Brothers Big Sisters, which now offices at 205 W. Main St. in Arlington, is assessed at $1.46 million by Dallas County. Local brokers speculate that the Hartnett firm got the deed for $150 per sf to $160 per sf, paying the going rate with the land carrying the value more so than the building. Based on today's construction costs, the payout for retooling the space to law firm standards easily could match the acquisition price.

Hartnett says the plan is to move in July to Uptown from a 9,000-sf office in Bank One Center at 1717 Main St. All he's saying about the timing with respect to the lease is "we have a good arrangement with Bank One." The Hartnett firm moved into temporary space at Bank One in June after a 13-year stay in the nearby Thanksgiving Tower.

Jason Ray, vice president of strategic operations and planning Big Brothers Big Sisters, says the nonprofit stayed in the building until the deed changed hands. To maintain a Dallas presence, the organization leased a small office at 2900 Oak Lawn, but moved the central operations to Arlington. After selling the Dallas office, the nonprofit also sold a 6,400-sf building at 901 Summit Ave. in Fort Worth to Trust Management, but agreed to lease 2,500 sf for one year during the transition.

For the Dallas dealmaking, Big Brothers Big Sisters had pro bono real estate services from Jerry Reis with Property Advisers Realty Inc. in Irving and Tyler Trahant with the Woodmont Co. in Fort Worth handled the second sale. Independent broker Newt Walker represented the Hartnett law firm.