Construction Ratchets Up on $50M Metropolitan With Sales Tipping 50%

DALLAS-Rockwood Realty Associates and a roster of development partners, contractors and city officials today mark the official groundbreaking for the $50-million Metropolitan. The 283-unit adaptive reuse project in the CBD is on time, within budget and half sold out.

"Turner Construction Co. is fully mobilized," says Keith Walker, senior vice president for the New York City-based Rockwood. "The official construction begins next week." He says the 1200 Main St. project stayed within budget because construction managers locked in steel prices long before the material was needed. "We've been really able to ensure the project's going to come in on budget," he tells GlobeSt.com.

Condo sales began last year with the build-out of two models, but gutting was held in abeyance until January. Now, the crew's ready to push full throttle so the city's first high-rise condo building can begin delivering units in late November or early December.

The Metropolitan's sales reflect a broad spectrum of buyers, with young professionals and empty nesters being joined by reverse commuters. "We have people who truly want to be on the front end of the Downtown revitalization," says Elizabeth King with Chicago-based Garrison Partners Consulting Inc., whose firm has several projects under way in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro, but is tackling its first adaptive reuse in the city with the Metropolitan.

The one-, two- and three-bedroom condos range from 700 sf to more than 2,100 sf, with prices beginning around $180,000 and pushing to $550,000. Walker credits the price points and unit sizes with the broad mix of buyers. Sales to date, he says, have been across the board so there are condos of all sizes still in the stable. Though he's not making predictions, he says the goal is to sell out in six more months.

"The market down here is really getting stronger by the day," Walker says. "Once they see the other units, I think we're going to get a lot more. We're thrilled with where we are right now. People have embraced the project."

The Metropolitan will boast 12,000 sf of street retail, rooftop swimming pool and six-story, 432-space parking garage. There are no signed deals for the retail space, but Walker says there's more demand than supply, citing inquiries from restaurants and specialty operators of ice cream, bagels and coffee shops. Jack Gosnell with United Commercial Realty/ChainLinks is marketing the retail space at $25 per sf.

The 25-story building, built in 1974, was taken back three years ago by the New York City-headquartered Lehman Bros., which then tapped Rockwood to craft a best-use plan and act as the developer. Walker says Rockwood, marking its first project in Dallas/Fort Worth, has invested some additional time into sizing up what else what the region has to offer in terms of development and redevelopment opportunities. "Dallas being a major metropolitan city that it is, I think, was just a couple years behind other cities in downtown condo high rises," he says. "We've looked a number of things within this market, but this is the only one now."

Today's groundbreaking will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The line-up also includes Mayor Laura Miller, Dallas councilwoman Angela Hunt and executives from local firms Turner Construction Co. and Corgan Associates Inc. plus CM&D Construction Management and Development Nevada LLC of Las Vegas.