Boston entrepreneur puts half-made hotel up for auction

More than three years after its groundbreaking, a small developer team has decided to put their partially built hotel up for auction.

The 12-story Plush Suites was planned for the busy Galleria Dallas shopping and office complex in Far North Dallas, an area currently undergoing a massive residential construction wave. The unfinished property is set to go to auction on Dec. 15, the Dallas Morning News reports.

“My partner and I have decided to sell Plush this year and allow another developer to complete the project,” developer Jon Langbert said. According to his LinkedIn, Langbert is an “investor/entrepreneur” from Boston and has been working on the project since 2016.

His Plush Suites entity bought the Noel Road property for the new hotel less than two years before its groundbreaking in 2019, according to the DMN’s previous reporting. Langbert told the newspaper that the hotel aimed for a homey vibe to attract business travelers. He also said his team chose to build 12 stories “because of the growing density in the area.”

In its current state, Plush Suites has the steel work finished for eight of its 12 planned floors, “with the 10th floor to be completed before the auction,” according to a Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate listing.

“Plans for the hotel include 295 suites, three retail spaces, full restaurant, bar, grab-and-go room with coolers, rooftop pool and deck, large fitness facility, function roof and dog run totaling over 328,000 square feet, along with two floors of underground parking below the building,” according to the auctioneer. “Utilities have not yet been installed, so conversion to other uses is possible, including multifamily, condos, dorms, senior living or something new.”

While it was not disclosed why Langbert and his partner abandoned the project, it’s unlikely that the decision was market-driven. Dallas-Fort Worth has recently shot up as the nation’s No.1 metro for hotel building with more than 20,000 hotel rooms under development.

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