Kenny Wolfe’s Dallas Conversion Candidate Listed for Sale

Kenny Wolfe — now that’s a name you haven’t heard in a while.

The Dallas-based syndicator’s spectacular flame-out matched his hubris — a quality that separated him from his peers who were also using the pooled-equity model of multifamily investing.

The student of multifamily mentor Brad Sumrok tried to make the jump from operating a string of dollar stores across the Midwest and shabby apartment complexes in Texas to executing one of the most challenging types of projects in the world of real estate development: An office to residential conversion.

It may not come as a surprise that he didn’t stick the landing.

He set his sights on conversion projects in iconic downtown buildings in Dallas, Fort Worth and Cleveland, but bit off more than he could chew. His portfolio was wiped out almost as quickly as it was built.

His story might be over (for now at least), but the buildings he owned are still in play.

A downtown Dallas property he planned to convert to apartments hit the market almost two years after Wolfe’s lender took the keys back at a foreclosure auction. The capital stack for 211 North Ervay, an iconic mid-century office tower built in 1958, included a $13 million loan from Thistle Creek Capital, which bought the building back in an $8 million credit bid, or $43 per square foot.

If you’ve ever walked around downtown Dallas, you’ve seen this building. It’s covered in turquoise porcelain panels, sticking out like a modernist sore thumb among the glass facades and brick exteriors that populate the urban core.

Wolfe may not have displayed much sense in taking on 211 N Ervay, but he wasn’t completely off the mark on his plans. Experts agree the building has potential.

A 2023 paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in coordination with New York University and Columbia University identified the property as one of 50 North Texas buildings structurally ripe for conversion. Arpit Gupta, the New York University professor who authored the report, said the building “met all the criteria” for a conversion candidate.

Feeling as ambitious as Kenny Wolfe? This mid-century gem could be yours. Avison Young has the listing and is marketing the nearly vacant property as a redevelopment play. The listing has no asking price.

Remembering a pioneer of the mixed-use sports venue

Dallas investor Tom Hicks, who died on Saturday at the age of 79, didn’t just own sports teams — the Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers and Liverpool Football Club — he helped usher in a new era of sports real estate. Hicks foresaw the success of districts that integrate sports complexes with other uses, like offices, retail and multifamily. As owner of the Stars, Hicks partnered with Ross Perot Jr. to usher in the development of Victory Park, the entertainment district across Woodall Rogers Freeway from downtown. The pair developed American Airlines Center, which opened in 2001. It’s the home arena for the Stars and the Dallas Mavericks.

Highland Park home sets 2025 record

Guinn and Betsy Crousen’s mansion at 4000 Euclid Avenue in Highland Park sold with an asking price of $32.5 million, making it the most expensive residential sale in Texas this year.

The 19,000-square-foot home, built in 2015, features imported French materials, a gold-leafed dome, a courtyard with a pool, and one of the largest lots in Highland Park. The asking price amounts to about $1,700 per square foot.

Refi! At The Quad

Stream Realty Partners scored a refi deal for The Quad, a newly redeveloped office and retail campus in Uptown Dallas. KREF Capital, the real estate investment arm of KKR, provided the $228.2 million loan, which will replace a prior $181 million construction loan for the site’s redevelopment. JLL arranged the deal, which further proves investors’ interest in Uptown office properties.