North End moves forward with no word from Goldman Sachs

As lease negotiations for Goldman Sachs’ $500 million Dallas tower remain uncertain, Balfour Beatty has announced the suspiciously familiar “Project Meadow.”

The London-based company, named the biggest construction contractor in the United Kingdom in 2021, put out a cryptic news release on Wednesday that it had been tapped to deliver “Project Meadow” on behalf of an unnamed “private developer” for a corporate campus in Uptown.

While the announcement was mostly about the project’s green initiatives, it did provide a few key details. For one, the development will span a total of 4.5 acres — 3 acres for the mixed-use building and 1.5 acres for a parking garage with an actual park on its roof. Plans include “three distinctive towers” ranging from eight to 15 stories.

Sources have reportedly confirmed to the Dallas Business Journal that Project Meadow is actually Hunt Realty’s much-anticipated North End mixed-use development, which is expected to be the home of the Goldman Sachs tower development.

Balfour Beatty, which has its U.S. headquarters in Dallas, said that it aims to begin construction on the development this fall with an expected completion date around 2026. However, original plans had Goldman’s new office kicking off Hunt Realty’s Uptown development.

In June, Dallas city council granted $18 million in incentives to both Goldman and Hunt for the North End project, including the tower. Though the exact terms of the agreement are not public, it reportedly stipulates that Goldman is obliged to sign a 15-year minimum lease term on or before the end of 2027.

— Maddy Sperling