Check out DFW’s biggest office sales of 2023

The DFW office market slowed dramatically in 2023, but investors are still snapping up office space in North Texas. 

The area’s most expensive office sale goes to former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver. 3Edgewood Real Estate bought CityLine, a portfolio of commercial office buildings anchored by State Farm Insurance. The buildings in the deal went for $580 million.   

Here’s a list of the top ten biggest office sales in Dallas-Fort Worth this year, with data provided by Newmark. 

CityLine, 1150 State Street, Richardson 

The area’s priciest office deal closed in November, when Sarver’s firm bought a 2.2 million-square-foot commercial campus in Richardson. The property comprises four office buildings and a nearly 42,000-square-foot medical office building. The property traded hands for about $264 per square foot. The property last sold about seven years for $822 million, a $242 million discount, CoStar reported. 

The deal closed just before the due date for a $450 million loan secured by the property. 

Plaza of the Americas, 600 North Pearl Street, Dallas  

A New York investor purchased the 1.2 million-square-foot property for an undisclosed amount in October. Shelbourne Global Solutions snapped up the buildings in a deal brokered by Chris Murphy, Robert Hill and Gary Carr of Newmark Group. 

The property consists of two 25-story office buildings and a shopping center at the bottom of a 15-story atrium. Sellers M-M Properties and Invesco Real Estate bought it in 2011 for $100 million and spent $26 million renovating the Plaza. 

The Oncor Building, 115 West 7th Street, Fort Worth 

Chicago-based 3L Real Estate bought the 300,000-square-foot office building for an undisclosed price. It stands 16 stories and housed Oncor until 2020. The new owner plans to convert the building into apartments. 

3L Real Estate also purchased the 501 Elm Building in downtown Dallas in 2021. 

Founders Square, 900 Jackson Street, Dallas

Ray Washburne’s Charter Holdings expanded its portfolio by adding a historic Dallas building. The seven-story brick structure was constructed in 1915 and has been used as an office since 1984. The building is about 75 percent leased, and Washburne plans to update the building, he told the Dallas Morning News. 

The price was not disclosed. The building was last valued at $14 million, according to appraisal records. The seller is Taiwanese investment firm Fidelity Commercial, and the deal was brokered by Newmark Group’s Gary Carr, Chris Murphy, Robert Hill and Chase Tagen.

In 2017, Washburne purchased the eight-acre former campus of the Dallas Morning News for $28 million.  

Saint Paul Place, 750 North Saint Paul Street, Dallas 

St. Paul Place traded hands for $66.7 million, a rate of about $243 per square feet. Jonas Woods’ Pacific Elms Properties bought the 22-story, 275,000-square-foot building from Quadrant Investment, which bought St. Paul Place in 2016. The purchase was financed with a loan from MetLife Commercial Mortgage. 

Quadrant Investment recently renovated the property, built in 1983, to include a conference center, lounge area, outdoor terrace and a revamped lobby. 

Woods has also invested in high-rises like Bryan Tower, Santander Tower and 2100 Ross, with a focus on adaptive reuse. Pacific Elm Properties plans to convert downtown’s 60-story Comerica Bank Tower into a mix of offices, apartments and hotel rooms. 

DataBank Building, 400 South Akard Street, Dallas

Digital Realty sold DataBank Building in June. The 269,000-square-foot property was purchased for an undisclosed amount. Digital Realty had owned the building since 2012. Appraisal district records list DB Data Center Dallas LLC as the owner. The property’s appraised value is under $57 million. 

Crestview Tower, 105 Decker Street, Irving

Reserve Capital Partners hasn’t given up on aging office space. The investment group purchased Crestview Tower, a 12-story Irving office building built in 1982. The new owners plan to give the 270,000-square-foot building a “significant upgrade,” including a lobby, tenant lounge, gym and outdoor spaces. 

Austin-based CapRidge Partners has owned the Crestview Tower since 2014. Southside Bank, a lender headquartered in Tyler, provided funding. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the property was valued at over $30 million in 2023. 

One Legacy Circle, 7500 Dallas Parkway, Plano

Franklin Street Partners sold a Plano office building to a partnership represented by commercial real estate investor and broker Gildenson Real Estate. One Legacy Circle has eight stories and was built in 2008. Franklin Street bought the 214,000-square-foot building in 2011. It’s more than 70 percent leased. Tenants include Morgan Stanley, Bread Financial and TBX Employee Benefits. 

The price was not disclosed. Liberty National Bank financed the sale. CBRE’s Russell Ingrum, Jared Chua, Patrick Benoist, Michael Dewey, Matt Murphy and Jennifer Joseph brokered the transaction.

Alto 211, 211 North Ervay Street, Dallas 

Plano-based Wolfe Investments purchased Alto 211 in April. The price of the sale was not disclosed, but the 185,000-square-foot building was valued at a little under $12 million in 2023. Wolfe’s $13 million loan on the building was scheduled to foreclose on Sept. 5. But the firm secured construction financing and has plans to convert the property into apartments. 

Oak Lawn Design Plaza, 1444 Oak Lawn Avenue, Dallas 

Asana Partners added to its portfolio of Design District showrooms. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm acquired the seven-building, 160,000-square-foot Oak Lawn Design Plaza shortly after buying up the International at Turtle Creek, a 155,000-square-foot office complex and showroom. Asana plans to revamp Oak Lawn Design Plaza’s 9-acre campus. Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but the property was valued at $20 million in 2023. 

Asana’s interest in Dallas’ Design District is just a portion of its North Texas real estate play. The firm owns more than three dozen Deep Ellum buildings, more than 400,000 square feet of office and retail space in Victory Park, Foundry District mixed-use development in Fort Worth, and the Hill shopping center in North Dallas. 

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