Iconic Bryan Tower in downtown Dallas is set to receive a $10 million upgrade from Woods Capital, a Dallas-based real estate investment firm.
Plans filed with the state will bring transformative change to the 40-story glass office tower built in 1973, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
Dallas-based Merriman Anderson Architects Inc. will come on board to usher the skyscraper’s lobby, ground and second floors, and elevator cabs into the 21st century. The upgrade will include state-of-the-art finishes, contemporary furnishings, and aesthetically pleasing elements that reflect the building’s prestige.
Yet the starkest change to Bryan Tower will be the conversion of 1.1 million square feet of space into 425 residential units with unparalleled views.
Woods Capital has headed several major projects in Dallas.
As The Dallas Express reported last July, Woods Capital launched the renovation of Santander Tower, a 50-story high-rise in downtown Dallas, that included converting nearly a dozen floors into more than 200 multifamily apartment units and 150 luxury hotel rooms.
The developer also has an ownership stake in Comerica Bank Tower, another Dallas landmark near Dallas’ Arts District, as reported by The Dallas Express.
While it was speculated that it would be converted into a mixed-used development, its affiliate Pacific Elm Properties announced plans in May to renovate the 275,000-square-foot office tower and bring it some top-class amenities.
“We will definitely keep this as pure office,” Jonas Woods of Pacific Elm Properties told The Dallas Morning News.
Owners of office towers are nonetheless facing an uphill battle.
Demand for office space has declined in the metroplex over the past year, as The Dallas Express reported. Over 18% of DFW office space sat empty in the first quarter of 2023. With high inventory and low demand, owners of office space are pushed to provide top amenities to lure prospective tenants and maintain current ones.
On the other hand, the demand for residential properties is on the rise, especially for rental properties, amid a nationwide shortage of homes for sale and the rising costs of homeownership. As The Dallas Express previously covered, median rent prices for DFW have increased by 21% since before the pandemic.
As a result, office-to-residential conversions have become a trend, with Woods Capital representing one of its major proponents.
Located at 2001 Bryan St., Bryan Tower’s new residential units will accommodate the growing demand for a luxurious living experience in downtown Dallas.