With abatement and remediation near completion, Dallas developer Jack Matthews plans to get underway on the construction of the historic Dallas High School, which will transform the longtime vacant building into an office and retail building.
"We are inches away from starting construction there," Matthews, CEO of Dallas-based Matthews Southwest, told the‚ Dallas Business Journal."We are awaiting some final things from the Parks Service and the historical commission."
Matthews said construction on the four-story, 109,000-square-foot building, which has been undergoing abatement and remediation work to prepare it for the construction phase. He told me he expects to begin construction work on the site by the end of the month.
The completion of this phase marks the official end of the building being boarded up for the past two decades. With abatement complete, Matthews Southwest has removed the boards and opened up the building.
Earlier this year, Matthews Holdings Southwest Inc. and an affiliated limited partnership received $6.2 million of eligible tax increment financing revenues through the Deep Ellum TIF District for the project. The group also received an economic development TIF grant for the streetscape, paving, lighting, facade restoration and abatement of the building.
The Dallas-based firm also plans to use federal and state historic tax credits to help finance the massive redevelopment. Dallas-based‚ Merriman/AndersonArchitects is the project architect.
In all, the redevelopment of the 109-year-old building at 2218 Bryan St. will include 66,000 square feet of office space and 26,000 square feet of retail space.
Chicago-based Perkins+Will has already signed a lease for 35,000 square feet of office space. The architecture firm will take the full third floor of the building and part of the second floor.
Matthews said he has yet to finalize any retail leases or any other additional office leases, but he expects the building to fill up before it's completed next year.