The Arts District is getting another office tower. Lincoln Property Co. is acquiring a tract of land adjacent to the Meyerson Symphony Center for a 23-story building called 1900 Pearl.
The real estate investment and development firm is paying $7.2 million for the parcel, in a deal that’s expected to close in September. The Dallas Symphony Foundation acquired the land for $1.5 million back in 1995.
The property is at the corner of Pearl Street and Woodall Rodgers Freeway.
Scott Hancock, the foundation’s president, said it was the right time to sell. “The real estate market in downtown Dallas, and especially the Arts District, is at a historic high, so it just made good financial sense to put this asset to the best use for the Symphony,” he said.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund operating expenses of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Returns on the investments of the funds yielded by the sale are expected to contribute about $400,000 annually, in perpetuity.
Dallas-based Lincoln has tapped HKS Inc. to design its new office building, which also will include a large restaurant, conference and fitness facilities, and a deck overlooking Klyde Warren Park. (Scroll down for additional images.)
The concept was reviewed by a foundation board before the parties agreed to terms. Serving on the team were Howard Hallam, DSO Board of Governors’ Chairman Joseph F. Hubach, Jonathan Martin, Brian Ratner, Deedie Rose and Sandi Pei, son of Meyerson Symphony Center architect I.M. Pei. The DSO also negotiated the after-business-hours use of 600 parking spaces that will be built.
1900 Pearl joins a flurry of office projects underway and planned for the Arts District and Uptown, which is seeing fervent demand for space. David Pettle, executive vice president at Lincoln, says the company is excited to join the party.
“The Arts District location places tenants within walking distance to downtown and Uptown, with convenient access to many of the city’s finest cultural attractions and amenities,” he said.