Old Bones, New Life: How Office-to-Apt Makeovers Benefit Texas Towers

Looking at Santander Tower in the heart of the historic Dallas Main Street District , Will Pender saw opportunity where others saw deficiency. Many of the building’s 50 floors were outfitted as offices when it opened in 1982. Forty years on, Pender, Adolfson & Peterson Construction’s Gulf States President, is leading a change.

“AP has partnered with Dallas-based multifamily and mixed-use developer, Mintwood Real Estate, and building ownership, Dallas-based Woods Capital, to convert multiple floors in the 1.4 million-square-foot downtown high-rise tower to 228 multifamily units, along with amenity spaces,” Pender shared.

The conversion project plans include renovations on the first floor, as well
as floors 18-25 and 37-39.

“The project will feature one- and two-bedroom unit floorplans,” said Pender. “Project amenities include a swimming pool, dog park, fitness room, common gathering spaces and meeting space featuring a kitchen for entertaining.”

Slated for completion in Fall 2023, the Santander Tower rebuild is an example of adaptive reuse, a growing trend in today’s real estate industry.

“Adaptive reuse is attractive for developers, owners and investors as it costs a lot less than tearing down and building from the ground up,” Pender said. “I’m a believer in sustainability and the importance of preservation because when we clear lots in the middle of the city to build new buildings, we lose a lot of history. In this project, we’re not loading the landfill with discarded building materials that could be repurposed.” Office buildings are often an ideal candidate for such a makeover as remote and hybrid work models have created underused or vacant office space. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.