Developers have an eye for vacant '50s-era buildings
02:15 PM CST on Thursday, January 15, 2004
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
When the Statler-Hilton debuted in downtown Dallas in 1956, it was hailed as
the most modern hotel in the country.
The first metal-and-glass hotel in the nation, the 19-story Statler-Hilton boasted unheard-of luxuries such as elevator music and a rooftop swimming pool. And talk about convenience: Cars could be lifted into the grand ballroom on a special elevator in the back.
Alas, those glory days are long over. The huge Commerce Street hotel and a handful of other '50s flashback buildings now languish.
Fans call them "midcentury modern." Detractors usually call them just
plain ugly.
Developers say they hope these vacant downtown buildings will be as popular with apartment renters as the older landmarks that have been renovated into residential.
"Great architecture is great architecture regardless of when it was built," said Veletta Forsythe Lill, the Dallas city councilwoman who's become a champion for some of the city's overlooked landmarks.
"These buildings can be renovated for new uses," she said.
But Ms. Lill admits that "for some folks, they are an acquired taste."
That's not stopping developers, who have three 1950s building renovations in the works and are eyeing more.
The biggest so far is Gables Residential's renovation of the 36-story Republic Bank Building. Built in 1954, the aluminum-clad high-rise has been sitting empty since 1995.
Florida-based Gables, one of the Dallas area's largest apartment landlords, plans to spend about $40 million to convert the Bryan Street skyscraper into more than 200 luxury apartments.
Gables studied similar conversions in other big cities to prepare for construction, which will start this summer.
"We did look around the country, and we didn't find as many as we thought we would," said Gables' Doug Chesnut. "With the expense of a retrofit and the time it takes to save it, you have to want to do it for something other than pure economics.
"It's cheaper to build a new building," he said.
But not onsite: Tearing down these old skyscrapers is expensive.
"The costs for demolition far outweighs any land value," said apartment developer Robert Shaw, who's studied several downtown office conversions. "They have a negative net worth.
"So what do you do? You have to find a use," he said.
And restoring modern office towers is more expensive than renovating buildings from the 1920s and '30s, Mr. Shaw said.
"You have a lot more environmental problems, including asbestos," he said. "And the windows don't open in a lot of these towers."
The older buildings also have desirable features such as higher ceilings and natural materials, including wood and stone.
"It's a totally different technology when you are talking about buildings constructed with aluminum, steel and glass," said Craig Melde of ArchiTexas. "Another challenge is they tend to be larger."
Looking for support
Developer Ted Hamilton, who successfully renovated Main Street's landmark Davis
Building, is seeking public sector support to redevelop the Union Fidelity Life
Insurance complex on Thanksgiving Square into almost 500 apartments. The project,
which includes 31-story and 21-story towers built in 1952 and 1959, would cost
an estimated $87 million.
By comparison, Mr. Hamilton spent about $35 million to turn the Davis Building,
which was built in 1926, into 183 apartments.
"The size of these ['50s] buildings is certainly a consideration," Mr. Hamilton said. "But our initial studies indicate the Union Fidelity buildings will lay out well for apartments.
"Of that vintage, these buildings are relatively attractive, with some cool mosaic tiles and other materials," he said.
It's usually impractical to change the exterior of a high-rise.
"If you try and turn a modern building into something that it doesn't really want to be – decorated heavily with a lot of gingerbread on it – that won't work too well," said Lance Josal of RTKL Associates, the architect for the Republic Bank remodeling.
Bias toward ornate
Mr. Josal admits there is a bias toward the ornate architecture of the early
20th century.
"But that that's not to say some of these buildings done in the '50s, '60s
– or even someday the '70s – have less integrity," he said.
In downtown Dallas, buildings constructed before 1970 have about a 45 percent occupancy, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc. And several – the 211 N. Ervay Building, 511 N. Akard and the Mercantile Commerce building, to name a few – have been empty for years and aren't even counted in the office inventories.
"Supply creates demand," Mr. Shaw said. "You have a supply of something that's worth less than zero, and you have to find something to do with it."
The Southland Center complex, most of which was built in 1959, was successfully converted into the Adams Mark Hotel. But so far, only one '50s office tower has reopened as residential.
The 1505 Elm Building – a 16-story office built in 1955 – is being sold as condominiums.
About half of the 67 units in the building have been sold, said Realtor Carolyn Shamis.
She said the location at Elm and Akard streets and enclosed parking are bigger selling items than its '50s exterior. "This isn't like one of the old lofts," Ms. Shamis said. "These are condominiums with all the amenities."
E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com