Matthews Southwest Has More Planned For Dallas High School Site

Later this year, Matthews Southwest will deliver the $50M renovation of Dallas High School on six acres in Downtown Dallas. The 110-year-old building on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places will be transformed into a mixed-use space with 105K SF, including 10K SF of retail on the ground floor.

Dallas High School renovation in downtown DallasBisnow: Julia Bunch
Bisnow: Julia Bunch
Dallas High School Exterior

Matthews Southwest senior vice president Kristian Teleki said the company is laser focused on the renovation, but after it delivers, the firm will consider how to best use the remainder of the six acres. Smaller office developments and a hotel could be developed, but Matthews Southwest will not finalize these plans until after DHS delivers and leases up, Teleki said. Younger Partners is handling leasing for the remaining office space.

Matthews Southwest is utilizing about $15M in state and federal historic tax credits and a TIF fund of about $6.2M, Teleki said. Merriman Anderson/Architects is the historic preservation, core and shell architect. Perkins+Will, the anchor office tenant in the building, is finishing out its own space. Balfour Beatty is the general contractor. 

For the ground-floor retail, Teleki said it will be largely tenant-driven and restaurant-focused. 

Matthews Paradise Developments’ Mitch Paradise also is working on the project with Matthews Southwest.

Dallas High School renovation in downtown DallasBisnow: Julia Bunch
Bisnow: Julia Bunch
Dallas High School interior columns

Perkins+Will has leased 40K SF, including the entire third floor and part of the second floor. The architecture firm will relocate about 200 employees to Dallas High School from its current office on Central Expressway after the space is completed in September 2017. Perkins+Will is pursuing LEED CI, WELL Building Standard and Fitwel certifications for its new office. 

Foundry Ventures is the second-largest office tenant in the space with about 18K SF. The Dallas-based incubator-style co-working space will move into DHS in Q1 2018. 

The transit-oriented development at 2218 Bryan St. faces the Pearl Street DART station. About 320 parking spaces wrap the building. Perkins+Will estimates half of its employees will ride DART, bike or walk to work when it relocates. 

Dallas High School renovation in downtown DallasBisnow: Julia Bunch
Bisnow: Julia Bunch
Perkins+Will architects giving a tour of Dallas High School

The four-story space has been vacant since the 1990s. The classical revival structure has had a few identities over the last 110 years, including Main Dallas High School, Bryan Street High School, Dal-Tech High School, Crozier Technical High School and Business Magnet School. In 2000, the building became a city-designated historic landmark. In 2004, Preservation Texas called the vacant building one of Texas’ most endangered historic places.

Matthews Southwest, MAA and Perkins+Will will reuse virtually everything remaining in the building that has not been damaged.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Dallas-Fort Worth Newsletters
Related Stories

Machine Investment Group Buys 490-Unit Multifamily Property In North Dallas: The DFW Deal Sheet

Battersea Power Station Reveals Plans To Double Development Again

Crystal Residences Offers A Model For Delivering New Housing And Lasting Community Benefits In Coral Gables

Design Plans Revealed For RFK Stadium Parking Garages, Headed To Review

DFW Multifamily Distress Creates Opening For Investors As Development Slows

Apartments Kick Off New Era Of Mixed-Use Activity In Philly Navy Yard

Stephen Ross Expands Palm Beach Empire With Massive Boca Raton Campus

DFW's Life Sciences Sector Offers Startups The Ingredients They Need To Scale

Dallas Mavericks Launch Plans For New Arena-Anchored Entertainment District

Shorenstein Acquires Preston Center Office Tower: The DFW Deal Sheet

Republican Midterm Convention Could Fill More Than 5,000 Hotel Rooms In Dallas

EXCLUSIVE: Georgia-Pacific Scraps Conversion Plans For Its Atlanta HQ