HALL Arts Hotel & HALL Park Land on Dallas Business Journal’s List of Best Real Estate Deals

A new crop of winners has been unveiled in the Best Real Estate Deals Awards.

Dallas Business Journal revealed the winners in the annual competition during an April 17 dinner at The Ritz-Carlton in Uptown Dallas. They range from remarkable new developments to deals that reinvigorate overlooked sites.

In addition to honoring the Best Real Estate Deals, DBJ recognized John Scovell, founder and chairman of Dallas-based real estate firm Woodbine Development Corp., as the newest recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor is chosen by DBJ newsroom leaders with input from real estate experts and judges.

Mixed-use development: HALL Park

Craig Hall’s 162-acre office campus in Frisco is undergoing a major transformation as the needs employers and employees shift post-pandemic. Originally built as a traditional office park starting in 1997, Hall Park now features mixed-use elements like apartments, a pet-friendly hotel and Kaleidoscope Park — a 5.7-acre green space inspired by Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park. With renewed interest in corporate relocations, Hall plans to invest $90 million in a 12-story office building. The evolution of Hall Park mirrors a larger trend: reimagining office campuses as experience-driven destinations. “If we had stayed just an office park, it would be a bad situation for the community and for ourselves,” Hall previously said.

Finalists

Maple Terrace: The original Maple Terrace building from the 1920s was preserved and turned into office space, while a new 22-story luxury residential tower was added.

The Quad: A new office tower, anchored by M Financial Group, and a retail village have brought new life to a historic corner of Uptown.

Most creative financing: HALL Arts Hotel C-PACE financing

Hall Arts Hotel secured $27 million in retroactive financing through a state program that helps building owners and developers pay for sustainability improvements.

The hotel in the Dallas Arts District, developed by HALL Group, used the funds to pay for upgrading the hotel’s HVAC, building envelope, plumbing infrastructure, lighting systems and controls. The upgrades will help reduce the property’s annual energy usage by 12% and lessen demand on the electrical grid.

Frisco-based Lone Star PACE helped facilitate the deal through the Texas C-PACE program, which stands for commercial property assessed clean energy. The deal stands as an example creative financing at a time when building owners and developers have had a harder time getting access to traditional capital.

Finalist

121 Technology Park:An 80-acre site that had been considered for light industrial use is instead getting a mix of industrial/flex, office, residential and retail space.