Dallas has been named the No. 1 commercial real estate market for 2025 across the U.S. and Canada. Researchers from ULI and PwC praised the region’s “enviable” post-pandemic recovery and cited its development and investment potential. None of this comes as a surprise to those who keep the market percolating. And it was evident in the overwhelming number of nominations D CEO received this year for its annual Commercial Real Estate Awards program.

Hospitality Project of the Year: HALL Park Hotel developed by HALL Group

The first Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in Frisco is the latest win for the $7 billion reinvention of HALL Park. It features 244 rooms, including 60 executive suites. The hotel also offers 20,000 square feet of event space and the chef-driven Palato Italian Kitchen and Lounge. The arts, a signature feature of HALL Group projects, play a pivotal role with a collection that focuses on female artists and artists of color. The hotel was designed by Merriman Anderson Architects, and Austin Commercial served as construction manager. Design services were provided by B2 Design and Waldrop + Nichols, and the property is managed by Coury Hospitality.

The luxury property is set to enhance the new office and residential features coming to HALL Park as part of its revamp. “Everyone wants convenience, entertainment, and lifestyle amenities at their fingertips,” says HALL Group Chairman Craig Hall, “and we want to make sure that HALL Park continues to be a vibrant destination for the next 25 years.”

Developer of the Year: Craig Hall

Craig Hall has built a national real estate powerhouse by taking a contrarian approach. After buying Frisco land in 1980—back when the city was mostly farmland—his vision for an office park north of Dallas eventually came to fruition. By 2007, it had grown to 1.8 million square feet of office space across 11 buildings, and by 2016 the development had a new neighbor in the Dallas Cowboys. There was no question that Hall’s investment decades before had been the right move. But by 2016 he was again ahead of the curve—years before return-to-work policies were a mainstream topic, Hall predicted future challenges for traditional office parks.

In 2021, he broke ground on a $7 billion reimagination of HALL Park to transform his office campus into a thriving mixed-use development. The benefits of that metamorphosis have already emerged—The Monarch HALL Park, a luxury residential tower, opened in 2023. The following year was a milestone for the development with the introduction of HALL Park Hotel, The Tower at HALL Park, and Kaleidoscope Park, a highly programmed 5.7-acre park designed as a northern sibling of Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park. With his HALL Arts office park and hotel, Hall has had a transformative impact on the Dallas Arts District, too.