$100 million-plus West End Lofts to transform historic part of Dallas

DALLAS — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal.

Sycamore Development is partnering with Hunt Capital Partners to develop the multifamily residential and retail project at 805 Elm St., 711 Elm St. and 211 N. Austin St. The development, called West End Lofts, is expected to feature 154 units and 26,462 square feet of ground-floor retail, as well as a roughly 25,751-square-foot plaza.

Roughly 40% of the multifamily units will be dedicated to households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income level. The development will involve renovations of what’s known as the Emerson-Brantingham Building and a vacant parking structure built in 1925. It represents a nine-figure injection into a part of town that has often been overlooked for big, new real estate developments.

The project design aims to rehabilitate historic buildings, preserving pieces of the structures and connecting the overall project to the identity of the neighborhood. Some design aspects of the complex will include repainting the exterior of the Emerson-Brantingham Building, which will be converted to include multifamily and ground-floor retail; the addition of a new landscape plaza north of 711 Elm St.; connecting a nearby Dallas Area Rapid Transit stop to a pedestrian promenade and additional side amenities, including an event lawn and sidewalk dining. The development will also include the construction of a new six-story multifamily with a storefront, dark brick at the base and red brick at levels two through five.

Commissioners praised the project but some worried that one element of the design, the installation of vinyl windows in the new multifamily building and the rear wall of the main building, would be too modern for the historic structures. The chamber approved all of the design requests expect vinyl windows. Several design elements will also need to be approved by the Texas Historical Commission and the National Park Service before work can begin on the project.

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