Dallas developers acquire landmark downtown Fort Worth tower
May 9,2023
See full Dallas Morning News article by Steve Brown here.
A landmark Fort Worth building is joining the list of North Texas offices planning a transition to residential.
The 19-story Star-Telegram Building was built in 1929 and until recently housed operations of the Fort Worth newspaper. The office building is connected to the adjoining Oil & Gas Building, which was constructed in 1954.
Dallas-based Bluelofts Inc. bought the 16-story Oil & Gas Building in January and just purchased the Star-Telegram Building.
“We wanted to own both of them,” said Bluelofts’ Ike Bams. “It has the same lobby and there is a lot of connected infrastructure.”
Between the two buildings, the developers are planning 268 residential units. Part of the Star-Telegram building will continue to be used for office space. Together, the buildings contain about 440,000 square feet.
The latest purchase will give the developers the entire stretch along West Seventh Street.
“We always wanted to buy both buildings,” Bluelofts’ John Williams said.
The developer made the purchase in partnership with Plano-based Wolfe Investments. The properties were marketed for sale by Dallas’ Younger Partners.
The Star-Telegram Building was originally constructed for a department store and for many years housed the Bank of Commerce. Renovations in the early 1990s combined the lobby with the Oil & Gas Building.
The newspaper relocated to the address in 2011 after selling its original nearby offices, and said it was moving again last year.
Bluelofts has worked on several office renovations and is converting the former AT&T building in downtown Cleveland.
Wolfe Investments recently purchased the midcentury 211 N. Ervay tower in downtown Dallas, which will be redeveloped into apartments. It also acquired the landmark 400 N. Ervay apartments on top of downtown’s historic Post Office in 2021.
With rising office vacancies, developers are targeting a growing number of downtown buildings for conversion into residences, hotels and other uses.