Dallas’ Plaza of the Americas — a three-building high-rise complex considered downtown’s first mixed-use development — has sold to a New York investor.
The sale of the 1.2 million-square-foot landmark property on Pearl Street is the largest office building purchase this year in North Texas. The complex includes two 25-story office buildings and a shopping center at the bottom of a 15-story atrium. The attached more than 400-room hotel was not part of the sale.
Brooklyn-based Shelbourne Global Solutions bought the landmark downtown buildings in a deal brokered by commercial property firm Newmark Group.
“Our team is proud to be a part of this transaction and especially grateful to have assisted all parties in completing Dallas’ largest office sale so far in 2023,” Newmark’s Chris Murphy said in a statement. “Plaza of the Americas is uniquely positioned to capture future office and retail leasing demand in downtown Dallas as millions of square feet of Class B office undergoes a repurposing to alternative uses, primarily residential and hospitality.”
Built in 1979 and 1980 by Dallas developers Clyde Jackson and Toddie Lee Wynne, Plaza of the Americas was the city’s first atrium shopping venue and the first local commercial development to feature an ice skating rink.
The Pearl Street complex is still one of downtown Dallas’ most recognized developments.
Since 2011, Plaza of the Americas has been owned by M-M Properties and Invesco Real Estate. The investors paid an estimated $100 million for the Plaza of the Americas — about what it originally cost to build — then spent an estimated $26 million in renovations.
The redo of the atrium in 2013 replaced the ice rink with an almost 1-acre garden area with eating and gathering spaces for employees in the project’s office buildings.
Newmark Group has been marketing the Plaza of the Americas for sale since last year. Newmark’s Murphy, Robert Hill and Gary Carr handled the deal. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
MetLife Investment Management provided a $48 million loan as part of the deal, county records show.
The building is more than 60% leased with major tenants including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Capital One.
Buyer Shelbourne manages more than 8 million square feet of commercial real estate totaling more than $8 billion in value.
The investor has extensive office holdings in New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio and Delaware. Shelbourne also owns an office complex in suburban Tulsa.
The sale of the Plaza of the Americas comes at a time when few Dallas-area office buildings are changing hands.
The only other recent office sale in downtown was the purchase in April of the 22-story St. Paul Place on Ross Avenue. The office tower was purchased by Dallas investor Pacific Elm Properties.
