A building in Dallas’s Arts District that will offer affordable live/work residences and spaces for artists is getting richer neighbors sooner than expected.
Flora Lofts, to be built on a one-acre parking lot next to this city’s Museum Tower, will provide affordable living spaces and services to artist-residents and their families through the nonprofit ownership of La Reunion TX, a 10-year-old organization that connects artists and art with communities.
Under a revised construction and ownership plan, Flora Lofts’ 39 rent-restricted Artists Residences and eight market-rate apartments will take up the first six floors of a 29-story, $100 million wedge-shaped high rise that also includes 370 luxury apartments, which will be marketed under the brand “Atelier.”
This site, which sits between the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Meyerson Symphony Center, is considered to be one of the last desirable undeveloped lots in Dallas. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2015, with a 24- to 28-month build out, reports the Dallas Morning News.
“Instead of doing it in two phases, we are doing it all at once,” explains Graham Greene, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, a principal with Oglesby Greene Architects, who since 1995 has owned the land the parking lot sits on. “Doing it all in one phase makes for a better building.” The lofts will be a mix of sizes, says Greene, with one, two, or three bedrooms.
Greene tells BD+C that the project always included a high-rise component. But it encountered some difficulty getting off the ground because of a disagreement over street access, which necessitated the project to reapply for a $2 million tax credit for low-income housing, according to the website Art Seek. That year-long delay prompted Greene to bring in ZOM Holdings USA, an apartment developer, as a partner to accelerate the construction. ZOM will own the luxury apartments at Atelier½ Flora Lofts and provide management services to La Reunion.
“ZOM gets affordable housing,” Greene says. And Hans van Veggel, chairman and chief creative officer of ZOM’s Holland-based parent, says that the prospect of incorporating live/work space for artists into the high rise “is what first drew our interest to this opportunity."
La Reunion TX will identify and qualify potential loft residents. And a third partner, METROarts Properties, will own the subsurface parking. (The residential tower will sit over nine floors of podium parking and 12,000 sf of ground-floor retail.)
Boston-based Add Inc. designed the building. According to D Magazine, ZOM has promised that the high rise would be built in a way so that its windows don’t direct more heat from the sun onto The Nasher.
Atelier | Flora Lofts is one of at least seven high-rise residential buildings in various stages of planning, development, or construction around Dallas’s Klyde Warren Park and Victory Park.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | May 8, 2019
Multifamily visionary: AvalonBay’s relentless attention to detail
The nation's fourth-largest owner of apartments holds more than 85,000 apartments in 291 communities.
| Apr 28, 2019
New York Is NOT Most Expensive City for Apartment Sales Transactions
Data from Marcus & Millichap 2019 U.S. Multifamily Investment Forecast on Average Price/Dwelling Unit in apartment transactions.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 27, 2019
5 noteworthy multifamily developments
Special-needs housing in West Hollywood, Calif., and a warehouse-turned-apartments in the Twin Cities are among the notable multifamily projects to open recently.
| Apr 26, 2019
Organized Living Offers ‘Century Gray’ Product Finish for Multifamily Storage Systems
Organized Living releases new color option for apartment and condominium storage systems.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 23, 2019
Recharging Edison’s batteries
America’s greatest inventor would have appreciated this project team’s ingenuity and persistence.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 17, 2019
Multifamily real estate trends for 2019 and beyond
Boomers are on the move and Millennials are seeing upward mobility, but issues with affordability and housing product mix persist.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 16, 2019
Multifamily rentals are still alive and kickin’
Apartments are being built, and in goodly number. But not enough of it is affordable.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 12, 2019
NYC officials partner with nonprofit to build modular affordable housing
Thorobird and BACDYS partner with Brooklyn’s FullStack Modular on project.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 11, 2019
St. Augustine Terrace brings affordable housing to the Bronx
Magnusson Architecture + Planning designed the building.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 8, 2019
Priced to sell: DUMBO condo development offers starter units in luxury setting
Designed by ODA New York, 98 Front Street will be loaded with amenities like a salt water pool, co-working spaces, and indoor and outdoor fitness centers.