Multi-Housing News - March 2009 - (Page 18)

development & design City in the Sky Forest City transformed a 1942 office building into part of a contemporary mixed-use community, providing downtown Dallas with 213 apartments while preserving its history By Jim Truitt, Forest City Residential Group H Historic preservation can revitalize a community’s economy and renew its downtown core, while preserving the social and cultural character of an area. Although adaptive reuse has its challenges—preserving and restoring artifacts, optimizing apartment space while maintaining the building’s structure and historic character, and reconfiguring the interiors within the building’s structural confines—many local governments and developers are committed to improving and reusing older, architecturally significant buildings that reflect a community’s legacy. Built in 1942, the 31-story Mercantile National Bank Building in downtown Dallas is a perfect example of this trend. An icon for more than 65 years, the once-majestic bank building—the “City in the Sky” as it was called—sat proud but vacant from 1993 until June 2005, when Forest City Residential Group, a subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises Inc., purchased it from the City of Dallas. Forest City saw the potential of refurbishing the Mercantile due to its iconic stature in downtown Dallas, and that it would be a key component in the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown Dallas. Soon after the purchase, Forest City and the City of Dallas—with unanimous city council approval— entered into a redevelopment agreement to revitalize the iconic bank building and the adjacent area as part of a $250 million redevelopment project called Mercantile Place. Dallas provided assistance to Forest City to revitalize the blighted area in the form of public incentives, including tax abatements and $58 million in tax increment financing (TIF). Construction financing was provided by Bank of America, LaSalle Bank and Wachovia. Located strategically across from the internationally renowned Neiman Marcus flagship store, the redevelopment project also includes The Element, a new 15-story, 153-unit apartment building that was completed in January 2009. The historic Wilson Building, an adaptive reuse project that was purchased by Forest City after the acquisition of the Mercantile Block, is directly across Main Street. (Post Properties converted the former department store and offices into 135 apartments in the 1990s, before selling the project to Forest City in 2008.) The transformation of the area is a testament to both the importance of historic preservation and the value of public/private partnerships in downtown revitalization. When completed, Mercantile Place will encompass 1.1 million square feet, including the Mercantile Bank Building and The Element. Transforming a landmark Extensive due diligence was fundamental to Forest City’s planning effort to ensure the preservation of the Mercantile Bank Building, recognized as a valuable historic structure with the potential for a much longer and useful life. To maintain the historical essence and structural identity of the bank building, the Forest City development team and the project architect, Beeler Guest Owens Architects, Inc. of Dallas, worked closely with the city’s historical resources board to preserve the building’s exteri- 18 March 2009 | Multi-Housing News | Official Publication of Multi-Housing World

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - March 2009

Multi-Housing News - March 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Executive Insight: Jonathan Rose
Profile: How Owners are Riding Out the Storm
Market Report: Southern California
Development Case Study: A City in the Sky
Finance: Small Loans
Property Management: Marketing Magic
Products: Submetering
Kitchen & Bath: Water and Energy Conservation

Multi-Housing News - March 2009