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Old Parkland expansion aimed at bringing more business

Three connected office buildings would be constructed on Maple Avenue in Dallas’ Oak Lawn neighborhood.

The most successful Dallas-area office center isn’t in Uptown, Plano’s Legacy or Frisco.

Tucked away on the edge of the Oak Lawn neighborhood, the Old Parkland campus is chock full of tenants paying the highest rents in town.

The 9.5-acre Maple Avenue development has been widely praised for its classic design and attention to detail. Some have derided the project as an architectural theme park.

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But the only opinions that count are held by the almost 100 businesses — mostly small to mid-sized private companies — that call Old Parkland home.

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Developer Crow Holdings, which built the campus surrounding the landmark hospital building it restored starting in 2006, has built about a half-million square feet of offices along the west side of Maple.

With more companies wanting to locate at Old Parkland, Crow Holdings hopes to expand to the east across Maple with another building.

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“Quite simply we are out of space at Old Parkland,” said Crow Holdings Office senior managing director Cody Armbrister. “We are 100% leased.

“There is now no more space at Old Parkland for us to be able to attract and take advantage of the present opportunity with a tenant base that is either growing and already located here in Dallas or ones that are coming here in waves, predominantly from the East and West Coast.”

Crow Holdings is seeking approvals to construct three connected office buildings at Maple and Reagan on property it owns. The block, which extends to Fairmount Avenue, is now occupied by small restaurant buildings and apartments.

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Crow Holdings has designed an office complex of more than 250,000 square feet, which would include five-story, six-story and nine-story buildings.

Planned by architects Craig Hamilton and The Beck Group, the tallest section of the new campus would be topped by a dome and spire.

About 90% of the parking for the project would be underground.

Crow Holdings would like to start work on the Old Parkland expansion next year. The construction would take about 24 months.

“This is about us providing an environment where more businesses can benefit from Old Parkland’s unparalleled offering,” Armbrister said. “We have received a number of calls from companies, family offices, investment firms and the like that are located out of state wanting to evaluate Dallas as a potential relocation site.”

First, Crow Holdings has to get planning approvals to expand the Old Parkland campus.

At last week’s meeting of the Oak Lawn Committee — the long-standing neighborhood planning advisory council — the proposal raised concerns about the height and other issues. After discussion, the committee put off making any recommendations.

Crow Holdings will seek city plan commission and City Council approvals for the expected zoning changes.

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“We are committed to continuing to provide an opportunity in the marketplace for this curated, compelling and unique environment that is Old Parkland,” Armbrister said. “Old Parkland represents a brand and a legacy statement for Crow Holdings.”

Architectural details of the proposed Old Parkland expansion.
Architectural details of the proposed Old Parkland expansion.(Crow Holdings )