There's little left of the Roaring Twenties inside Dallas' Maple Terrace.
When the Uptown Dallas building opened on Maple Avenue in 1925, it was the most exclusive residential area in the city.
After nearly a century, Maple Terrace is making its second debut. Reimagined as the region's newest luxury office.
Developer Hines has spent the past two years converting a long-standing high-rise apartment building into a boutique office building. It's part of a mixed-use development with his two restaurants in front and a new high-rise residential building behind Maple Terrace.
Hines is unveiling the landmark's redo this week, showing off the renovated historic building.
Maple Terrace's exterior has been preserved as it was in the early 20th century, but once you walk through the front door, it's a different story.
Luxury modern finishes and plush furniture are the kind of things you'd find in a luxury hotel or luxury resort.
“We wanted it to have a residential feel,” said Ben Brewer, senior managing director at Hines. “There's a warmth that makes you want to stay here.”
At just about 157,000 square feet, the Maple Terrace building is the smallest of several new offices planned for Uptown. It is also the only building in the area that combines historic architecture with new, well-equipped workspaces.
“The term boutique office in commercial real estate typically refers to the size of the project,” Brewer says. “But there's a warmth here that a lot of buildings lack. There aren't many comparable buildings.”
Interiors by Houston-based Rottet Studio combine soft furnishings, mirrored wall and ceiling panels, and polished wood floors and paneling.
As soon as you enter the main entrance, you will find the reception desk and lounge area. Head towards the back of the building and you'll find a bar and lounge seating overlooking the beautiful courtyard.
Its linear courtyard separates Maple Terrace from the 22-story apartment tower still under construction next door. His first of 345 rental units is expected to be available early next year.
Dallas architects GFF and 5G Studio Collaborative designed the Maple Terrace project. Hines is developing the property in conjunction with Mitsui Fudosan America and McNair Interests.
Hines purchased the landmark building, which houses the apartments, in 2020. The developer's decision to convert it into an office was unprecedented.
“It could have been residential,” Brewer said. “But we felt residential units were a better fit for the new building.”
Mr. Hines demolished an old apartment building designed by Alfred Bossum, a prominent British architect who was also the architect of the Magnolia Building in downtown Dallas.
The building was originally touted as Dallas' first “million-dollar apartment complex.”
The developer restored the Mediterranean exterior, but added two more floors of office space above and behind the original building.
The most eye-catching space at Maple Terrace's offices is the expansive 8th floor terrace overlooking Maple Avenue and the surrounding Uptown district. “The idea is for employees to come here to work and to have events,” Brewer said.
The first floor of the building includes a fitness center, golf simulator, and conference center with boardrooms and training center.
Hines has already leased an office floor in the penthouse to California-based investment firm GI Partners, which plans to move in next month. Brewer said his company is already conducting tours and talking with other interested tenants. “I think financial companies and creative companies will appreciate this the most.”
Construction will soon begin on two separate restaurant buildings fronting Maple Avenue that will house New York City's Catch seafood restaurant. Doce Mesas Fine Mexican Restaurant by Dallas restaurateur Miko Rodriguez.
The adjoining tower's restaurant and new apartments will add to the street vibrancy of the Maple Terrace block, opposite the 100-year-old Stoneleigh Hotel.
“We feel that Maple Avenue is going to be one of our exciting major thoroughfares,” Brewer said. “You're in this pocket of uptown that I call Upper Uptown. It's the gateway from Turtle Creek.”
At the time, the building was one of the most exclusive residential areas in Dallas, as Maple Terrace was located between downtown and residential areas across Turtle Creek in Oak Lawn. Over the decades, the apartments have hosted many artists, actors, and celebrities, including Greer Garson, Shirley MacLaine, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Judy Garland.
“There are generations of Dallas residents who have been connected to this building for generations,” Brewer said. “As you progress in your career, you'll get to do jobs like this, working on 100-year-old buildings on big mixed-use projects.”
