Hunt Realty Gets Tax Breaks for Dallas Mixed-Use Project

A $500M mixed-use development that promises to keep thousands of high-wage jobs in Dallas has moved a step closer to fruition.

The city has approved an $18M incentives package, including property tax abatements and grants from the city, for the project proposed by Hunt Realty for an 11-acre site bordered by North Field Street, Houston Street and Nowitzki Way in Big D.

The massive mixed-use project, which includes a cluster of glass-covered building grouped around an 80-story tower, will be anchored by Goldman Sachs.

According to report in the Dallas Business Journal, the investment bank has agreed to execute a lease of at least 800K SF in the development by the end of 2027, with a minimum 15-year lease term.

Hunt’s development, currently known as North End, will include residential units, a hotel and a 1.5-acre park. The mixed-use project will be built in phases, in the Field Street neighborhood, which bridges Uptown and Downtown Dallas.

According to the development proposal, Hunt will make a minimum $390M investment in construction of the core and shell of the project by the end of 2027. Goldman is committing to invest a minimum of $90M in leasehold improvements, fixtures and equipment by the end of 2028, DBJ reported.

Goldman Sachs—which already has a workforce in the city estimated at 4,000—also has agreed to retain or create a minimum of 5,000 full-time jobs for workers based at the new office tower by the end of 2028, DBJ reported. About 35% of the bank’s workforce are expected to be residents of Dallas. 

The jobs will come with average annual base salaries of $90,000. Goldman Sachs’ office footprint in Dallas is second only to its New York-area headquarters.

Robin Bentley, director of the Office of Economic Development in Dallas, told the city council that the tax abatement—which translates into about $800 per job—is “much less” than offers the city has made on similar corporate deals, according to the report.

Goldman also has committed to create a Workforce Program Initiative in Dallas, partnering with Paul Quinn College, UNT-Dallas and Dallas College.

Other developments planned for the Field Street section of the city include a 42-story, 1M Sf Tower to be built by Harwood International; a 38-story high-rise being developed by Hillwood Urban, and a four-acre mixed-use project on a site currently occupied by a restaurant.