Crescent Real Estate has built or bought more Uptown Dallas properties than any other developer.
But its next project planned north of downtown Dallas is something different for the Fort Worth-based firm.
The developer’s tower under construction on Maple Avenue will be one of the most exclusive rental communities in town. At 31 floors, it’ll also be one of the tallest buildings in Uptown.
The high-rise, located just north of the landmark Crescent complex, was designed by well-known architect Richard Keating.
“We think Rick Keating did a magnificent job,” said Crescent managing director Joseph Pitchford. “He’s, from our perspective, one of the masters of the tall building form.
“He’s had a big impact on the Dallas skyline.”
Keating’s Dallas credits include the Trammell Crow Center and Chase Tower on Ross Avenue — two of downtown’s landmark postmodern skyscrapers.
His sleek Uptown tower looks nothing like those 1980s granite buildings. It’s a modern structure with a mostly glass and prefabricated plaster panel exterior.
“We think Dallas is ready for something soft contemporary — a residential building that is distinctly more modern,” Pitchford said.
Keating Architecture worked with Dallas’ GFF to design a building with only 177 apartment units.
“We purposely didn’t end up with a huge number of units,” said Crescent senior vice president Scott Rodgers. “We wanted a very exclusive building.
“We also saw the market was very successful on the higher end, larger profile units,” Rodgers said. “Not everyone wants to live in a 350-unit building.”
The apartments at 2811 Maple will average about 1,500 square feet — almost twice the size of a typical new rental unit in North Texas. The largest three-bedroom apartments will total about 2,600 square feet.
And the smallest rental residence will start at more than $4,000 a month.
There will be a dozen of the largest “penthouses” on the top three floors of the tower.
“The standard floors are six and seven units per floor,” Rodgers said. “The longest walk from an elevator to a unit door is about 40 feet. Over 60% of our units are corner units, which lay out much better from a luxury standpoint.”
Even one-bedroom apartments will have a separate study/office area.
“We were designing this 100% during the pandemic,” Pitchford said. “It was in the front of our minds that people would want to work from home.”
When residents aren’t working, there’s a second-floor “amenity level” with a fitness facility, coworking space, library, tenant lounge and an outdoor swimming pool and terrace.
Because the building footprint is so small, the ground floor is limited to a concierge, front desk and valet stand. All the parking is underground.
“It does not have any ground floor retail,” Pitchford said. “We are big fans of ground floor retail, but the site just wasn’t big enough.”
Crescent’s equity partner and co-owner in 2811 Maple is Related Fund Management. PNC Bank is the lead lender. Houston-based design firm MaRS did the interiors.
“We wanted this to feel like a boutique hotel,” Pitchford said. “People should feel like they are in an exclusive resort. They are in something different than the typical luxury building in Uptown.”
Crescent Real Estate has a lot of experience with Uptown buildings. It owns the landmark Crescent complex, which it bought in 2021 for almost $700 million.
The developer and investor also built and owns the 218-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which opened in 2007 and is now getting a more than $20 million upgrade. Crescent also built and sold two condominium high-rises at the Ritz-Carlton, and built and recently sold the McKinney & Olive office tower and shopping center next door to the Ritz-Carlton.
“We are the stewards of 22 acres in the heart of the best urban district in the state of Texas,” Pitchford said. “We are proud of our footprint in this neighborhood. Maple is no longer a forgotten street. It’s a critical street.”
The 2811 Maple building is in the middle of a stretch of new towers lining the street between Turtle Creek and Cedar Springs Road.
“We feel like we’re right in the middle of something special happening,” Rodgers said.
The 2811 Maple project is Crescent’s first Dallas rental residential building. The tower is scheduled for completion in mid-2025.
Balfour Beatty is the general contractor.
Before the end of this year, Crescent will open a Fort Worth luxury apartment building in the city’s Cultural District. The 168-unit Fort Worth rental building will be attached to the company’s new Crescent Hotel.
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