BREAKING: Andy Beal Set to Tear Down Famed Trammell Crow Estate

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The Trammell Crow home in Highland Park was in that family for more than 50 years. Now it's time for new owners to enjoy the 10,000-square-foot house. Photo: courtesy of Dallas Morning News.

The Trammell Crow home in Highland Park was in that family for more than 50 years. Billionaire Andy Beal purchased it last year and is planning to tear down this historic home built in 1912.

Apparently nothing is sacred. We are absolutely crushed to find out that the Trammell Crow estate — one of the most splendid historic homes in Highland Park — is slated to be torn down by Andy Beal, the billionaire who purchased it just last year. If you’ll remember, Beal purchased this C.D. Hill-designed home as well as Walnut Place (the Crespi Hicks estate) last year, and just re-listed the larger Walnut Place with Allie Beth Allman.

We were shocked to see an advertisement for a pre-demolition sale of interior fixtures from the Trammell Crow Estate on a Highland Park garage sale group:

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Architect C.D. Hill initially designed this home at 4500 Preston Road for Edgar Flippen, namesake for Highland Park’s Flippen Park.

We have contacted the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society for comment, but have yet to hear back. However, Candy spoke to the estate sale operator last night and discovered that Beal is scraping the historic Crow estate to build a new estate home but will be paying extra loving attention to preserving the trees and fantastic landscape. At least one Crow family member is trying to preserve as much of the architectural structure as possible.

“One of Trammell Crow’s daughters is getting the panelling that came from a castle,” Candy added, noting that there are two cool old bank vault doors to be salvaged, and an old office desk that was attached to the wall.

Appliances are also available for bargain hunters with a truck, including a huge viking range, a $15,000 Vent-a-hood, and older Sub Zeros. You can also snag kitchen cabinets, stone landscaping, and pretty much anything that hasn’t already been scrapped.

Here’s a video of the property while it was still marketed by Allie Beth and Pierce Allman:

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Joanna England is the Executive Editor at CandysDirt.com and covers the North Texas housing market.

20 Comments

  1. Jon Anderson on January 17, 2017 at 9:43 am

    Like I said, “Iconic” in Dallas is the house you tore down to build the McChateau.”

  2. Ed Murchison on January 17, 2017 at 10:18 am

    So sad….

  3. Harry Hunsicker on January 17, 2017 at 10:49 am

    The library in those pictures is located on Harlan Crow’s property at 4700 Preston Road. 4500 Preston is the Beal property. (Per DCAD.)

    • Candy Evans on January 17, 2017 at 10:54 am

      Yep, I just saw that and we have corrected. Thanks so much, Harry.

    • Joanna England on January 17, 2017 at 11:02 am

      Thanks for keeping a close eye! The post has been updated and also includes a drone video of the home.

  4. Peggy Millheiser on January 17, 2017 at 10:49 am

    Why does one want to destroy Dallas’ past architectural masterpiece? The Crow home represents a time of elegance. It is the epitome of another era when the home was the center of life for a family and a way to share with guests, a particular lifestyle. The current home and its grounds represent the best of Dallas, both in structure and in a civilized and gracious time period. Many of the thoughtful details of the home inspire today’s newly built residences. I hope that the idea of destroying this home will be replaced with the idea of preserving one of Dallas’ showcase mansions.

  5. John on January 17, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    Scrape it, honey! Put up some ugly, uncomfortable 3 story townhomes that make no sense function-wise or aesthetic-wise. Oh… my bad – this has restrictions in place … maybe we need MORE restrictions elsewhere – otherwise, Dallas is going to be one massive eye-sore!!

  6. Lexi Maxwell on January 17, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    Say goodbye to some of those wonderful oaks. Construction traffic damages root systems beyond recovery at times. Bigger isn’t always better…. as in buildings!

  7. Jay N. Melrose on January 17, 2017 at 2:47 pm

    This is absolutely disgusting. When people who have great amounts of money have no appreciation for the past, they should refrain from purchasing historic properties! This action is disgraceful as it denies future generations the opportunity to see a piece of wonderful architecture. Mr. Andy Beal should hang his head in shame.

  8. Bruce Horton on January 17, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    i can just imagine what kind of ugly structure he will replace it with

  9. LonestarBabs on January 17, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    It just hurts my heart to live here…

  10. G DiMarco on January 17, 2017 at 4:44 pm

    Wow! That’s a 6 Acre Estate. Mr. Beal could build all he wants and not even touch that house. Hopefully those 100 year old oaks have some protection. Had hoped he would go back to his roots and renovate. Wonder what next door neighbors, the Jonses (as in Jerry & Gene) are thinking. As far as the Crespi Estate over on Walnut Hill… He never even occupied it and is selling it for a fraction of what he paid. Can’t wrap my head around any of this.

    • Jon Anderson on January 17, 2017 at 5:18 pm

      I sincerely doubt Beal is losing money on the Crespi-Hicks-Walnut-Place estate. If anything, his selling price telegraphs how little he ultimately paid. That deal reeks of someone doing a friend a favor.

      • Toodles VonDoodles on January 18, 2017 at 7:52 am

        Couldn’t agree with you more, Jon. There is no way that he made his fortune by losing $50m in a year on a real estate deal. I am guessing with you, that he paid under $50m for Hicks place.

        I also don’t have an issue with him tearing down the Crow estate . He wants the land and wants to put up an improvement that is from 2017 not the early 1900’s. Good for him!

  11. Bob Stoller on January 17, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    Please direct all of your arrows at the Town of Highland Park, not the City of Dallas. Whatever limited protections Dallas may have for its history, your favorite walled and gated suburban enclave has none. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

    I googled “Highland Park Historical Society” and located that vibrant protection organization–in Illinois. Apparently all that Highland Parkers of Texas have to protect them is something called the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society, which has to protect both Highland Park and University Park. As you can imagine, such an overwhelming mandate has resulted in disasters such as the impending loss of the Crow Estate.

  12. Chris Foster on January 17, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    Big money is the culture of Dallas! It’s sad to some and exhilarating to others!

  13. Ayveel Robinson on January 18, 2017 at 10:11 am

    I just love how people want to tell a person what to do with their own money and property. Why protect something that isn’t accessible to the public? It makes no sense to keep a century old home that can barely be seen from the street. Mr. Beal owns to property and should replace with whatever he please. Everybody wants to be stuck in the days of our past. Move on.

  14. jb on January 18, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    A shame, but the property was also marketed as a building site if you watch the video. The only person to “blame” whenever a historic property is sold and then demolished is the seller. They have the power to either landmark the property or include a deed restriction that prohibits demolition. This, of course, limits potential buyers and likely the sales price, which is why this rarely happens.

  15. Bobby Vassallo on January 18, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    I remember the last time I was in that house and Trammell showed me around, sharing each piece of art as we walked. What a wonderful man and what a great place. Hate to see it go the way of most other landmarks in my city.

  16. Tex on February 24, 2017 at 10:29 am

    I toured the Crow mansion several years ago. I can hardly believe it is gone. It sounds like the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society has no real authority to prevent such actions.

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