Preston Place Inks Deal With Hanover For Possible Third High-Rise in PD-15

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Closing in on four years since fire destroyed the Preston Place condos in March of 2017, news reaches us that a deal has been struck between the owners of Preston Place and developer Hanover Company. In case you forgot, Preston Place is within Planned Development District 15 (PD-15), where controversy lives out its days.

Hanover: One-Stop Shop

But Hanover is not a typical developer, they have in-house design, construction and management for their properties. The company currently has no owned properties in Dallas but designed and built what are currently the Cirque in Victory Park, Ashton Dallas, and 1900 McKinney.  

The project is being led by David Ott, a partner in the firm’s development division, leading Hanover’s efforts in Texas. Prior to Hanover, Ott was an architect in Gensler’s Houston practice, and more impressive to a former Chicagoan, he was at Helmut Jahn’s offices in Chicago. I have hope that Ott’s architectural background is pressed into service delivering a remarkable building on Northwest Highway.

In a conversation with Ott and CandysDirt.com, Hanover’s goal is to stay within existing zoning – they don’t want to go through the pain of re-zoning the property. Not only is it a smart move from a neighborhood perspective, I doubt the city has much appetite after the last blood-letting.

Hanover High-Rise in Atlanta (with oversize podium)

Beginnings of a Plan

The plan is for a luxury (of course) apartment building with 214 units targeting downsizers with large two-to-three bedroom units – sounding a bit McKenzie-like in demographic (or pre-Ventana). I have a call in to Ott to understand the building envelope but it’s early days. 

Pinching out the math, it could be either a concrete high-rise or a timber five-story mid-rise.  There are a lot of variables. How large are the apartments? How large is the buildable lot (there’s a huge Northwest Highway setback that’s part of their parcel)? Will any parking be underground?

Hanover builds both high-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings – so no clue there. Looking at their portfolio, I hope for a high-rise. The mid-rises are blah (as I think pretty much all mid-rises are). Like most developers, their designs prefer cheaper aboveground parking.

Reviewing the PD-15 Ordinance

The base zoning is 90 units per acre and Preston Place has 1.8613 acres (167.5 units).  Adding in five percent green space nets an additional five units per acre (177 units). Adding in 10 percent affordable housing nets 10 additional units per acre (181 units) while adding 15 percent affordable nets 30 additional units per acre (217.5 units). Assuming green space and 15 percent affordable housing nets 125 units per acre (227 units).

At 214 units it points to a project with 15 percent affordable housing and no green space bonus (120 units per acre). Since I think green space is easier with taller buildings, if this is true, it seems to be a mid-rise outcome. This is further bolstered by parking.

PD-15 allows either above or belowground parking. All the ordinance says is that any aboveground parking has to be either screened or wrapped (in housing units).

We all remember the war on height, right?  It’s 240 feet on the “front” facing Northwest Highway in line with the Athena and Preston Tower and 96 feet on the northern “back” side.

The rumor mill is reporting 22-stories, which would give the best result in my book. But like I said, we don’t know yet.

Remember the 100 Feet

While the updated PD-15 ordinance doesn’t specify the 100-foot setback from Northwest Highway, that doesn’t mean it’s not real. For whatever municipal responsibility-shuffling reason, the updated PD-15 only refers to a 70-foot setback. Hanover needs to realize that if they try to build within the 100-foot setback that was set forth in a contract between the four Northwest Highway-facing properties, they will be in court.

Hanover Mid-Rise in Los Angeles

Spitballing a Building

Preston Place has one underground level that parked their 60 units. At the same parking ratio, this project will need 3.5 levels of parking (unless they don’t do assigned parking – a hint that it will never turn condo). With one or possibly two levels below ground (frees ground floor space for lobby), that leaves at minimum two levels above ground (that would have to be screened). Again, depending on the size of the units and the buildable envelope, you could just squeeze in 214 units on five stories of timber construction on top of the concrete garage. This would mean no height differential between the Northwest Highway-facing portion of the lot (zoned for 240 feet and the back zoned at 96 feet height). The result would be a big, dense, shorter box.

However, if the units are larger and the buildable footprint smaller (or the developer gutsy enough), then it’s more likely to be a high-rise along Northwest Highway and a mid- or low-rise along the back. Given their portfolio of high-rises, they do love a parking podium, so I’d expect to see the same large concrete garage but with a huge amenity deck in the back of a tower of some variety. In this scenario, I could see walk-up townhouse-y units wrapping the garage instead of a dubiously trendy metal screen.

And as I’ve said before, I suspect it’s one or the other versus some 10-12 story middle ground. Given the construction cost differential between timber and concrete, once you pull out the concrete, you go high – especially here where height sucks in the downtown views tenants will pay more for.

Let’s hope the rumors are right.

Construction due to start at the end of 2022, giving Preston Tower and Athena residents plenty of time for their guaranteed wheel-spinning hissy fit.

Tulane or Not Tulane?

Just before the city council vote on updating PD-15, former Preston Hollow South Neighborhood Association (PHSNA) representative Claire Stanard met with the city and TXDoT. The goal was to get agreement to open Tulane Blvd. onto Northwest Highway in order to flush traffic from new buildings directly out to Northwest Highway. It was a plan I wrote about frequently believing it to be the best option to mitigate traffic.

That was before the PHSNA coup that installed anti-development representatives across its leadership, tossing Stanard to the curb.  Who’s going to finish the job now that Preston Place is in play?  I don’t see anyone on the PHSNA board with the experience to pull it off. Will they cajole Stanard back?

It’s worth remembering the Tulane solution was left out of TXDoT’s December 2020 Northwest Highway Feasibility Study. Did they forget?

Fingers Crossed

I hope after four years that Preston Place is finally rebuilt. The site has been a rundown eyesore with reports of homeless squatting. But what this portends for any redevelopment of the low-rise Royal Orleans, Diplomat, and (who knows) Diamond Head condos in PD-15 is anyone’s guess.

When we have more to report, we’ll report it. But with a start date two years out, I suspect renderings won’t be available next week. 

Jon Anderson is CandysDirt.com's condo/HOA and developer columnist, but also covers second home trends on SecondShelters.com. An award-winning columnist, Jon has earned silver and bronze awards for his columns from the National Association of Real Estate Editors in both 2016, 2017 and 2018. When he isn't in Hawaii, Jon enjoys life in the sky in Dallas.

3 Comments

  1. Preston Place Fire survivor on January 7, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    I am a Preston Place fire survivor who lost everything almost 4 years ago. We have had to fight so many unforeseen obstacles – our neighbors, zoning, Laura Miller, Covid, you name it. We are exhausted and ready to put this nightmare to bed. We are simply trying to recover the value of our homes, not making a profit from this terrible tragedy. We have spent a fortune in legal bills, tearing down building, debris removal, etc. Imagine yourself having to wait 4 years to get proceeds from your home to try to buy somewhere else to live. Please support us going forward and just be grateful this didn’t happen to you.

  2. s lambert on April 13, 2021 at 6:09 pm

    anderson is obviously unconcerned about neighborhood residents. more buildings ? bring them. sad for this neighborhood to be sacrificed for more hi-rises better suited to uptown or further north. certain areas of near-east dallas are blight but really not far from knox. why this area ? the backs of preston tower and athena are truly obscene. garbage dumps, mechanicals of boilers etc, loading docks, all fronting diamond head condos and other previously pleasant places to lives. anderson ignores these horrid eyesores -both sight and smell, as city ignored over years. now. more of same.

  3. Nancy on February 14, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    Do you have a rendition of what the new building will look like?? Or where I could get one??

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