The Mosaic Building, a Downtown Dallas Apartment High-Rise, Catches Fire

The Mosaic Building, a high-rise apartment building in Downtown Dallas, caught fire the afternoon of July 13. The apartment building, which has two towers — one at 20 stories and a second at 30 stories — was evacuated after a fire alarm went off.

Residents who were in the building at the time say that a fire was started in the trash chute/lobby. According to building management in messages relayed to tenants, an investigation is ongoing.

One resident, who evacuated the building from the 23rd floor, said that the fire wasn’t the only surprise she discovered about the building today.

As she was evacuating down the stairwells of the 31-story high-rise apartment building, she discovered that there were several homeless encampments on different floors throughout the building. How did they gain access to the building?

“We all assume they are gaining access because there are no security guards at Mosiac,” the resident stated.

Everyday Issues, Every Day

As that resident said, and others echoed, “There’s always something going on at the mosaic,” from malfunctioning elevators to only having one elevator open at a time, to random fire alarms at odd hours.

This time, when the fire alarm sounded, the building said it was another false alarm. Only they emailed back moments later urging evacuation.

That’s when one resident reported that she saw several floors filled with trash and belongings of homeless people who were camping out inside the building’s stairwells. Several photographs of the litter were posted to the building’s private Facebook group.

The Mosaic has a complicated past. Eleven years ago, two people fell to their deaths from windows on the building just 10 days apart.

Jeremy King, 35, fell from an 11th-story window just 10 days before John Michael Byrd, 24, fell from a 27th story window. According to a story from the Dallas Morning News, police didn’t suspect any foul play.

In response to the tragedy, the building’s management said it was, “deeply saddened by the recent deaths at the property.”

“We respectfully urge each of you to be mindful of your own safety and the safety of your guests and to take no action that would place the safety of yourself or others at risk,” the letter said. “Please also reacquaint yourself with the safety provisions in your lease with the Mosaic.”

Regarding today’s incident, there’s been no official word to tenants other than that regarding the location of the fire or about the reported homeless encampments. We’ve reached out to the building management company, Fort Worth-based Olympus Property, for a statement.

Historic Midcentury Modern High-Rise

The Mosaic was originally home to the Fidelity Union Life Insurance Company. The building now consists of two towers, but the original tower was built in 1952 at 20 stories and a second 30-story tower was finished in 1960.

TXU moved out in 1992 after Fidelity Union vacated in 1985. Until the 2004 purchase by Hamilton Properties Corporation, the complex remained vacant. It was in 2006 that The Mosaic was born. The moniker is in honor of the thousands of green tiles that line the buildings’ façade. The complex was restored by Merriman Anderson Architects and includes 440 apartments. The building opened to occupants in 2007 and includes a first-floor restaurant and a fitness center.

The structure won both a Preservation Achievement Award from Preservation Dallas and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.