New Preston Hollow Hotel, Apartment Tower Could Be Going Up, Pending Zoning Approval

Developers looking to build a $650 million mixed-use project on seven acres in a popular Preston Hollow commercial zone want to spruce up the area with some hospitality, housing, and greenery.

Burk Interests and Greenway Investment Company, both Dallas-based firms, plan on putting up a transformative development that includes a 28-story hotel, a 24-story condo tower, office buildings, and dining spots near the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane.

“This is a once in a generation opportunity to define a very special future for this site in the heart of Preston Hollow,” said Burk Interests president Leland Burk.

One of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Dallas, Preston Hollow has been known for its mature trees and windy streets, with high-dollar listings and upscale amenities. Unfortunately, an EF-3 tornado hit the North Dallas neighborhood in 2019, destroying a number of homes and commercial buildings. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the tornado also did a number on the greenery, ripping up numerous trees in commercial and residential areas.

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H-E-B donated 50 trees to the neighborhood after the storm, with its own Central Market location near the southeast corner of the intersection sustaining significant damage.

Burk Interests and Greenway Investment Company hope to add on top of that by planting over 100 mature trees as part of their project. A half-acre of green space will center the site, and the overwhelming majority of parking spaces will be located below ground level.

“Our vision is to create a vibrant, walkable gathering place that prioritizes quality green space over cars,” Burk said.

The new trees will probably be a welcome sight at the intersection, which is dominated by shopping centers and surface-level parking, but the project will need to be approved by city officials first.

Burk Interests and Greenway Investment Company want a zoning change to allow for a maximum height of 325 feet for the hotel. Current zoning for the land only allows for a maximum height of 54 feet, according to The Dallas Morning News.

SB 840 doesn’t appear to be of any help to the developers in this regard, as the state law only prohibits cities from imposing a maximum height of 45 feet or the “highest height that would apply to an office, commercial, retail, or warehouse development constructed on the site” — currently 54 feet.

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They will be holding community engagement meetings in the near future, with an anticipated groundbreaking date in 2028, assuming everything goes according to plan. Pepper Square, for instance, which spurred neighborhood opposition over traffic concerns and the height of its proposed apartment towers, saw its zoning case inch along due to the pushback.

Burk Interests and Greenway Investment Company hired GFF Design to serve as the architect for the development and OJB to plan and execute on the landscaping.