DALLAS-Zeroing in on yet-another signature product for Victory Park, Hillwood has unveiled an $80-million “House” crafted by renowned designer Phillipe Starck. The 26-story tower with a glass, white concrete and stainless steel skin will break ground in early 2006.
Jonas Woods, president of Hillwood, tells GlobeSt.com that Ross Perot Jr.’s team for the $3-billion Victory has spent six months courting Starck and his sidekick developer and branding iron, YOO UK Ltd. “He’s very selective about what he does,” Woods stresses. “Only with the right partners will he accept an engagement.”
Starck, making his second design mark on Dallas in nearly 30 years, has pulled together a self-sustaining high-rise environment of mixed-use space. Taking up a 1.5-acre block in the 75-acre Victory, the four-story base will contain 30,000 sf of retail, including room for a specialty grocer, and four parking levels and topped off with a 20-story spire with 150 condos. The signature Starck Park will be a Garden of Eden-style buffer of dense landscaping, patios and pools that separate the parking component from first level of residential units.
Woods says the House will be ready to occupy in early 2008. Construction bidding will soon get under way.
Woods says retail preleasing has reached “advanced negotiations” with several tenants for roughly half the space. Likewise, a list of names has started for dibs on the condos. “I think there will be a lot of people who frequented the Starck Club who decide to buy a place here,” he says about the 703 McKinney Ave. landmark nightspot.
The House’s floors five through 22 will hold 140 condos ranging from 1,000 sf to 2,000 sf. The upper four floors will have 10 penthouses from 2,000 sf to 3,500 sf. Prices for the one-, two- and three-bedroom designs run from $350,000 to $2 million or a median of $575,000 per unit. But, the prices aren’t going to pose problems for other residential developers in Victory, Woods stresses. “We don’t cannibalize ourselves,” he says. “We have a price point for a variety of buyers for the project.” Neighbor Victory Terrace has condos from $250,000 to $500,000, or $275 per sf, while the nearby W Hotel’s south tower has $800,000 median price tags and the north tower is going for $1 million or more.
“This project reaffirms our global commitment to being a part of major cosmopolitan cities and developing the finest properties that combine the best of amenities, location and cachet,” says John Hitchcox, YOO chairman. Starck and YOO are limited partners in the local development partnership with Hillwood and Victory Partners.