The Crescent® Announces $30 Million Renovation to Transform Acclaimed Development into an Open, Inviting Gathering Space in Uptown Dallas
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) November 07, 2014 -- Intended to touch every exterior edge of the mixed-use development, Crescent Property Services LLC today announced plans to spend more than $30 million to upgrade The Crescent® with an emphasis on opening the iconic office towers and adjacent hotel, retail and entertainment amenities as a gathering space for the vibrant Uptown neighborhood. The first major renovation since its 1986 completion, the $30 million investment follows nearly $15 million spent during the past three years enhancing Dallas’ premier office address, increasing energy reliability and efficiency, and improving customer mobility throughout the project.
Designed by John Burgee and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Philip Johnson, The Crescent opened as a self-contained, mixed-use project with full-service amenities for workers and guests. As Uptown Dallas evolved as an energetic, urban hotspot in recent years – with condos and apartments, retail and top restaurants, a flourishing Dallas Arts District and the popular Klyde Warren Park nearby – auto and pedestrian traffic in Uptown has risen dramatically. Recognizing that positive progression, The Crescent will focus on creating greater street presence to attract Uptown’s ever-growing crowds to its dining and retail outlets.
“The Crescent is Dallas’ most prestigious address in the region’s most vibrant market – Uptown,” said John Zogg, managing director for Crescent Real Estate Equities, LLC. “We have three of the best designed office towers with adjacent upscale shopping and premier hotels and restaurants on 11 acres in the heart of Uptown. We are opening our arms to the neighborhood – embracing our great neighbors and welcoming them to work, shop and dine with us.”
Historically, the nearly 11-acre self-contained complex appeared isolated from the neighborhood. Thick stone walls and iron grillwork gates projected an exclusive and internally focused business. The upgrades will signal an open and inclusive office space and fashionable retail atrium that will encourage residents and visitors to drop by for a bite to eat, to grab a coffee, meet with friends or do some shopping. Changes will include outdoor courtyards with open gardens and terraces serving as gathering spaces and facilitating community access.
Renovation plans to the 28-year-old complex call for a new storefront for retail outlet, Stanley Korshak, plus larger, more enticing window displays with revolving, eye-catching merchandise showcased against white-box backdrops. Palomino restaurant will get a street entrance and more outdoor seating. The revamp and “greening” of the motor court – located between the office buildings, the Rosewood Crescent Hotel and entertainment spaces – will involve the removal of curbs and the “Stonehenge-like structure” that dominates the center. Pavers and stained concrete will be installed; high rise live oak and river birch trees will be planted to create a piazza-like, tree-lined drive and pedestrian walkway; and new signage will be installed throughout the entire project.
Knowing that Dallasites are eager for parks and green space, The Crescent has recruited The Office of James Burnett, who crafted the award-winning Klyde Warren Park, to create the landscape design, which includes turning unused areas of the complex into intimate spots for relaxation and fun. At the corner of Pearl Street, an old bank drive-through will be removed, and visitors will find new landscaping, benches, moveable furniture, an event deck and even an activity lawn with game equipment to play bocce ball. The Office of James Burnett also handled the landscape design for two neighboring Crescent properties spread over 20 acres in the heart of Uptown – The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and McKinney & Olive (which opens in 2016).
“We are very excited to be a part of the transformation of The Crescent, it will be another notable, active, greenspace for Uptown Dallas,” said Burnett.
Other improvements include elegant, ground-level lighting of the iconic buildings. The lobbies in the office towers are also getting a makeover with new furniture and rugs, art and a wall of TVs. The lobbies will become user-friendly hubs where workers can hold a quick meeting or catch up on work.
Also coming to The Crescent are exciting new retail options, one of which was announced earlier this week.
Ascension®, the extremely popular coffee house and wine bar that originated in the Dallas Design District, will open its second location this spring. Described by Zagat as one of the “hottest coffee shops in 15 U.S. cities,” Ascension will occupy approximately 2,900 square feet adjacent to the Bank of America offices at the 200 Lobby fronting the motor court, making it 50 percent larger than the original location. Ascension founder Russell Hayward promises a similar menu (including full-service breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner), the same coffees and possibly a larger wine list along with expanded operating hours.
The Crescent renovation is slated to begin before the end of the year with completion projected for mid-2016.
“Every edge of The Crescent is going to be affected by this renovation,” said Zogg. “And very soon we’ll be announcing more exciting new retail options.”
Area residents will see the iconic architecture enhanced with a combination of New York-style retail windows and European plazas and terraces that feature improved lighting and access, according to Andre Staffelbach and Jo Staffelbach Heinz, founder and president, respectively, of STAFFELBACH design firm. The STAFFELBACH firm worked on The Crescent when it was built in the early 1980s and has been involved ever since in the evolution of the office space and retail atrium. Staffelbach adds that the firm will ensure renovations maintain the integrity of Philip Johnson’s design.
“Every great city has one or two buildings that people know. In Dallas, people know The Crescent,” said Staffelbach.
Staffelbach added that the exclusive Philip Johnson design with its European influence of courtyards and plazas has served The Crescent well for decades. However, with the evolution of Uptown Dallas as a vibrant, popular neighborhood, The Crescent will open its plazas, retail outlets and office space to the community.
“The synergy of activity has created a bustling urban scene of young people who live in Uptown resulting in pedestrian traffic visiting entertainment venues,” Heinz said. According to Heinz, Uptown Dallas activity has been sparked by increased events at the American Airlines Center, nightly events in the Dallas Arts District, and the popularity of Klyde Warren Park, all within blocks and walking distance of The Crescent.
The Crescent – which totals approximately 1.3 million rentable square feet in three contiguous buildings with a 19-story center structure, two adjoining 18-story structures and a retail atrium – ushered in the development of Uptown, according to Peter Beck, executive director of The Beck Group. The Dallas-based construction firm not only built The Crescent but will handle the extensive renovations.
“When Caroline Hunt selected this site for The Crescent, I believe she had a vision others did not see at the time – a unique location that would develop Uptown before there was an Uptown,” Beck said. “She committed to other features – distinctive architecture and the finest building materials and elegant design touches.”
He adds that it is “exciting that Crescent Real Estate recognized and committed to sustaining the building’s advantages – location, architecture and superior building materials and interior design.”
The Crescent’s location provides convenient access to downtown Dallas; Klyde Warren Park; Crescent’s McKinney & Olive 530,000 rental square-foot mixed-use project; the Dallas Arts District; Dallas North Tollway and Central Expressway. The office campus design features a fashionable retail atrium that includes some of the area’s finest shopping. Stanley Korshak anchors the upscale retail atrium. In addition to designer apparel for men and women, Stanley Korshak features fine jewelry and a bridal salon. The Crescent and retail atrium feature eight restaurants, two salons, a Starbucks and Uptown’s only dual-feed power project.
“The exceptional architecture of The Crescent provides a premier office environment that has attracted a prestigious list of customers, including a large concentration of attorneys and financial firms,” Staffelbach said.
The Crescent’s concentration of financial firms totals more than 80 with some 650,000 square feet of leased space.
“The Crescent is recognized as one of the world’s financial centers, offering state-of-the-art systems and superior customer service,” said Zogg.
The Crescent is the only Uptown office building with a dual-feed power supply and innovative destination-dispatch elevators. In 2010, more than $2 million was invested to provide a true two-feed power source to protect customers in case of a main line power outage. The secondary power source protects customers who could be materially affected even during brief power outages. In 2013, The Crescent® invested $7.4 million to become the first office complex in Dallas to install Schindler’s PORT (Personal Occupant Requirement Terminal) elevator technology that is designed to move customers faster and more efficiently. Port elevator technology is more energy efficient, reducing energy consumption for elevators nearly 35 percent. The Crescent® has been a U.S. EPA Energy Star Top Performer since 2008 and in 2010 earned LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) under the existing buildings category. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building employs strategies to improve energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, and indoor environmental quality through building design, operations and maintenance.
ABOUT CRESCENT
Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a fully-integrated real estate company owned by Goff Capital and Barclays Capital. Through its subsidiaries, Crescent manages and develops premier, Class A office buildings. Crescent also holds investments in resort residential developments in locations such as Scottsdale, Vail Valley, and Lake Tahoe; a luxury hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas; and the wellness lifestyle leader, Canyon Ranch®. For more information, visit crescent.com.
To obtain photos and renderings, go to http://tinyurl.com/CrescentVision
Becky Mayard, Crescent Real Estate Equities, LLC, http://www.crescent.com, +1 214-697-7745, [email protected]
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