Charter Holdings Acquires Historic Dallas Office

Founders Square. Image courtesy of Newmark

Charter Holdings has furthered its presence into Dallas with the acquisition of one of the most well-known buildings in the city’s downtown. The company purchased Founders Square from Taiwanese investment firm Fidelity Commercial. Vice Chairmen Gary Carr, Chris Murphy and Robert Hill from Newmark’s Dallas office, along with Director Chase Tagen from the firm’s Austin office, worked on behalf of the seller.

Built in 1914 at 900 Jackson St. as a warehouse and later converted into office space, Founders Square remains one of the longest-operating office buildings in Dallas. The 274,010-square-foot property offers approximately 35,500-square-foot floorplates, with amenities including a deli, car wash, ATM machine, copy center, on-site USPS post office and an adjacent parking garage with 375 spaces.

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According to Newmark, Founders Square was 73 percent occupied at the time of the sale, with law firms leasing most of the space. Tenants have easy access to downtown’s restaurant, retail and public transportation options, which include Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Light Rail Train. Charter Holdings is planning to renovate the lobby and add a ground-floor restaurant to the seven-story building, according to Newmark.

Investing in downtown Dallas

Carr said in prepared remarks that the sale of Founders Square is evidence that there is still investor demand for well-located office properties in Dallas’ central business district.

According to Newmark’s Dallas office market report for the fourth quarter of 2022, a flight to quality assets and high vacancies in older office buildings caused an increase in vacancy rates by 60 basis points year-over-year to 23.8 percent. However, yearly total leasing activity in 2022 increased by four percent, showing a continued need for office space from tenants. Newmark’s long-term outlook for the Dallas office market is still positive and competitive, since the market has strong economic fundamentals.

For Charter Holdings, the Dallas-based company is continuing to invest in the city, working on the ongoing redevelopment of the former Dallas Morning News campus. The company is known for its renovations to Highland Park Village, a shopping center in Dallas that was constructed in 1931, but has retail, office, and industrial properties throughout Texas, Colorado and Louisiana.