Fenway Wraps $50M Office Revamp
The goal of the renowned property’s redesign is to foster human connection.
The latest renovation of The Gild office complex in Dallas has been completed. Architectural firm Gensler undertook the $50 million project on behalf of the owner, Fenway Capital Advisors, and the manager, Stream Realty Partners.
Located at the southeast corner of I-75 and Northwest Highway, The Gild features two 20-story towers and two two-story concourse buildings known as The Lofts at the Gild. Together, the structures total nearly 900,000 square feet.
One major change involved the reconfiguration of some of the interior spaces. Highly visible for their distinctive golden color, the buildings now offer more than 100,000 square feet of spec suites ranging in size from 2,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet.
Much of the renovation focused on amenities. Gensler upgraded the entrances to both the North and South Tower, which now include lounges, coffee bars, and grab & go options, as well as the newly opened White Rhino coffee shop and Hightower Café.
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The Lofts offer redesigned interiors, featuring social corridors and tenant lounges with both active and quiet zones. These areas include a media room, shuffleboard, table tennis, conference rooms and arcade games.
The goal of the redesign is to encourage a more people-centric work culture with social spaces created to foster human connection, according to Gensler.
The complex was built in the 1970s, with an original design by Neuhaus & Taylor. The buildings were photogenic enough to be portrayed as the offices of J.R. Ewing nemesis Cliff Barnes on the hit TV show Dallas from 1982 to 1988.
The property has undergone a number of renovations since their original construction. The most recent renovation before the current one was in 2021, when its previous name—the Campbell Centre—was changed to its current name.
Landlords still struggle in tough DFW office market
An emphasis on human connection is an important strategy for office owners in the current tough market, to better to attract and retain tenants. Gallup found that “connected employees” are 68 percent less likely to feel burned out at work and 55 percent less likely to be looking for a job. Happier workers mean, on the whole, less tenant turnover for landlords.
The DFW office market is indeed challenging. Net office absorption in the second quarter of 2024 came in at about a negative 315,600 square feet, according to real estate firm Partners, an improvement from a negative 733,900 square feet a year earlier, but still weak. DFW office vacancy in the second quarter of 2024 was 25.6 percent, up from 24.7 percent a year earlier.
Office continues to be a sluggish sector, a legacy of the pandemic, despite the relatively strong job market. The unemployment rate in DFW was unchanged at 3.8 percent in the second quarter, but with some declines in office-using industries, Partners reported, such as information, and professional and business services.
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