The Dallas Economic Development Corporation is bailing on the National for a spot at 400 South Record Street in the City Electric Supply headquarters high-rise.
The move will happen on Oct. 1 at the latest, Dallas EDC communications director Paul von Wupperfield told the Dallas Business Journal. 400 South Record Street was formerly called the Belo Building, and used to house the corporation that owned media companies, including the Dallas Morning News.
The family that owns City Electric supply bought the building in 2014, and after renovations, moved into five floors of the 17-story, 235,000-square-foot building. The Dallas EDC’s lease terms were not disclosed, according to the outlet.
The Dallas EDC was formed in 2022 by the city to lure businesses to town and keep them. They were helmed at the skyscraper at 1401 Elm Street. The EDC’s departure is the latest bit of bad news for the National, whose developers lost it in a foreclosure sale earlier this year.
In February, Miami Beach-based Starwood Property Trust snatched back the keys to the National from local developer Todd Interests. The 50-story tower used to be called the First National Bank Tower, and was vacant since 2010 before Todd Interests poured $460 million into it in the biggest urban restoration project in Dallas history, with $100 million in historic tax credits and $50 million in city tax increment financing assisting the buildout.
The tower was transformed into a 1.5 million-square-foot mix of apartments, hotel rooms, offices, retail space and restaurants.
In January, as the property was rocketing towards foreclosure, Todd Interests owner Shawn Todd told the Dallas Morning News that his firm owed around $230 million on the property, and would not be challenging the action.
Dallas EDC CEO Linda McMahon told the Dallas Business Journal that its new digs put them right in the heart of the city, where the work of enticing and retaining businesses happens. The National is around half a mile away from 400 South Record Street.
— Hunter Cooke
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