Harwood Center
Encyclopedia
Harwood Center is a skyscraper
at 1999 Bryan Street in Dallas
, Texas
. The building rises 483 feet (147 m). It contains 36 floors, and was completed in 1982. Harwood Center currently stands as the 21st-tallest building in the city. The architectural firm who designed the building was WZMH Architects
, the firm who designed the CN Tower
in Toronto
.
Notably, the building was built over Federal Street which runs through a tunnel on the lower floors. The tower was built adjacent to the historic Dallas Cotton Exchange Building
, which was demolished in 1994.
) and the 50-story Trammell Crow Center
on Ross Avenue (formerly LTV Center), following the savings and loan crisis
of the late '80s and early '90s. Longtime real estate brokers said it was the first time that so many prominent downtown office towers had been posted for foreclosure. According to the foreclosure posting documents, the developers had defaulted on an $86.6 million loan held by Swiss Bank Corp. It was appraised on the Dallas County tax rolls at $66.4 million.
began light rail service along its downtown Dallas transit mall, simultaneously closing Bryan Street (from Pacific Ave. to N. Pearl St.) to automobile traffic. The transit system's St. Paul Station is directly outside the Harwood Center entrance and is the closest station serving the emerging Dallas Arts District.
On July 8, 2010 the Obama administration announced it had awarded $4.9 million to the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority
in order to extend its popular Uptown
streetcar line south into downtown Dallas. The new alignment will connect the current track on St. Paul St. to new track on Olive St. via Federal St., which runs underneath Harwood Center. As such, the entire DART rail system will be connected to the MATA streetcar via the short transfer at Harwood Center. The extension is expected to be complete in late 2012 or early 2013.
On May 20, 2011, Fortis Property Group of New York announced it had restructured the debt on the tower, allowing it to spend $6 million for capital improvements and about $10 million in leasing and tenant space improvement. Work is set to be finished by the end of 2011.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
at 1999 Bryan Street in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The building rises 483 feet (147 m). It contains 36 floors, and was completed in 1982. Harwood Center currently stands as the 21st-tallest building in the city. The architectural firm who designed the building was WZMH Architects
WZMH Architects
WZMH Architects is an architecture company based in Toronto, Canada. The firm was founded in 1961, and is known for the design of landmark structures, skyscrapers, major mixed use, commercial, institutional, residential and hospitality projects, as well as renovation and retrofit projects...
, the firm who designed the CN Tower
CN Tower
The CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
History
Originally named the Olympia & York Tower after its Toronto-based developer Olympia & York Developments Ltd., the 780000 square feet (72,464.4 m²) skyscraper is fronted with gray-white granite and single-pane black windows. Two of the corners are serrated to provide more corner offices. The building design features what looks like two separate connected towers. One is 34 stories and the other 36, with a vertical indention separating them, and a parking garage is built into the lower levels.Notably, the building was built over Federal Street which runs through a tunnel on the lower floors. The tower was built adjacent to the historic Dallas Cotton Exchange Building
Dallas Cotton Exchange Building
The Dallas Cotton Exchange Building was a 17-story tan brick and concrete building on the corner of North St. Paul and San Jacinto Streets in downtown Dallas, Texas. It was built in 1926 and was for decades Dallas' second-tallest, as the city was growing into the largest inland cotton market in the...
, which was demolished in 1994.
Foreclosure
In 1993 the Olympia & York Tower joined two other prominent downtown skyscrapers in foreclosure, the 50-story First City Center on Elm Street (now 1700 Pacific1700 Pacific
1700 Pacific is a skyscraper located at 1700 Pacific Avenue in the City Center District of Dallas, Texas. The building rises 655 feet and contains 50 floors of office space. It is the seventh tallest building in the city, at 655 feet and has fifty floors...
) and the 50-story Trammell Crow Center
Trammell Crow Center
Trammell Crow Center is a 50-story postmodern skyscraper at 2001 Ross Avenue in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas. With a structural height of , and to the roof, it is the sixth-tallest building in Dallas and the 18th-tallest in the state The tower was designed by the architecture...
on Ross Avenue (formerly LTV Center), following the savings and loan crisis
Savings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
of the late '80s and early '90s. Longtime real estate brokers said it was the first time that so many prominent downtown office towers had been posted for foreclosure. According to the foreclosure posting documents, the developers had defaulted on an $86.6 million loan held by Swiss Bank Corp. It was appraised on the Dallas County tax rolls at $66.4 million.
Improvements
On June 14, 1996, Dallas Area Rapid TransitDallas Area Rapid Transit
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority is a transit agency based in Dallas, Texas . It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs...
began light rail service along its downtown Dallas transit mall, simultaneously closing Bryan Street (from Pacific Ave. to N. Pearl St.) to automobile traffic. The transit system's St. Paul Station is directly outside the Harwood Center entrance and is the closest station serving the emerging Dallas Arts District.
On July 8, 2010 the Obama administration announced it had awarded $4.9 million to the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority
McKinney Avenue Transit Authority
The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority , a non-profit organization, operates the M-line Streetcar line in Dallas, Texas . The offices and car barn are located at 3153 Oak Grove, Dallas, TX 75204. It is an example of a heritage streetcar running historic cars...
in order to extend its popular Uptown
Uptown Dallas
Uptown is a PID and neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. Uptown is adjacent-to and north-of downtown Dallas, and is bordered by US 75 on the east, N Haskell Avenue on the northeast, Katy Trail on the northwest, Bookhout Street and Cedar Springs Road on the west, N Akard Street on the southwest and Spur...
streetcar line south into downtown Dallas. The new alignment will connect the current track on St. Paul St. to new track on Olive St. via Federal St., which runs underneath Harwood Center. As such, the entire DART rail system will be connected to the MATA streetcar via the short transfer at Harwood Center. The extension is expected to be complete in late 2012 or early 2013.
On May 20, 2011, Fortis Property Group of New York announced it had restructured the debt on the tower, allowing it to spend $6 million for capital improvements and about $10 million in leasing and tenant space improvement. Work is set to be finished by the end of 2011.