Tax Credit Program Highlight: One Main Place

Dallas, Dallas County

1968

Designation	Individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Historic Use	Offices
Current Use	Hotel and offices
Total Rehabilitation Cost	$88,180,477
Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses	$69,253,435
Date Certified	July 26, 2016
	One phase certified for state credits. Also seeking Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits.

History

The One Main Place tower, constructed in 1968, was designed to be the first building in one of the largest planning and development projects in Dallas’ history. Beginning in the early 1950s, the Texas Corporation had acquired land in the Dallas Central Business District with the intent of creating a massive mixed use superblock called Main Place. The project was intended to be carried out in three phases and act as a catalyst for development in central Dallas. However, the 33-story building at One Main Place was the only part of the project to be constructed, as funding eventually fell through and the superblock was never realized. One Main Place was designed by the prominent architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—which also designed Chicago’s Willis Tower—and was known as the most advanced building in Dallas at the time, with its fully electric operations.

Rehabilitation Project

This project focused on renovations to the interior of the building. It now has a mixed use: a Westin hotel on the upper floors, several stories of office space, and restaurant and convention space on the public levels. Over time, many of the significant interior design features, such as the monumental exposed-aggregate concrete columns, had been covered with drywall and paneling. This rehabilitation stripped away these later additions and introduced modern features that play off the original mid-century design. One of the largest challenges was providing office, restroom, and ballroom space in the primary double-height public floor without changing the character of the space; these features were introduced through freestanding enclosures and glass partition walls. The second phase of the project will include more office floor finish-out and construction of a ballroom pavilion.