A Dallas-Fort Worth family known for its business and philanthropic work plans to transform an Oak Lawn strip mall into a mixed-use project anchored by a high-rise residential tower.
It wasn’t always in the plans, but the stars aligned just right for the Halperin family. They’ve owned the roughly 2-acre site for two decades.
Jim Halperin, a well-known philanthropist and co-founder of Heritage Auctions, began buying properties in the neighborhood after he relocated the firm’s office to Maple Avenue in the early 2000s.
He had no designs to knock down a shopping center and build something new when he bought it. His son, Dave, told The Dallas Morning News that his old man is simply “a collector at heart.” But things changed in the last two years.
The family decided to move forward with 2615 Oak Lawn Ave., their first real estate venture of this magnitude.
The Halperins have hired GFF Design as the architect for the project. The group plans to build 310 apartments in the residential high-rise. The average unit size will be around 1,000 square feet and the group’s current height request is a maximum of 270 feet.
“[Dad] wanted to have a connection to the neighborhood,” Dave Halperin said. “We’ve held onto this land for 20 years. We intend to stay over here for the long term. I mean, this is our baby.”
The development will also feature two to three restaurant spaces, including a two-story feature restaurant with a roof terrace on the development’s west side.
The project is still in its earliest stages. The group presented plans to the Oak Lawn Committee last month, where they received unanimous support. Support from the body isn’t required like approvals from the city’s zoning and council bodies. However, it is a way to drum up support for a planned development.
Halperin and company want the project to be a “gateway,” bringing walkable urban design and quality housing as the renovated Old Parkland brings more workers looking to live in the neighborhood.
The average sidewalk width will be 10 feet along Oak Lawn, curb cuts will be consolidated to one cut and site landscaping will encourage walkability.
The group will move the high-rise several steps back on the north side to prevent it from casting shadows over nearby apartment complexes. They aren’t trying to change everything, though.
Halperin is a big fan of Open Sesame Lebanese Grill. He wants to keep it around, and Halperin hopes they’ll open in the new building.
“We want a project that really benefits everybody in the surrounding neighborhood,” said Evan Beattie, chairman and CEO of GFF. “That is our architectural vision.”
The next step for the project is to submit a zoning change with the city of Dallas, which could take up to a year and a half. Then comes the design and permitting. The project could be two and a half years from breaking ground, the group said.
“I want this to be our family’s legacy project,” Halperin said. “I want this to be a neighborhood amenity.”
