Stoneleigh digging into past with high-rise condo project
New tower to complement styling of historic hotel, which is set for renovation
11:59 PM CST on Wednesday, March 2, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
A historic Dallas hotel is getting a face-lift and a new residential tower.
[Click image for a larger version] FILE 1923
FILE 1923
The Stoneleigh, which began life as Dallas' first residential high-rise, is getting a new residential tower.
The Stoneleigh Hotel, which opened its doors on Maple Avenue in 1923, is still a favorite with Dallas visitors.
Local developer Prescott Realty Group said Wednesday that it's teaming up with the Stoneleigh's New York owners on the redevelopment, including a condominium high-rise on the east side of the old hotel.
Residential units aren't new at the Stoneleigh, which was originally built for full-time residents.
"We feel lucky to be able to work with the first residential high-rise in the city of Dallas," said Jud Pankey, president of Prescott Realty. "The Stoneleigh has always done well due to its loyal following, and it's going to get better."
Prescott Realty plans to begin construction before the end of the year on remodeling the 153-room hotel.
Dallas-based ArchiTexas Inc. is working on the designs.
"We are pricing the construction right now," Mr. Pankey said. "The hotel has never been shut down, and we would love to honor that" by keeping it open during the renovation.
Along with refurbishing the rooms and lobby areas, the redevelopment will expand restaurant and meeting space.
On a parking lot east of the Stoneleigh on Bookhout Street, Prescott Realty and partner Apollo Real Estate Advisors of New York are planning a condominium tower linked to the hotel.
The new building will have less than 100 units and will be of a similar architecture.
"It is not a twin, but we are making sure from a historic perspective that we treat the project sympathetically," Mr. Pankey said. "It will be taller than the Stoneleigh."
Complete plans for the condo tower are not finalized, but the developers said they will have more details, including a projected cost, in the next few weeks.
Gromatzky Dupree & Associates is designing the new building.
The 11-story Stoneleigh Court Apartment Hotel – its original name – was touted as "the largest and most pretentious apartment hotel ever constructed in the Southwest" and cost $1.5 million.
The fully furnished apartments were outfitted by Sanger Brothers department store, and residents were offered modern features such as a "refrigerating plant" to air-condition the building and a "wireless station" to provide radio signals to the units.
On the ground floor, residents had a barbershop, beauty salon, lounging room, smoking room and sun parlor.
It was heralded upon completion, but the Stoneleigh's timing was off.
Just six years after opening, with the coming of the Great Depression, the hotel was sold on the auction block by bankruptcy receivers.
A series of owners – including Dallas' Corrigan family, which had the property for almost 50 years – remodeled and continued to operate the Stoneleigh.
Apollo Real Estate has owned the Dallas landmark for several years.
The Stoneleigh condo building would be the latest in a series of residential high-rises planned north of downtown.
"It's a big project, and it's going to be a big thing for Uptown," Mr. Pankey said.
Housing analyst Mike Puls said the location and its connection with the historic hotel should make the Stoneleigh project attractive to buyers.
"It will have great views, and it is going to be near Victory and everything else that is happening in Uptown," Mr. Puls said.
E-mail
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
