Statler Hilton sold to developer who plans to ready it for restoration
By Rudolph Bush / Reporter
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2:10 PM on Tue., Mar. 1, 2011 | Permalink
The Statler Hilton, once Dallas' finest downtown hotel and the first choice of celebrities and dignitaries visiting the city, has been sold to a developer who plans to gut much of the building while maintaining its historic facade and important elements like its lobby, according to several people familiar with the deal.
Developer Leobardo Trevino, whose company Ricchi Dallas Investments is currently renovating the old LTV Tower at 1600 Pacific, purchased the Statler and the attached Dallas Central Library in a deal that very recently closed.
Trevino plans to prepare both buildings for renovation.
"We believe this is going to be a great icon again. This building is going to do what it did in 1956," Trevino said.
He said that the building does have challenges, but that he sees many more positives.
"I don't see an obstacle that would be an impediment. We have the issue with the parking, but we are considering converting the basement and some of the unused space," he said.
"People complain about 8-foot tall ceilings; we don't see nothing wrong with them. We don't see a big challenge. The biggest challenge is the size of the building," he said.
Trevino's work on the Statler began two weeks ago an asbestos survey. Work in coming weeks and months will focus on repairs to its facade, remediating asbestos, pulling out old wiring and ventilation systems and generally cleaning the place up, according to a presentation prepared for the city.
Long terms plans for the Statler are not yet set, but Trevino intends to prepare the Statler for a number of potential uses, including condominiums or a hotel,a dn to re-open the building in two years or less.
Council member Ron Natinsky, who helped facilitate negotiations between Trevino and the Statler's Hong Kong based ownership, called the deal a major step forward for downtown.
"Getting this deal done is probably the biggest thing to hit downtown in a long time. It may be the biggest thing to ever hit downtown's revitalization," Natinsky said
In the late 1980s, the Statler was purchased by a Hong Kong real estate investor who has shown little interest in doing anything but let the building fall into disrepair. It closed its doors in 2001 and has been home to vagrants and pigeons since, though some of its rooms appear to remain furnished just as they were when closing day came.
The building is architecturally significant and was, at the time of its construction in the mid-1950s, considered a marvel of engineering. Preservationists have long fought any attempt to raze the Statler - something many believed would be necessary if there was any hope to enliven the eastern end of downtown.
However, its concrete structure and ceilings have made it a difficult project for redevelopment. The building has 8 foot ceilings that cannot be raised.
Another problem has been parking - something Trevino proposes resolving by converting the building's basement into an underground garage.
Any movement on the Statler is certain to generate excitement for proponents of downtown. The building has long been an anchor dragging on the eastern end of downtown.
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