When Bank of America leaves the landmark skyscraper that bears its name, building owner Metropolis Investment Holdings may turn to adaptive reuse to fill some of the vacant space.
“We have done an analysis to convert to residential or to convert to hotel,” Tom Dempsey, the company’s senior vice president, told The Dallas Morning News.
“We think the hotel is a really viable prospect. We’ve had interest in the hotel for a vacant block of floors between 23 and 32. That has been reserved for a hotel. We would welcome a large tenant to take that space as well.”
Bank of America Plaza, with its green LED lights on the exterior of the building, remains a fixture in the Dallas skyline.
“Bank of America Plaza instantly achieved landmark status as the city’s tallest building and the most recognizable silhouette on the skyline. By day, it is a magnet for activity in the Central Business District (CBD) as home to a wide array of the region’s most prestigious businesses. And by night, outlined in two miles of radiant, signature green LED. With its clean lines and crystalline exterior, Bank of America Plaza is at once classic and contemporary.”
Metropolis has owned Bank of America Plaza since 1998, acquiring it for $300 million, according to the DMN. The largest property in its portfolio, the building is about 70% occupied.
“We have inked 750,000 square feet of transactions just in the last two years, which is more space leased than we have in our entire 6 million-square-foot portfolio in the same time period,” Dempsey told the newspaper.
“We have been debt-free for the 25 years that we’ve owned Bank of America Plaza. We bought it in cash. We fund it in cash. That gives us a position of strength in the market.”
JLL manages and leases the building.
Bank of America Plaza has been home to the corporation since the building opened in the 1980s, according to The Real Deal. The publication also reported that Bank of America left the five-story Gatalyn Commons Building C in Richardson last May and that the company has vacated much of its space on Legacy Drive in Plano.
Bank of America plans to move into Parkside Uptown — a $200 million project at North Harwood Street and Woodall Rodgers Freeway near Klyde Warren Park that offers almost 500,000 square feet of office space and 8,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. According to developer KDC, the building features a sky lobby, shared tenant spaces, and outdoor terraces.
A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing shows the 30-story podium-style tower includes a seven-level underground parking garage and a 10-level above-ground parking garage. High-rise offices are on floors 12 and above. The anticipated completion date is July 2026.