Dallas approves tax incentives on $445M tower redevelopment

The Dallas City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve millions in tax abatements for the $445 million redevelopment of Cityplace Tower.

Since 2024, Dallas developer NexPoint has been angling for an incentive to help facilitate the iconic 42-story tower’s redevelopment.

The agreed to by the city will forgo its claim to 90% of the property’s added taxable value for a period of 10 years, totaling abatements just shy of $14 million.

In return, it estimates the addition of $341 million in private investment to the property — a 25:1 ratio.

Development plans presented to the city this month call for nearly 1,000 residential units by 2030, including the redevelopment of the tower itself as well as the new ground-up construction of eight apartment buildings on 5.3 acres of unimproved land around the tower.

A detailed timeline filed with the city shows a December 2028 deadline for the first phase of the project, the ground-up construction of an apartment complex called The Apron featuring a minimum of 465 residential units that will break ground near the end of this year.

The second phase, which calls for the redevelopment of the existing tower, requires the completion of 240 mixed-income multifamily units, a gym and a swimming pool by the same deadline. Another 115 units are due the following year, with the conversion of the final 150 units by 2030.

Plans also call for a combined 50,000 square feet of event space at the property, including the tower’s top floor.

A 221-room luxury hotel is also planned with a restaurant and pool deck, alongside 33,000 square feet earmarked for the fitness center as well as retail space.

The Apron will also include another 22,000 square feet of retail space.

Eight stories of underground parking will also be available across six planned garages on the property.

Since 2018, when NexPoint purchased the property, the developer’s plans for it have shifted.

“The original luxury hotel concept catering to business travelers is no longer suitable,” NexPoint spokesperson Lucy Bannon previously said. “We are revising hotel plans to align with the project’s intended uses, market demands and surrounding area development.”

She said the current iteration of the plan for Cityplace has the potential to have “an outsized impact on the surrounding area and address critical demand for housing amid Dallas’s rapid growth.”

Documents filed with the city show at least 20% of the units at the property will be set aside for households earning at or below 80% of the area median income.

For 2025, that means $93,850 for a family of four — though those numbers typically change on a yearly basis.