Developers who last year bought the site of a landmark Dallas hotel are planning to start a new apartment community on the block.
Austin-based apartment builder OHT Partners last summer purchased the site south of downtown that for more than a century was the location of the Ambassador Hotel. The vacant hotel building burned in a 2019 fire.
OHT Partners acquired the building site on South Ervay Street, which is next to Dallas’ Old City Park. OHT builds rental communities in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.
The same builder just filed plans for a new apartment community in Dallas’ Design District.
On the Ambassador Hotel site, the developer is planning a 299-unit apartment project in three connected buildings ranging from five to seven floors. The $113 million project would start in September and open in 2025, according to planning documents filed with the state.
Dallas architect Corgan is designing the development, which will total more than 320,000 square feet.
OHT Partners purchased the Cedars neighborhood property from Jim Lake Cos., which bought the building in 2015 with plans to turn it into apartments. The developer was working out details of the project when the late-night fire hit. J. Scott Lake and Jake Milner of Davidson & Bogel Real Estate LLC brokered the land sale.
Originally opened in 1904 as the Majestic Hotel, the Ambassador hosted dignitaries including Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson.
The hotel was one of the most prominent buildings in Dallas’ Cedars neighborhood. The district south of downtown is seeing a resurgence with several new townhome and apartment projects on the way.