The original Maple Terrace Apartments, designed by famed English architect Sir Alfred Bossom in 1925 as Dallas’s first luxury high-rise residential tower and a cultural landmark in the city, served as the centerpiece of a new remixed-use destination in Uptown Dallas. At one time the tallest residential building in Dallas, Maple Terrace was in its time a premier address, accommodating visitors like Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Over time, the existing building has fallen into disrepair whilst Uptown Dallas continues to rise as a vibrant pedestrian-friendly district around it.

The adaptive reuse of the iconic 7-story apartment tower transforms it into a 9-story boutique office building. The design carefully restores and preserves the historic building and inserts a new glass volume to complete the original U-shaped building into a rectangular footprint. The new volume creates 4 levels of office spaces with 17-feet high ceilings and 2 additional levels that rise above the existing roofline to create an open-air rooftop lounge and terrace, offering expansive views of the Dallas skyline. Added to the site are 2 levels of underground parking, and 2 new street-facing restaurant structures that reframe public-facing open space and activate its public use. On the opposite side of the site and connected with a beautiful deck park, a new residential tower provides 345 apartment units with amenities typically found in luxury properties. The new residential tower will blend with the character of the landmark Maple Terrace apartments.

The project is pursuing both LEED Silver and WELL Certifications. By reusing the existing structures and exterior envelope of the Maple Terrace Apartments, the embodied carbon footprint of the overall project is significantly lower than comparable new-build projects. The redevelopment provided extensive park and garden space for the surrounding urban community to elevate the pedestrian experience of Uptown Dallas. Occupants and visitors have access to a wide network (including light rail, bus, and trolley) of public transit within walking distance, and the site is being developed sustainably with substantial below-grade structured parking, low impact development strategies, and native/adapted vegetation with high efficiency irrigation. A significant improvement of the existing building envelope’s energy efficiency were made, and a new high-performance curtainwall system enclosed well-shaded indoor spaces from where occupants can enjoy views to the deck park’s unique garden spaces. The mechanical systems and lighting were designed for energy efficiency and occupant comfort, and water fixtures were specified to be low-flow. In addition to adopting sustainable design practices, occupant well-being was made a priority throughout the design process.

The project restores the prominent significance of Maple Terrace and injects new urban vibrancy within one of the densest and beloved districts in Dallas.