A Dallas property investor and a Pennsylvania-based real estate group are the new owners of a Design District hotel.
Ray Washburne’s Charter Holdings partnered with the Liberty Group to purchase the Tru by Hilton Dallas Market Center at 1949 N. Stemmons Freeway, he announced Monday.
Wasburne did not reveal the purchase price or other financial terms of the deal. Liberty Hospitality Partners, a subsidiary of the Liberty Group, will manage the property. The 152-room hotel’s Hilton branding will remain. Liberty’s hotel management portfolio includes several Hilton properties.
The Dallas developer said the groups would spend several million dollars renovating the relatively new property. Much of the money will go towards upgrading one of the city’s largest rooftop bars. Washburne’s MCrowd Restaurant Group — which is behind TexMex favorite Mi Cocina — will manage the bar.
Construction is expected to start in late spring, and they aim to open the bar by early summer. For Washburne, the bar was a big selling point. He remembers going to parties there in the past, he said.
“The rooftop bar was one of the coolest. …I’m not sure exactly the concept we’re going to come with for up there,” Washburne said. “It’s going to be one of the best rooftop bars in the city.”
The project is in the design phase. Further information about the bar will be released at a later date, but expect Mambo Taxis, a signature margarita at Mi Cocina, on the menu.
The hotel tower was recently redeveloped, opening its doors in 2021. It was purchased by Roanoke-based Napali Capital later that same year.
The property was originally built in 1965 as a bank. For many years, the nine-story space was home to Feizy Import & Export Co.
In 2018, Magnolia Hospitality Group acquired the 89,000-square-foot office building to convert it into a 152-room Hilton-branded hotel, according to Dallas Morning News archives.
The project is the latest to be announced in the Design District. Developer Vipin Nambiar’s HN Capital Partners is joining New York-based McCourt Partners to build Hi Line Square, a mixed-use development headlined by a 30-story residential tower and a 17-story office tower at 1650 Oak Lawn Ave.
Construction on that project is expected to begin in 2027.
The hotel purchase is Washburne’s latest investment into Dallas’ urban core. Washburne’s firm purchased the landmark Founders Square building on Griffin Street near the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center last year.
In October, Washburne closed a deal to purchase the downtown Dallas Greyhound Station. He also owns several other high-profile properties in the area, including Knox Street Dallas and the former Dallas Morning News campus.
He’s bullish on Dallas’ long-term future, citing the $3 billion Convention Center project and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“This is a long-term play. This is not just buy it and flip it in a year,” Washburne said of the hotel. “I think it shows a commitment in Dallas. …I think there’s a lot of positive things that are happening.”
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