Oh boy! We’re excited folks! The deal has gone through, and just as Candy predicted, Mehrdad Moayedi and his firm, Centurion American, have purchased the Statler Hilton from Leobardo Trevino’s Ricchi Investments.
Of course, there’ll be no pomp and circumstance or champagne cork popping in the streets like the celebration dance City Hall enjoyed when Trevino bought the famed midcentury modern hotel at 1914 Commerce Street. And while Ricchi Investments had ambitious plans for this incredible piece of downtown Dallas real estate, Moayedi brings an incredible plan and pairs it with a proven track record.
Here’s what Candy said last October:
Centurion American Development Group is in the process of trying to buy the Statler downtown. If all goes down smoothly, Mehrdad will convert the historic 19-story, 800-room Statler to a boutique hotel and high-end residential with some retail component on the first floor, including a grocery store and movie theater.
Hallelujah! Seriously, that is just what downtown Dallas needs and it is about high time.
As you may know, I have given Mehrdad the title of “St. Stoneleigh” as he bought the Stoneleigh Residences out of bankruptcy for $4.5 million in 2010, got the place going vertical again last February, and is selling them like hotcakes but reduced the units to 70 from 120, to make them larger.
We can’t wait to see what Moayedi does with this incredible William Tabler-designed property, which has hosted the likes of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Elvis Presley.
Here are the deets, including the TIF funding for the site, from Robert Wilonsky:
“The Statler is a Dallas icon,” says Trevino in a prepared statement. “Out of all the groups that presented us offers, I know that this icon has found its match with Centurion American.”
The Dallas City Council certainly feels the same way: Last month it OK’d giving Centurion $46.5 million from the Downtown Connection TIF, of which $43.5 million would come in the form of an economic development TIF grant. “It’s going to connect the dots from the Arts District to the Farmers Market and back to downtown,” Tennell Atkins said before the council green-lit the deal. “It will be great to have something great on that side of town.”
“With a new plan and ownership of the Statler Hilton, this is an enormous move forward in perception and reality for downtown,” says Downtown Dallas Inc. President and CEO John Crawford. “It’s something we have been working on for several years and is a direct result of another successful public-private partnership. With the closing of the Statler and 1600 Pacific this week, we have very few old buildings left for redevelopment, which is leading us toward new residential construction like what’s occurring in the Farmers Market. We are thrilled to see the continued growing interest from the investment community in our urban core, and I am sure the public is going to be very surprised and pleased with Centurion’s vision and redevelopment plans for the iconic Statler.”
