This iconic compound is the most exciting live-work-play property on the market in Dallas. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to land an architectural gem of a work-play space and a Preservation Dallas award-winning home. Talk about the best of both worlds!
I’ve always loved the 4,569-square-foot studio photographer Manny Rodriguez built in West Oak Cliff just up from the historic Belmont Hotel. Driving down Fort Worth Avenue, it rises into the sky like a modern glass barn and is impossible to miss. It’s become an iconic building in the neighborhood.
Photographers are constantly chasing the light, and Rodriguez, who has built an impeccable reputation shooting for clients such as Neiman Marcus, American Express, and Martha Stewart, has completely captured that light in this architectural gem.
Chasing The Light in This Architectural Gem
The state-of-the-art daylight studio features a commercial kitchen with two ranges, six refrigerators, an enormous shooting area, a dedicated styling area, a prop room, a merchandise room, and a dock. It’s a dream space for not just a photographer but also an architect, an artist, a gallery owner, or a restaurateur. It’s the most exciting compound living situation because there is a fantastic surprise behind this modern architectural gem.
Building on History
Most people don’t realize that the home in the back of the studio is another gem. It’s an original 1923 Tudor farmhouse that was beautifully restored, offering the ability to live onsite and walk out the back door to work and play in the modern studio space. This compound is the dream if you have a business and a love for preservation.
None of this was easy. It took the proverbial village to create this flawless live-work-play arrangement.
When the 2,352-square-foot, two-story Tudor was constructed, it was indeed a farmhouse.
“The owner wanted something that looked like it was built in Winnetka Heights,” Realtor and developer Monte Anderson with Options Real Estate said. Anderson owned the property and had thought about relocating the farmhouse and developing the land but could not stand the thought of tearing it down even though it was in a rough state inside.
Anderson also owned the Belmont Hotel at the time and thought about restoring this lovely Tudor as a studio space for the many musicians that stayed at the Belmont. As he was pondering what to do, Rodriguez came along.
“He was a great fit for the property,” Anderson said.
“I was in a studio on Parkhouse Street in the Design District,” Rodriguez said. “It had always been my dream to have a live-in studio. I met Monte Anderson, and he said, ‘Manny, I have this house over here. Come over and look at it.’ I looked at the house, and it had an empty lot behind it that was part of the land, and it was exactly what I wanted.”
As plans for the new structure were taking shape, the historic Tudor home renovation got underway.
Oak Cliff-based architect Alicia Quintans, founder of JQAQ Atelier, helped with the interior remodel and submitted what had been known at its lowest point as the Graffiti House to Preservation Dallas for award consideration. In 2015 Preservation Dallas chose this Tudor for one of its Achievement Awards.
This is such a rare opportunity. With Fort Worth Avenue bustling and word that the Belmont is due for an extraordinary update, you know that will make this an even more valuable property in the future.
Allie Beth Allman’s Kimberly Ashmore has 1007 Folsom Street available for $2.49 million.
Broker Open House: Friday, Dec. 9, from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
