Owners of Joule Hotel in Dallas buy five surrounding buildings

The five buildings represent all the buildings on Commerce Street between Neiman Marcus and the Magnolia Hotel.

Dallas-based Westmount Realty Capital announced today the sale of five buildings in downtown Dallas to 1600 Main Street Holdings, L.P., an affiliate of the Joule Hotel. On the same block as the flagship Neiman-Marcus, the five buildings surrounding The Joule Hotel and Charlie Palmer Restaurant represent all the buildings on Commerce Street between Neiman Marcus and the Magnolia Hotel, as well as an 8-story building at 1604 Main Street, situated between the Joule Hotel and Neiman Marcus.

The properties sold by Westmount are:

· 1417-19 Commerce Street, a 11,450 square foot former restaurant built in 1932 and purchased by Westmount in 1997;

· 1503 Commerce Street, an 8,400 square foot former restaurant acquired by Westmount in 1997;

· 1505 Commerce Street, an office building built in 1900 and purchased by Westmount in 2005;

· 1511 Commerce Street, a 15,000 square foot former retail/office built in 1928, now carrying a historical designation and acquired by Westmount in 1995; and

· 1604 Main Street, a 47,724 square foot former retail/office built in 1914 and purchased by Westmount in 1996 from Neiman-Marcus.

Until selling to the Joule Hotel in 2003 and 2006, Westmount also owned 1530 Main Street and 1524 Main Street buildings which now, respectively, house the Joule Hotel and Charlie Palmer Restaurant.

“As a big believer that well chosen, downtown Dallas properties held great investment prospects, Westmount diligently worked from 1995 until 2005 assembling this portfolio,” said Cliff Booth, chief executive officer of Westmount.

“Westmount had contemplated doing a large scale redevelopment ourselves on this block. Considering the strong interest expressed by the buyer, the extension of the likely development time frame caused by current market conditions and the price we were able to negotiate with the purchaser, we are very pleased with this transaction,” Booth added.

“Given that world famous Neiman Marcus’ flagship store is the anchor of the neighborhood, we believed that this block had potential to be the very center of a downtown Dallas renaissance,” Booth added. “With the recently relocated AT&T headquarters nearby, as well as new and redeveloping hospitality, entertainment, retail and residential interests, the prospects for this block are as promising as ever.”

Source: Westmount Realty