New Owner of Oak Cliff’s Landmark Dairy Eyes Property for Mixed-Use Development

The Oak Farms Dairy in Oak Cliff dates to the 1930s.

Steve Brown - Real Estate Editor
The Dallas Morning News

Dallas-based Cienda Partners calls itself a property investment company.

But for the last decade or so, the private firm has been something of a real estate rainmaker.

Cienda has bought up Dallas properties in strategic locations that are now being developed into high-profile projects.

No doubt that’s what will happen with its latest purchase – a 16-acre property at the doorstep of North Oak Cliff.

It’s the Oak Farms Dairy, an almost 80-year-old milk processing plant that is at the foot of the two bridges crossing to downtown.

Cienda bought the dairy from Southern Foods Group, who will continue to use the dairy for another year.

During that time, Cienda will spend time planning the property for redevelopment, said partner Philip Wise.

“We started looking at this site several years ago and always thought it was the best one around,” Wise said.

The property is zoned to allow high-rise construction and could accommodate up to 1,000 apartments and 600,000 square feet of commercial space.

Cienda has hired architects Good Fulton & Farrell to work on planning for the property, which is adjacent to Oak Cliff’s Gateway Park and on the new streetcar line connecting to downtown.

First State Bank of Athens is providing long-term funding for the investment.

Cienda most likely will sell parts or all of the site to developers after it’s gone through planning.

That’s what the company has done with other real estate now being used for major developments.

Cienda owned the former trailer park on West Commerce Street in West Dallas where developer Wood Partners is now building a 252-unit rental community.

And Cienda was the previous owner of Goat Hill north of Uptown, where developer Trammell Crow Residential is now constructing a 365-unit apartment tower.

Cienda owned the Goat Hill land overlooking Stemmons Freeway for about three years before selling to Crow Residential. The property previously was the site of the Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine restaurant.

“I’m as excited about the Oak Farms site as any since we bought Baby Doe’s,” said Cienda partner Barry Hancock. “It’s one of the last big sites on the river near the central business district and has great accessibility.”

While the property most likely will end up as residential, Cienda isn’t counting out its appeal as an office location with postcard views of the Dallas skyline.

Dallas city leaders see the same potential.

“I am excited about the purchase of the Oak Farms property because of the site’s incredible potential to bring new mid-rise office and residential buildings south of the Trinity River,” Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a statement.

“City Council and staff are working together to find a great corporate tenant to kick off this important project and help our city continue to grow south,” Rawlings said.