Oak Farms continues to take shape with latest multifamily deal
There aren’t many people who would look at an active dairy with a futurist perspective, seeing what such a site could be.
Over the course of eight years, Cienda Partners closed 10 separate transactions that included the acquisition of a now-shuttered Oak Farms Dairy plant in 2014, to accumulate 34 acres at a key juncture in southern Dallas that connects downtown and Oak Cliff
The site, located nearly flush against the Trinity River Greenbelt and flanked by N. Marsalis Avenue, E. Colorado Boulevard and Interstate 35E, has moved into the development phase after sealing 20-story mixed-use zoning for the property and receiving city, state and federal support.
Related Group has purchased an eight-acre tract within the Oak Farms development off Jefferson and Colorado boulevards from the Dallas-based family office. Related, which is based in Florida and emphasizes an equitable approach to development, plans to bring a 444-unit, mid-rise multifamily community to the site.
“We are pleased to welcome such a well-respected national developer into our development and the Dallas market,” said Mary Salazar, a vice president with Cienda, in a prepared statement.
“We have several other projects at Oak Farms to follow the Related project we hope to announce soon,” she added.
Cienda-with its willingness to take on longer holds with a purposeful degree of patience as family offices are able to do - has found itself at a masterful culmination of development efforts surrounding the property: The expected convention center redo, its own work on the Southern Gateway deck park and the potential of what the former Dallas Morning News site could become.
All of that is paired with a dedicated exit along I-35E, in addition to its status as an anchor to stimulate development at crucial intersections across the Trinity from downtown as part of the greater 800-acre Oak Cliff Gateway.
Beyond multifamily, the Oak Farms masterplan, ideated with the big-picture thinking of Cienda founding partners Philip Wise and Barry Hancock, calls for office, retail and restaurants.
Construction on Related’s tranche of the development is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2023.
Jon Paul Perez, president of Related, said that the developer has had its eye on the Texas market for some time now.
“With its high visibility, proximity to downtown, and access to the Dallas park system, Oak Farms is the perfect location for us to showcase Related’s unique approach to development,” said Perez.
Additional traction has been found with the development of another multifamily project from Mintwood Real Estate in conjunction with a City of Dallas Public Facility Corporation. The 215-unit Oakhouse at Colorado, which includes ample parking, rests on the southernmost peninsula of the assemblage.
Real Estate Editor, Dallas Business Journal
A conceptual site rendering of the mixed-use, master-planned Oak Farms development in Dallas
“We have several other projects at Oak Farms to follow the Related project we hope to announce soon”
Mary Salazar,
vice president with Cienda
A look at the Oak Farms site facing southern Dallas.