More than $100 million in public subsidies for the redevelopment of Bank of America Plaza in Dallas has advanced following approval from two city advisory boards. The 72-story building, located at 901 Main Street and a prominent feature of the city’s skyline, is set to undergo a $409 million transformation.
Developers Mike Ablon of PegasusAblon and Mike Hoque of Hoque Global have proposed converting sections of the nearly 2 million-square-foot property into a hotel with event and retail spaces, as well as adding a parking garage. Their plan includes integrating the project into downtown Dallas through elevated pedestrian walkways. The developers are under contract to purchase the tower, which was constructed in the 1980s.
The Downtown Dallas Development Authority and the Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District have agreed to increase their combined subsidy for the project from $98 million to $103 million. This increase will help fund the design of a new garage that can support up to 200 residential units or hotel rooms above it. Additionally, both boards approved expanding the TIF district’s boundaries to include an adjacent parcel involved in the development.
Hoque and Ablon, operating as 901 Main PAHG Partners, reached an agreement last year to buy the 1.9 million-square-foot building from Metropolis Holdings, based in Chicago. Financial details were not disclosed, but local appraisal records value the property at approximately $130 million.
Mike Ablon addressed concerns about downtown Dallas losing major tenants: “You’re not catalytic if you just put lipstick on a building,” Ablon told the boards. “We have to change the playing field.”
To maintain eligibility for incentives, PegasusAblon must close on purchasing the tower by September next year and complete construction by fall 2032. The deal is now pending a City Council vote scheduled for October 22.
If approved, this initiative would represent one of downtown Dallas’s largest city-supported redevelopments in recent years.
