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Real estate investor buys nearly 90 properties in West Dallas around Trinity Groves

The sale is one of the largest such property transactions in years located so close to downtown and signals future development.

A Nebraska-based investor has just become one of the largest property owners in a redeveloping area of West Dallas.

Goldenrod Cos. has purchased dozens of properties from the developers of the popular Trinity Groves complex. Most of the nearly 90 properties in the deal are near Singleton Boulevard and include both buildings and vacant sites, county deed records show. More than 35 acres of real estate was included in the sale.

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The land was part of an almost 60-acre property that was assembled starting in about 2005 by investors Stuart Fitts, Phil Romano and Larry “Butch” McGregor. Their West Dallas Investments built the popular Trinity Groves restaurant hub at the time the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was being constructed to provide a more direct connection to downtown.

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Since then, West Dallas Investments has partnered in the development of hundreds of apartments in the neighborhood and has renovated existing buildings for new uses. Several large development sites have been zoned for new construction, including high-rise offices and hotels.

The sale is one of the largest such property transactions in years located so close to downtown.

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Buyer Goldenrod Cos. was formed in Omaha in 2005 and has since acquired or developed more than $4.3 billion in properties in multiple U.S. markets. In North Texas, the company is the developer of the planned mixed-use Van Zandt project in Fort Worth’s cultural district. It also has acquired office buildings in Irving and North Dallas.

The company was founded by former pro football star Zach Wiegert, who played for the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans from 1995 to 2006.

Goldenrod officials did not respond to requests for details about the firm’s plans for the West Dallas properties.

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The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and downtown skyline rise over a properties that recently sold...
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and downtown skyline rise over a properties that recently sold near Trinity Groves.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

News of the sale is spreading in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s a game changer — bringing in a developer of that caliber with really deep pockets,” said Jake Milner of Davidson Bogel Real Estate, which has brokered other sales in the area.

McGregor — one of the original partners in West Dallas Investments — confirmed the properties had traded but said he wasn’t directly involved in the transaction and didn’t have knowledge of the details.

Romano could not be reached for comment.

When West Dallas Investments began buying up land along Singleton Boulevard and West Commerce Street in the early 2000s, most developers weren’t interested in the neighborhood.

“Most of the acquired parcels were commercial or industrial, with a few residential parcels that were troubled properties and/or involved with illegal drug-dealing activities,” according to a 2016 case study on the Trinity Groves area by the Urban Land Institute. “When the partnership started buying land in the area in 2005, land could be acquired for around $2.50 per square foot.”

Properties in the area now trade for more than $65 per square foot. West Dallas Investments rezoned the old industrial district south of Singleton to allow for millions of square feet of office, retail and multifamily construction.

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Graffiti covers a former plant at 240 Singleton in West Dallas on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Graffiti covers a former plant at 240 Singleton in West Dallas on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

One of the vacant blocks Goldenrod just acquired at Singleton and Gulden Lane was pitched as a potential second headquarters site for Amazon. The previous owners sought zoning to construct a 400-foot high-rise on the block that would be the tallest building on the west side of the Trinity River.

Goldenrod also purchased a former cement plant site across Singleton that was planned for another high-rise hotel and office development.

At one time, West Dallas Investments projected a total build-out for its properties of almost 6,000 apartments, 1.4 million square feet of retail and entertainment space and 3 million square feet of offices.

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Kara Rafferty with the West Dallas Chamber of Commerce said the neighborhood property sale to Goldenrod Cos. “is really big news.”

“This area is primed for development,” Rafferty said. “A lot of the land has already changed hands.

“There are a lot of people that would like to buy stuff down there and can’t find anything.”

Two of the sites sold on Singleton Boulevard had been planned for new high-rises by the...
Two of the sites sold on Singleton Boulevard had been planned for new high-rises by the previous owners.(Trinity Groves)