Rendering courtesy of Leon Capital Group
The new year brought the wrecking ball to the former Dallas ISD building on Ross Avenue, creating a grim scene for Dallas preservationists, but the art deco facade facing Ross will remain in a new apartment development cheekily named “The Academic.”
The main entrance and facade of the old DISD building at Ross and Washington will be incorporated into the interior, serving as the leasing office and amenity area in the Architecture Demarest building.
The apartments will join a bevy of similarly sized apartment developments along Ross Avenue over the past several years. A press release from Leon Capital Group, the developer, said the construction “incorporates design that blends the style of the existing structure with the ongoing transformation occurring along Ross Avenue.”
The development plans to build 365 luxury rental units on 4 acres, ranging from 500 to 1,150 square feet. There will also be a six-level parking garage and a central courtyard.
After Dallas ISD relocated its headquarters to a high-rise on Central Expressway, the building went up for sale, with East Dallas City Councilman Philip Kingston fighting to preserve the 1950s facade after the city granted a demolition permit for Leon Capital Group, who purchased the land for $9 million.
This isn’t the first time a former Dallas ISD building became apartments, as The Principal apartments on Carroll Avenue transformed Davy Crockett School into over 50 apartment units earlier this year.
Check out more renderings below, as well as the ongoing demolition.
Rendering courtesy of Leon Capital Group
Rendering courtesy of Leon Capital Group
Rendering courtesy of Leon Capital Group
Rendering courtesy of Leon Capital Group
