Overview

In mid-2025, Bradford Companies acquired Uptown Tower, a 12-story, 253,981 RSF office building at 4144 N. Central Expressway in Dallas, with a value-add repositioning plan targeting Class A tenants. The building, originally constructed in 1982, was approximately 54% leased at acquisition and required meaningful capital investment to compete in the current market.

Conventional lenders had largely withdrawn from office acquisitions by this point, regardless of submarket or sponsor quality. HALL Structured Finance underwrote the transaction based on location fundamentals, the borrower’s execution track record, and a specific, well-scoped renovation plan – and closed a $30.8 million first-lien acquisition bridge loan.

The Submarket Case

Knox-Henderson is one of the most consistently performing office corridors in Dallas. Its proximity to Uptown, direct access to US-75, and walkable density of retail, hospitality, and dining make it a submarket where tenant demand has held even as broader market sentiment on office turned negative. The Uptown/Turtle Creek submarket carries the highest average office rents in DFW, with gross rents averaging $60.88 per square foot – a premium that reflects real occupier demand, not legacy pricing.

New supply in the corridor is limited. For a building with a defined renovation program in this location, those conditions mean a credible path to improved occupancy and rents.

The Borrower’s Plan

Bradford Companies, through affiliate Bradford UPT Partners LLC, acquired the asset with a defined value-add program. Planned improvements include a redesigned first-floor lobby with a golf simulator and coffee kiosk, a new fitness center, flexible coworking suites, updated restrooms on each floor, and upgraded garage access controls. The scope was targeted at improving the building’s competitiveness for Class A tenants without over-capitalizing the asset relative to submarket rents.

At acquisition, Uptown Tower was approximately 54 percent leased, with the renovation program designed to support both tenant retention and new leasing activity at improved economics.

HSF’s Underwriting Approach

HALL Structured Finance evaluated Uptown Tower across three dimensions: location quality, sponsor execution capability, and deal structure.

On location, the Knox-Henderson submarket supported the underwrite. Tenants in Knox-Henderson continued leasing through the broader office slowdown, and little new supply is coming to the corridor.

On the sponsor, Craig Hall cited the team’s “high regard” for Bradford and confidence in their ability to execute the renovation and leasing program. Bradford came to the transaction with a clearly defined scope and the operational capability to deliver it.

On structure, HSF’s position as a direct private lender allowed the team to build a loan around the specific requirements of a value-add acquisition — covering both the purchase and renovation reserves in a single non-recourse instrument, without the approval timelines or standardized constraints of conventional lending.

As both a lender and an active developer in DFW office, HSF brings direct market experience to its underwriting – an understanding what drives leasing, operations, and repositioning outcomes in this market, not just the numbers on a page.

Market Context

Uptown Tower reflects HSF’s thesis on DFW office: the market is not recovering uniformly, but well-located assets with credible sponsors and defined improvement plans represent actionable opportunities — particularly where conventional capital has stepped back.

Local market data supports the position. In Q3 2025, the DFW office market recorded 1.4 million square feet of positive net absorption (move-ins minus move-outs), with Class A and Class B properties both contributing. Rental rates rose 4.8% year-over-year to $32.06 per square foot, and investment sales volume increased 116% year-over-year. Nationally, office investment transaction volume rose 42% in the first half of 2025 to $25.9 billion, the strongest gain of any major property type tracked by JLL.

HSF is targeting $500 million or more in office investment over the next two years, focused on value-add repositioning and ground-up development in Texas markets. Uptown Tower is the first transaction under that strategy.

Working on an Office Deal in DFW?

If you are working on an office acquisition or repositioning opportunity in the DFW area, HALL Structured Finance has been providing entrepreneurial debt capital to commercial real estate projects since 1995 — and we bring that experience to every deal we evaluate.

Reach out to our team here to discuss how we can support your next project.

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