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Renovation plan would turn 93-year-old West End building into hotel in downtown Dallas



Project Location

A plan in the works would convert a historic building in downtown Dallas' West End district into a new hotel.

The Sanger Brothers garage at 711 Elm St. was built in 1925 as one of the city's first "high-rise" parking garages. The five-story brick building sits across the street from where the Sanger Brothers department store was — now El Centro College.

Irving-based hotel firm Icon Lodging bought the Elm Street building in April and has been working with Dallas' Merriman Anderson Architects to come up with a plan to redevelop the garage.

Merriman Anderson recently made a preliminary presentation to the Dallas Landmark Commission, which asked them to go back to the drawing board and rework the hotel proposal. The initial plan would have added six levels of hotel rooms on top of the old parking structure. But commission members and staff weren't fully on board with that plan.

"Our client wants to find a way to make this happen," Anderson said. "It's a unique and special building.

"We are working hard with the Landmark Commission, and they have been responsive and understanding."