Foreclosure of a Building in Dallas Fort Worth May Not Be What It Seems

When Fort Worth’s tallest skyscraper was sold through foreclosure, it seemed to highlight the current issues in the national office market.

Evan Stone, partner and manager of Goodwin Advisors, a commercial real estate agency, said, “The headlines suggest that Pinnacle Bank acquired the property for a dollar per square foot, which is not accurate; it’s a bit different.”

The story begins a couple of months back when the owners of Burnett Plaza saw their 40-story office tower go to Pinnacle Bank in a foreclosure auction for $12.3 million, just three years after Opal Holdings’ affiliate, Burnett Plaza Holdings LLC, bought it for $137.5 million.

This action followed a prolonged dispute between Pinnacle Bank and Opal Holdings. Additionally, contractors filed several lawsuits and liens claiming unpaid work on the building. Pinnacle Bank had granted two loans to an Opal Holdings entity, one for $13 million and another for $69.9 million.

Due to payment defaults, the bank foreclosed on the $13 million loan. Mr. Stone explained, “That loan, along with the other larger Pinnacle loan, were not the only loans on the building; this is typical for a high-rise office building.” He added that it seemed the lender foreclosed on its second loan while the first mortgage remained in place.

The Tarrant Appraisal District valued the building at $120.5 million for 2024. Pinnacle Bank’s foreclosure on the second loan allows the bank to act as the owner, as it also holds the first mortgage on the building.

Although Opal Holdings and Pinnacle Bank have not commented on this situation, it is known that the Burnett Plaza building is not fully leased but has a strong tenant portfolio, said Sriram Villupuram, associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Texas at Arlington. Tenants include major companies like General Motor Financial, Freese and Nichols, and Kimley-Horn and Associates.

Mr. Villupuram also noted that while the national office market is not as strong as expected, Texas is recovering better than most states, and the downtown Fort Worth office market is recovering better than the rest of the metropolitan area, which includes the city of Dallas.

For example, according to data from Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, the office vacancy rate in downtown Fort Worth was 11.8% in the first quarter, compared to the Dallas-Fort Worth average of 18.1%. Additionally, Attom, a real estate data provider, reported a 31% increase in commercial foreclosures in Texas compared to the previous month and a 129% increase compared to the same month last year.

Available Foreclosures:

Fort Worth: 2 homes available.

Arlington: 1 home available.

By Elías DaSilva | 21 de Noviembre de 2024.