Goldman Sachs began construction in the past week on a $500 million campus in Dallas that is expected to become the global financial services firm's second-largest hub of U.S. employees outside New York City. While the campus is new, the project involves a longtime Dallas developer.
Goldman Sachs teamed up with Ray L. Hunt's Hunt Realty Investments and Hillwood Urban on the all-electric campus at 2323 N. Field St. that will anchor Hunt Realty's larger 11-acre mixed-use redevelopment. To make way for Goldman Sachs, Hunt Realty demolished low-rise apartments that could make Dallas a bigger presence in the financial services industry. This is why Ray L. Hunt, the leader at the helm of Hunt Consolidated, is the Person of the Week.
WHO: Ray L. Hunt, executive chairman of Hunt Consolidated, the flagship entity of the Ray L. Hunt family of companies. Hunt Realty Investments is the real estate arm of this group of companies he leads.
STREET CRED: Hunt, 80, went on to become the wealthiest of legendary oil wildcatter H.L. Hunt's 15 children. Ray L. Hunt's net worth is $7.2 billion, according to Forbes' latest list of billionaires. He has been associated with Hunt Oil Co. since it began in 1958, and he joined the company as a summer employee in the oil fields. He serves on the board of directors for Bessemer Securities Corp. and King Ranch Inc., and previously was on the boards of Halliburton Co. and PepsiCo Inc. From October 2001 to January 2009, Hunt, appointed by President George W. Bush, served on the president's intelligence advisory board in Washington, D.C. He also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 2002 to 2006 after years of serving on its board.
WHAT HAPPENED? Hunt and other key stakeholders kicked off construction on Goldman Sachs' new urban campus in Dallas after JPMorgan Chase made a $513.9 billion construction loan on the development, according to Dallas County records. The construction loan is one of the biggest loans for office projects being made this year, as access to capital remains limited for commercial property projects, especially office ones. The campus is designed to have room for more than 5,000 employees, housing in part the roughly 4,000 workers Goldman Sachs employs throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
WHAT GOLDMAN SACHS SAID: Goldman Sachs President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron said, "We have been operating in Dallas for more than 50 years [and] this state-of-the-art new campus further demonstrates our commitment to Dallas and is testament to the incredible talent and strong client base in the region.” The campus is expected to give Goldman Sachs employees a modern working environment meant to enable collaboration and productivity while supporting the health and wellness of its employees.
HOW OTHERS RESPONDED:
As well as Hunt, the Goldman Sachs campus stakeholders include the city of Dallas. The city offered Goldman Sachs about $18 million in economic incentives to help the company reach its investment and job creation goals. Incentives were offered to Goldman Sachs before a redesign of the development plans led to the campus being trimmed by at least 100,000 square feet from its original plans. Even so, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said, "The expansion of this global brand in our city center is a remarkable sign of how far Dallas has come in recent years as we have focused on attracting talent and businesses."
WHAT'S NEXT? Construction has begun to reshape the development tract adjacent to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science to make way for the campus, a project that's expected to reach 14 stories high. The financial services firm is anchoring the 11-acre mixed-use project called NorthEnd, designed to include a 1.5-acre park. The Goldman Sachs campus is scheduled for completion in 2027.