Omaha Investor Buys 90 West Dallas Properties

An Omaha-based investor is looking beyond the cornfields for its next acquisition.

Goldenrod Cos. purchased nearly 90 properties near Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas, amassing over 35 acres of vacant lots and existing buildings to make it one of the largest transactions the area has seen in years, the Dallas Morning News reported. It acquired the property on undisclosed terms from West Dallas Investors, the group behind the popular Trinity Groves complex.

The deal reflects how quickly the neighborhood has turned into a hotspot for real estate investors and developers since West Dallas Investments began making its mark on the area in 2005. Twenty years ago, land near Singleton could be purchased for about $2.50 per square foot – there were few residential parcels and it was an area riddled with drug-related activities. Now properties typically trade for more than $65 per square foot, the outlet reported.

West Dallas Investments has been the driving force behind hundreds of apartments, high-rise offices, hotels and various renovation projects in the neighborhood. It got rezoning on several properties that were historically used for industrial purposes, freeing up millions of square feet.

Goldenrod Cos., led by former NFL player Zach Wiegert and Tom Meister, is now taking advantage of the neighborhood’s explosive growth. One of the vacant lots Goldenrod purchased was pitched to Amazon as a potential site for its second headquarters. It also acquired a former cement plant which will likely be turned into a high-rise hotel and office tower.

“I think it’s a game changer – bringing in a developer of that caliber with really deep pockets,” Jake Milner told the outlet, a real estate broker not involved in the deal.

Goldenrod Cos. was formed in 2005 and has since accumulated $4.3 billion in assets across numerous markets in the United States. In North Texas, the company is at the helm of the planned mixed-use Van Zandt project in Fort Worth’s cultural district, and it’s acquired several office buildings in Irving, the outlet said.

–Quinn Donoghue