Harwood International, led by Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, is facing new challenges as law firm Jones Day has decided not to move forward with plans to anchor the upcoming Harwood No. 15 office project at 3008 North Harwood. A source close to the deal confirmed that Jones Day, which currently occupies 133,000 square feet at Harwood No. 3, will not be relocating to the planned 73,000-square-foot space in Harwood No. 15.
“They’re back in the market evaluating their options,” said Steve Triolet, Senior Vice President of Research & Market Forecasting at Partners Real Estate.
Harwood International announced its intentions for Harwood No. 15 in 2023. The proposed development was a 23-story building totaling 340,000 square feet and expected to cost $120 million. According to a November 2024 filing, construction was supposed to begin in January and finish by June 2027.
However, construction has yet to start as Harwood International has spent much of this year working to stabilize its current portfolio amid financial distress. The company began selling some of its remaining properties to TPG, a private equity firm based in San Francisco.
In recent months, Harwood International faced three building foreclosures. In January, it narrowly avoided losing Harwood No. 6 (Saint Ann Court) through a recapitalization deal but later handed over control of other assets due to mortgage defaults and credit bids from buyers such as Spear Street Capital.
Before surrendering Harwood No. 1 in November after foreclosure proceedings, Harwood sold four office buildings—Harwood Nos. 2, 6 (Saint Ann Court), 7 (Frost Tower), and 10—to TPG during the fall season. These properties collectively span nearly one million square feet of Uptown Dallas office space and have appraised values ranging from $58 million for Harwood No. 2 up to $160 million for Saint Ann Court.
These property sales came after Harwood hired Newmark earlier this year in an effort to find new equity partners and secure debt financing for future phases of development within the district.
