TexasBank took control of a group of condominiums at Harwood International’s Bleu Ciel tower in Dallas during a foreclosure auction on Mar. 9. The lender, which had provided Gabriel Barbier-Mueller’s Uptown firm with a $30 million loan for the units in 2024, reclaimed the properties through a $23.6 million credit bid, according to deed records.
The mortgage was initially secured by 26 units in the 33-story building located at 3130 North Harwood Street. Since receiving the loan, Harwood sold at least six units, reducing its debt burden. However, records show that the remaining 19 condos—including several penthouses—have not changed ownership since Bleu Ciel opened in 2018.
This foreclosure marks the first time distress has spread beyond Harwood’s office portfolio. In the previous year, Harwood surrendered ownership of eight office buildings within its signature 19-block district after facing foreclosures on three properties. Notably, Spear Street Capital took back Harwood No. 4 with a $73 million credit bid and First United Bank seized Harwood No. 1 for $27 million before Bill Cawley’s Cawley Partners acquired it at the end of December.
Harwood also transferred five Dallas office buildings to TPG, a San Francisco-based private equity fund that announced itself as Harwood’s recapitalization partner in January. TPG now owns more than one million square feet of office space across several properties and plans to renovate them while allowing Harwood to retain a minority stake.
Further challenges arose when Jones Day withdrew from anchoring the planned Harwood No. 15 project late last year. These developments have affected Uptown’s reputation as an outlier in Dallas-Fort Worth’s commercial real estate market—a submarket known for high rents and strong demand from major financial institutions.
