- JLL’s analysis of Dallas Central Appraisal District data puts Uptown Dallas property values above $10B, ahead of downtown by less than $1B.
- Uptown values grew 5.6% from last year against 3.6% downtown, on roughly 600 acres versus just over 1,000, and Uptown has 1.7M SF of office in development.
- Y’all Street tenants are driving Uptown’s rise, while downtown investors are betting cheaper rents and proximity to the financial district will keep them in the game.
Uptown Dallas property values now exceed $10 billion, edging past downtown by under $1 billion, The Real Deal reported, citing the Dallas Business Journal.
The finding comes from JLL’s analysis of Dallas Central Appraisal District data, and it lands after a rough summer for downtown.
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A Smaller Area With Faster Growth
Uptown covers only about 600 acres, while downtown stretches across a bit more than 1,000, The Real Deal reported. Even so, Uptown values rose 5.6% from last year, against 3.6% for downtown.
Both submarkets are still climbing. The gap between them is narrow, but the direction of travel favors Uptown.
Y’all Street Pulls In Financial Tenants
Uptown is gaining from the Y’all Street boom, the nickname for Texas’ push to rival Wall Street, The Real Deal reported. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and the Texas Stock Exchange have all set up there.
Uptown also holds the city’s most expensive office space, per The Real Deal, and CRE Daily has tracked the bank’s Morgan Stanley hub commitment there.
Downtown’s Rough Summer
Downtown has absorbed a string of tenant exits, and The Real Deal said AT&T, the Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks have all announced plans to leave their downtown space. AT&T’s move is headed to Plano, which CRE Daily covered in its look at the $1.35B campus.
Downtown is far from dead, though. Investors there told the Dallas Business Journal, per The Real Deal, that they can offer cheaper rents while staying close to the financial district.
Why It Matters
In its Q3 office report, as cited by The Real Deal, JLL counts 1.7 million SF of office in development in Uptown, and it says the financial district recorded the strongest net absorption. That pipeline suggests developers expect the tenant wave to continue.
For investors, the valuation crossover shows capital rewarding a cluster of financial tenants over sheer scale. It also gives downtown owners a pricing argument, since they can pitch lower rents near the same talent pool.
What’s Next
Watch whether downtown’s cheaper rents pull in tenants priced out of Uptown. Next year’s appraisal cycle will show whether the gap keeps widening or downtown’s recovery narrows it.
