Harwood International is facing more challenges as law firm Jones Day has withdrawn from its commitment to anchor the planned Harwood No. 15 office tower at 3008 North Harwood, according to a source familiar with the deal.
Jones Day currently occupies 133,000 square feet in Harwood No. 3, one of the last buildings in the 30-acre Harwood District still owned by Harwood International. The firm had intended to lease a 73,000-square-foot space as the lead tenant in the new development.
“They’re back in the market evaluating their options,” said Steve Triolet, Senior Vice President of Research & Market Forecasting at Partners Real Estate.
Plans for Harwood No. 15 were announced in 2023. The proposed project was designed as a 23-story, 340,000-square-foot office building with an estimated cost of $120 million. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in January and finish by June 2027.
However, construction has not started. Instead, Harwood International has spent much of this year working to stabilize its existing properties and selling assets to TPG, a private equity firm based in San Francisco.
The company has experienced three foreclosures on its buildings this year. In January, it narrowly avoided losing Harwood No. 6 (Saint Ann Court) through a recapitalization deal. In April, after allegedly defaulting on an $80 million mortgage tied to Harwood No. 4, ownership transferred to Spear Street Capital via a $73 million credit bid for the property. Most recently, Harwood lost its first development—Harwood No. 1—to foreclosure in November.
Shortly before giving up Harwood No. 1, records show that four other office properties were sold quietly to TPG: Harwood No. 2 (valued at $58.3 million), Harwood No. 6/Saint Ann Court ($160 million), Harwood No. 7/Frost Tower ($83.5 million), and Harwood No.10 ($120 million). These sales included nearly one million square feet of Uptown Dallas office space.
Earlier this year, following these financial difficulties and asset sales, Harwood International engaged Newmark to seek new equity partners and debt financing for future phases of its district development.
