New Preston Royal Development Plan Draws Community Questions in North Dallas

Neighbors are calling it a Pepper Square 2.0.

A mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Preston Royal is hoping to be developed after being largely empty since the 2019 tornado.

Developers Leland Burke and Greenway Investments applied for a zoning change in January that would raise the allowed building height at the 5930 Royal Lane property from 54 feet to 325 feet (28 stories). This application spurred community-wide outrage — not for the development itself, but for the height.

“The proposed development is outrageously out of character of Preston Hollow in mass, style, and height. The development should be iconic, not cookie-cutter like every other Dallas office building. It should be something visually appealing to draw people to dine, shop, and linger in a neighborhood setting,” Preston Hollow neighbor Susan Cox says. “Preston Hollow has some architecturally significant architecture, including homes of renowned architects Maurice Fatio, Charles Dilbeck, O’Neill Ford, Cole Smith and others. Why can’t a corner of Preston Royal be the site of something just as beautiful?”

The change would require a new Planned Development District that would retain the property’s current Community Retail (CR) district regulations and create enhanced development standards for a special project.

“Our site is … commercially zoned property in the middle of a very high barrier-to-entry market area where there’s not a lot of commercial land,” the project’s design architect, Evan Beattie of GFF says. “In our opinion, that makes it a very special opportunity to do something that’s special.”

But what is the development hoping to include?

The $800 million project would bring in a luxury hotel, condominiums, apartments, office space, underground parking and added public green space to the approximately 7 acres the space occupies.

Beattie notes that there is more land area in the four-corner shopping center “dedicated to cars than people or buildings.”

“It’s a car-forward development, and we feel like this neighborhood is special enough that it deserves something better than more of the same, so our development proposes a significant departure from what’s been built at the other three corners in what we feel is an upgrade.”

“You can look at the other three corners and see there’s barely a tree, barely a blade of grass,” Beattie says. “Our project will have over a half-acre of open space in the center of it that creates a place for people to come together and spend time outside.”

In fact, part of the proposed development has Burke and Greenway Investments adding a crosswalk and a new median to the north and east of the property. According to Beattie, the City has already allocated part of its budget toward adding a crosswalk and traffic signal to the eastern side of the shopping center. To lessen the amount of land dedicated to cars, all parking will be underground.

“Let’s say you live half a mile away, your evening stroll could now be walking half a mile to the center, walking around the center and three-quarters of a mile and walking home, an evening stroll of less than two miles,” Beattie says. “(It) becomes a walkable destination. And there are a lot of really affluent communities throughout our country that have this kind of walkable urban infill development adjacent to the most valuable homes.”

The development includes space for four destination restaurants, an office building, an apartment and a condo connected to a five-star hotel.

Following the development’s initial presentation, area residents created a nonprofit, Preserve Preston Hollow, dedicated to stopping the development. Most are OK with a mixed-use facility, but not the increased height.

“This has nothing to do with uses,” Preston Hollow resident and commercial real estate professional Doug Hazel Baker said during a Preserve Preston Hollow public meeting. “All the uses that he wants he can do with the current base zoning, with the exception of a hotel.”

The site is currently zoned community retail, which allows buildings up to 54 feet tall and 800 units for multifamily housing. The development initially called for 325 feet and remains at 450 units, including the apartments, condos and hotel rooms.

Opponents argue the proposed towers remain dramatically out of scale with nearby homes. Resident John Tynan said the development would permanently alter the character of the area.

“We’re never going to see the eastern sky again,” Tynan said.

“The neighborhood is supportive of the proposed mix of uses – multifamily, retail and office – provided the development remains consistent with the existing Community Retail zoning, including the current 54-foot height limit,” neighbor Nancy Moore said on Facebook. “We believe that aligning with the established zoning standard can be a positive addition to the corridor while remaining compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Preserve Preston Hollow!”

Coalition members said they have collected more than 2,500 petition signatures opposing the rezoning request and distributed more than 1,000 yard signs throughout the area.

Due to these neighborhood concerns, developers and architects went back to the drawing board in anticipation of a community meeting with District 13 Council member Gay Donnell Willis held on May 18.

They lowered the height of the tallest structure to 299 feet, moving the apartment structure to the middle of the development to provide a graduation of height from the nearby residences to green space and landscaping and smaller buildings allowed by right to the proposed high-rises.

“Given its location within 800 feet of the Tollway, we also feel it’s an appropriate place for buildings that are taller than you might see in Highland Park Village or that you see in the immediate adjacency today,” Beattie says. “As we work to redesign this, we really focused on being more sensitive to the transition of our scale from the north to the south (where) we have other commercial zoning to our north.”

To keep more of a transition, the CR zoning density is maintained in the new plan for the first 100 feet of the site, including the hotel’s main entrance and ballroom. Now, the plan for the 299-foot height will be on 5% of the site. Thirty percent of the site will exceed the 54 feet allowed by right.

A resident requested a 30-day postponement of the development’s zoning application on May 11, 2026.

“I respectfully ask that you grant a postponement to allow for additional continued review and meaningful neighborhood input,” the applicant wrote on the request.

The development still has the City Planning Commission and City Council to go through before anything can be set in stone.

Will residents be quelled by the new changes? Will the height restrictions continue to be a barrier for development? Time will tell.