An ambitious plan to redevelop the city’s tallest tower won a key approval from the Dallas City Council Wednesday.
Council members unanimously approved a $103 million payment from the Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for Dallas developers Mike Hoque and Mike Ablon’s vision to buy and redesign Main Street’s Bank of America Plaza. The body also expanded the boundaries of the financing district during the meeting.
The vote came after roughly 12 minutes of public comment and limited discussion.
The real estate duo, under 901 Main PAHG Partners LLC, announced plans last year to purchase the light-trimmed, 72-story tower from current owner Metropolis Investment Holdings, a Chicago-based real estate firm that manages assets for a German family investment group.
D-FW Real Estate News
Plans for the new tower include:
Reducing office space from 1.8 million square feet to 1.5 million square feet. The office space will be fully renovated.Converting and adding 275 new four-star or higher hotel rooms and hotel amenity space. The group has partnered with hospitality exec Dave Johnson of Horizon Capital. Building a new adjacent glass and steel structure to house a hotel lobby and ballroomA new 1,115-space parking garage on top of what is now a surface lot across the streetConnecting the new structures with a skybridge across Main StreetStreet-level retail and restaurantsA 69th floor restaurant with an outside lounge/observation deck 
These are renderings for the planned $350M redevelopment of Bank of America Plaza and the surrounding city blocks.
Courtesy of Hoefer Welker
Phase one of the project is expected to be completed in three years. The pair also plan to purchase four city blocks as part of the deal.
“Downtown Dallas is at a critical juncture where much of its development has to be rethought and reimagined,” Hoque, CEO and founder of Hoque Global, said in a statement Wednesday. “Today’s vote by City Council to invest in the redevelopment of 901 Main Street paves the way for making a transformational change that will breathe new life to these key city blocks connecting Main Street District with the West End and the new Convention Center.”
The newly formed company recently submitted a $409 million redevelopment road map to the city. The estimated property acquisition costs are $172 million, and the firm must close on the tower before the end of September 2026.
Ablon pitched the plan at a joint meeting of the boards of the Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District and Downtown Dallas Development Authority (DDDA) at the end of September.
The plan saw some tweaks following the TIF meeting. Ablon and the boards reached a compromise and an additional $5 million was made available to accommodate requested changes to the plan’s parking garage.
“Projects such as Bank of America Plaza have the opportunity to be catalytic for the next generation of Downtown Dallas, along with the Convention Center,” Ablon, Principal of Pegasus Ablon, said in a statement Wednesday. “We hope this is one of several Central Business District projects in the next couple of years.”
These are renderings for the planned $350M redevelopment of Bank of America Plaza and the surrounding city blocks.
Courtesy of Hoefer Welker
Those who spoke in favor of the project at Wednesday’s meeting included Jennifer Scripps, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc.
“We believe that office conversion projects such as Bank of America Plaza address the critical need for the city to continue to advance downtown’s reinvention and to protect the ongoing viability of downtown as the economic anchor and essential employment center of our city,” she said.
Hoque previously told The Dallas Morning News that the deal is the realization of a long-held desire. He’s wanted to be in Bank of America Plaza, and the best chance came several years ago when he approached Metropolis about the tower.
The ownership group wasn’t interested in selling it then, so Hoque settled on building a hotel.
But Metropolis changed its tune at the beginning of 2023, shortly after Bank of America said it would relocate about 1,000 workers to a new office tower overlooking Klyde Warren Park. The bank is expected to keep employees at the plaza tower through 2027.
As part of the agreement, the group must invest nearly $395 million and finish construction by the end of September 2032. The project must also hit certain minimum benchmarks for office, retail, hotel and other space.
“The Bank of America tower project showcases an innovative way to stimulate development downtown,” council member Paul Ridley said in a statement. “This project reinvigorates our city center while advancing the goals of the Downtown 360 plan and creating hundreds of construction and hospitality jobs.”