Bass family to sell City Center towers

In a bit of a surprise, the Bass family (the beyond-rich tycoons who own and run Sundance Square in downtown) has put both of the near-twin City Center towers (aka the Wells Fargo and D.R. Horton towers) up for sale. The towers, the Bass family headquarters ever since their construction in the early ’80s, were designed by Paul Rudolph and stand 33 and 38 stories tall.

So, what’s the Bass family’s plan here? Are they just selling off the iconic buildings to get more money, or is there something bigger at work?

Personally, I think (hope?) that they have bigger plans. This may be a way to gain capital for a new project. Could we be seeing another brand-new Bass tower or two on the horizon? It’s not outside the realm of possibility. The Bass family is currently building the Carnegie, a new 16-story Class A tower on 3rd Street. From what I’ve heard, it’s filling up quite nicely. Could they be planning more office projects for downtown, with its extreme lack of vacant Class A space? And more importantly, would the new project(s) be designed by David Schwarz, the family’s favorite architect? Schwarz is incredibly skilled at creating classic, old-fashioned traditional architecture and fantastic urban spaces, and it would be great to see what he could do with a big tower. The “progressive” architecture snobs tend to put down his work, but we’re big fans.

Stay tuned for more news on the City Center sale as it becomes available.