Drever Capital Management’s 1.5-million-square-foot re-development of the former First National Bank of Dallas building in the heart of the Dallas Central Business District at 1401 Elm Street, has commenced removal and restoration of the historic marble slab panels on the building’s façade.
 
Legendary Texas oilman H.L. Hunt sought the highest quality materials available during the construction of the historic building, originally importing the dense, handsomely veined white marble slabs from the same quarry in Greece as the marble used to build the still-standing Parthenon.
 
Steve McCoy, president of Drever Construction Co. worked with lead architect, Merriman Anderson/Architects, and contractor, Andres Construction, to develop a solution to remove, restore and reinstall the slabs with new connections that will secure and stabilize the tower’s exterior for decades to come. The process provides a surplus marble and terrazzo that, to the delight of the project’s interior designers, will be reutilized in the building’s interiors.  The project is scheduled to be complete in the first quarter of 2018.   
 
“We’re eager to get this project underway,” says Steve McCoy. “The process will allow this irreplaceable stone to not only be restored to its former glory, but remain as a sound element of the building’s structure for many years to come. The fact that the team was able to find a way for the excess marble to be repurposed adds another layer of history to this already impressive structure.”
 
Now known as The Drever, the skyscraper was originally designed by architects George Dahl and Thomas E. Stanley and has been home to Hunt Oil, the Dallas Petroleum Club, and the fictitious J.R. Ewing’s staged office set for Ewing Oil in the television hit program, “Dallas”.
 
The mid-century 50-story tower’s distinctive façade was often compared to the pin-striped fabric of a traditional banker’s suit because of the repeating pattern of white marble and dark gray floor-to-ceiling windows. The Drever re-development will include a luxury high-rise offering 324 residential units, a Thompson Hotel planned with 218 rooms, spa, retail, office and destination restaurants.  
 
Dallas-based architects, Merriman Anderson/Architects, are the lead architects and designers designing the reimagined interior and exterior, and are delighted with the decision to recycle the existing marble panels. Andres Construction is the construction manager overseeing the overall building project.
 
“The original marble is from Mount Pentelikon, a mountain range located in Attica, Greece,” says Aimee Sanborn, AIA, principal with Merriman Anderson/Architects. “It’s a beautiful natural stone with wonderful veining.  We were able to locate the quarry in Greece and have identified the exact species. To re-purpose 100% of the existing exterior marble tells a compelling cradle-to-cradle story of up-cycling.”
 
The condition of the panels and the integrity of the building’s engineering necessitated the decision to refurbish the marble. Existing mechanical connections were separating from the original structure. The panels will be refurbished by cladding the natural stone to a structural aluminum honeycomb backer panel, which will insure the engineering integrity and the historical value of the original marble slabs.
 
HyCOMB USA is responsible for the stone cutting and the application of the new structural aluminum honeycomb panel. Besides creating extra marble slabs for the building interiors, marble remnants from the cutting and cleaning process will be crushed and repurposed into terrazzo to be utilized in the elevator cab floors, elevator lobby flooring and flooring on the 9th floor amenity deck.
 
“I commend Drever Capital Management for their unwavering commitment to the quality of this project,” remarked Jerry Merriman, AIA, president of Merriman Anderson/Architects. “Re-purposing is generally more expensive and time consuming than demolishing and replacing with new. The building’s owner, Maxwell Drever, appreciates the significance of this building to the history of downtown Dallas.”
 
The Drever
Located on an entire Dallas city block at Elm Street, Pacific Avenue, Akard Street and N. Field Street, plans for The Drever mixed-use project include best-in-class multi-family, hotel, retail, restaurants, office, spa and parking. The 50-story, 1.5-million-square-foot skyscraper is designed to offer a luxury residential and best in class boutique hotel option with contemporary, inviting and culturally rich public and private spaces.  
 
When completed, The Drever’s eight-story tower base will be transformed into a dynamic area with more than 27,000-square-feet of ground floor retail space, 44,000-square-feet of office space, the hotel and residents’ lobbies and a grand ballroom.  A wraparound amenity deck with sightlines to surrounding buildings, including a resort quality pool, a spa, a health and fitness room, dog-park and outdoor recreation spaces will be on the 9th floor at the top of the base element. The 50th floor will feature an open-to-the-public observation deck.
 
Juxtaposed near luxury iconic Dallas retailer, Neiman-Marcus, and also the Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (DART) Akard Street Station, The Drever is within walking distance of the Dallas Arts District, Klyde Warren Park, downtown restaurants and office towers. For further information, visit https://thedreverdallas.com.