5401 N. Central Expressway Renovation in Dallas, TX

The renovation of the office building at 5401 N. Central Expressway in Dallas is complete. The project passed its final TDLR accessibility inspection in June 2026, confirming that construction has concluded for this 44,650 sq ft facility. The work involved interior renovation and alteration to the existing structure.

Project Scope and Cost

Southern Methodist University is the owner of record for this privately funded project. Kline Hardin served as the design firm, while Grady Gammons was the registered accessibility specialist. The estimated cost for the renovation was $2,444,421. This figure places the project in the top quarter of estimated costs for renovation and alteration filings in Dallas County, where the median is $249,000. The cost per square foot was $55, which is below the county median of $72 per square foot for similar projects.

The scheduled build window was 84 days, a duration close to the county median of 92 days for this type of work. The project registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in October 2025. Construction started in November 2025, and the filing indicated a completion date of January 2026. Although the scheduled date passed, the final inspection did not occur until June 2026. This timeline reflects the actual sequence of events recorded in the TDLR file.

Regional Context

This site is part of a broader development landscape in the North Dallas area. Other registered renovation projects nearby include NorthPark Center, Kroger, and 5950 Sherry. The immediate neighborhood includes businesses such as Javier's Gourmet Mexicano and NetWorth Realty of Dallas, LLC. Housing in the 75205 ZIP code is mostly owner-occupied, with a median household income of $188,396 according to U.S. Census ACS 2023 five-year estimates. The median owner-occupied home value in this area is $1,518,600.

Southern Methodist University has registered six other TDLR projects totaling $96,205,990, including the Rees-Jones Library of the American West. Kline Hardin has been the design firm for six other projects totaling $44,503,770, such as Skyline High School. The Dallas County unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in July 2026, higher than a year earlier. This project stands as a completed interior renovation within this active commercial and educational market.