Factory Six03

Dallas, Texas

One of the most recognizable forms on the Dallas skyline, the three 20-foot-tall rooftop water tanks of 603 Munger have been visible in the West End for over 100 years. Granite Properties recognized the potential for this landmark structure to attract new creative-class office tenants and restaurants, and they purchased the complex in late 2015. Originally constructed in three phases from 1903 to 1922, the complex was built for the Brown Cracker and Candy Company, which employed 1,000 workers and was the largest cracker factory in the country at the time. Now re-opened as Factory Six03, the building occupies a uniquely shaped site defined by the paths of former rail spurs in the warehouse district, as well as the collision of the two original City of Dallas survey grids.  The resulting outdoor urban space is one of a very few of its kind and scale in the West End.

The building exhibited many scars from past uses. A large atrium had been cut through the heavy-timber section of the building, and large sections of structural slabs and support columns had been removed from the concrete portion to carve out theaters for a multiplex. The project required extensive reconstruction of missing sections of floor and supporting structure, reconstruction of the atrium to comply with current codes, and reversal and correction of unsympathetic interior modifications. The building was also in need of extensive exterior repairs. All windows were removed, repaired and re-glazed, and reinstalled. Brick masonry was cleaned and repointed, the historic rooftop water tanks, loading dock and canopies were rehabilitated. Modern additions include new plaza landscaping and primary building entry, a new skylight at the atrium, and new lease space and amenity areas created on the roofs of both the 4- and 7-story buildings. As a designated City of Dallas Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the rehabilitation utilized City of Dallas TIF funding as well as State of Texas and federal Preservation Tax Credits.

GFF teamed with ArchiTexas for the rehabilitation of 603 Munger.