Top Ten Records, in a Dec. 2012 file photo by Danny Fulgencio
A real estate investment group has purchased four adjacent buildings on Jefferson Boulevard, including the one that houses the 60-year-old Top Ten Records.
The buyer is an investment partnership put together by Gideon Co., the same company that in 2013 bought and renovated the East Dallas retail strip that houses Ships Lounge, at Ross and Greenville. They purchased four buildings in the 300 block of West Jefferson.
Stephen Schwartz of Gideon Co. says they likely will keep Top Ten as a tenant, although the shop’s owner, Mike Polk, has said he would be willing to sell the business, which he’s run since 1977.
The group plans to renovate the buildings and attract new tenants to the corner of Jefferson and Bishop. Two of the buildings have two stories, and the new owners are planning to renovate those second stories for residential or office lofts.
Real estate investor Victor Ballas has held these buildings for years, and they’re among a handful of Jefferson properties he’s sold recently.
As we pointed out in the cover story of the December Advocate, recent rezoning of Jefferson could put some of the boulevard’s buildings at risk. The new zoning there allows for mixed-use towers, while there are few provisions to prevent demolition of old buildings.
Schwartz says he expects to begin renovating the buildings early next year.
“I really think Jefferson has more legs than Davis does because it has more walkability and more parking,” he says.
