BEAUMONT, Texas — Downtown Beaumont was the place to be back in the day, and one Dallas-based real estate investor plans to bring life back to the area.
The investor said he wants to save the AT&T building in downtown Beaumont from the wrecking ball.
He has big plans for the property.
“Retails, restaurants, bars, coffee shops at the bottom floor,” Selim Kiralp said.
He foresees a luxurious future for the downtown destination. Everything from luxury apartments to a rooftop bar.
“I’m going to be putting luxury apartments on the other stories. I might be adding some hotels on top of it, too,” Kiralp said.
Those are some of Kiralp's remodeling plans for the AT&T building if the city approves his $3 million offer to buy it.
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“So I made a verbal offer to city and our official written offer is ready right now we are just doing little touch-ups before I submit it to the city,” Kiralp said.
Kiralp has been in real estate for over a decade, starting his business in his home country of Turkey renovating older buildings.
“Texas kind of caught my attention with the real estate develops and a lot of potential in Dallas for developments, and I see that Beaumont is one of those cities,” Kiralp said.
For the last six years, he's been investing in property around the state, building projects from the ground up.
“We did our market research here in Beaumont there's still a huge demand for apartments here,” Kiralp said.
He said he's already building a 100-unit apartment complex near Lamar University.
“My current development is 130% occupied with applications so there's a waitlist,” Kiralp said.
The city bought the AT&T building last year from owner Tom Flanagan with plans to demolish it to make room for riverfront development.
“I've been inside the building and the building structure itself is very good and it has a lot of potential to bring to downtown Beaumont,” Kiralp said.
If the city doesn't tear it down, Flanagan has the right to buy it back. So, negotiating will need to happen.
Interim City Manager Chris Boone also told 12News Kiralp’s project is a great idea but the city is still going over documentation and investigating whether his proposal is feasible.
Kiralp said he will waste no time getting started if his bid is accepted.
He estimates structural design and obtaining permits will only take a year and construction could be finished in two years. So, the only thing stopping him from renovating the AT&T building is the city's decision.
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