The Dallas City Council approved the rezoning for the Preston-Royal mixed-use project on Tuesday night, Nov. 10, voting 9-6 to let the developer build well above the 54-foot limit on the 7.3-acre site, but not as high as the plan that reached the horseshoe.
The motion came from Council Member Gay Donnell Willis, who represents District 13, where the site sits. It lowered the maximum building height to 199 feet. The version the City Plan Commission recommended in August allowed a hotel and residential tower of up to 240 feet, a second residential tower of up to 210 feet and an office building of up to 190 feet.
Burk Interests first proposed one building at 325 feet in October 2025.
Willis said the project's height had come down by almost 40% over the past year, including a 41-foot cut negotiated in the days before the vote, CandysDirt.com reported.
She also attached traffic conditions, according to People Newspapers: an emergency signal where Fire-Rescue Station 41's trucks pull onto Royal Lane, new signal equipment at Preston and Royal, and a timing study of nearby signals before any building permit is issued.
Two attempts to change course
Council Member Bill Roth, whose District 11 sits across Preston Road from the site, proposed capping heights at about 110 feet with stricter parking rules. That amendment failed 9-6, as did his motion to hold the case until Dec. 9. Roth called Willis' height limit "significantly inadequate" and said the decision would set a precedent for the intersection's other three corners, People Newspapers reported.
District 12's Cara Mendelsohn also voted no. "This is not the right development for this property. It is far too tall," she said, according to NBC 5.
