One of the country’s largest real estate developers is making a bet on Dallas’ Deep Ellum district.

Houston-based Hines — whose projects include the Galleria Dallas and office skyscrapers across the globe — is building a retail and office tower east of downtown.

Hines’ new Commerce Street building is just blocks from the complex where Uber is locating thousands of workers in a new regional office.

Called The Stack, Hines’ 16-story mixed-use project is being built in partnership with Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management — the same company developing the Uber buildings.

Canada-based Ivanhoe Cambridge is also an investor in the deal.

1 / 3The Stack is a combination of office and retail space.(5G Studio Collaborative) 2 / 3The Stack has 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail.(5G Studio Collaborative) 3 / 3The Stack (pictured on the left) is on Commerce Street east of downtown Dallas.(5G Studio Collaborative)

Hines officials said they were attracted to Deep Ellum because of the redevelopment underway in the more-than-century-old commercial district.

“The attractiveness of this site that Westdale owns is it’s in the core of Deep Ellum,” Hines managing director Ben Brewer said. “As real estate developers, wherever we go we are looking for well-rounded areas.

“This site is close to 60-plus food and beverage locations and 20-plus entertainment venues,” he said. “It’s in a highly walkable location — something companies want.”

The building will include 15,000 square feet of street-front retail space plus almost 200,000 square feet of offices.

The high-rise exterior will have a combination of vintage and modern styles.

“It fits well in the neighborhood,” Brewer said.

Designed by Dallas architect 5G Studio Collaborative, the project will open in early 2021.

The building will have terraces on each floor and a “sky lounge” on the upper floors.

The building site is now a parking lot on Commerce Street east of downtown. (Steve Brown)

Westdale Real Estate is one of the largest owners in Deep Ellum with properties including the Bomb Factory entertainment hall, which backs up to the new tower’s site.

The new office project will bring an increase in professional employment to Deep Ellum, which is still often thought of only for its nightclub and bar scene.

“Bringing the jobs to the neighborhood is big,” said Westdale CEO Joe Beard. “The offerings are going to get more diverse as we get more daytime workers.

“It’s going to become a real neighborhood — not just an entertainment district.”

Along with the new Uber campus at Pacific Avenue and Good-Latimer Expressway, Deep Ellum is getting over 1,000 new apartments in three large rental projects.

Plus, new owners of the blocks of storefronts and old commercial buildings are making upgrades to the properties and brining in new tenants.

It’s just the latest resurgence for an area of Dallas that has seen several waves of redevelopment since the 1980s.

“It’s gone through its growing pains, but it’s still all about location, location, location,” Beards said. “It’s become a very desirable neighborhood with all the different attributes.”

Hines’ new building will also include a 640-space parking garage that can be used for the retail and restaurant visitors at night and on the weekends.

“Having that many spaces in the core of Deep Ellum is big,” Beard said. “It’s something we’ve needed for a long time.”