Situated at the intersection of Elm Street, Pacific Avenue, and Good Latimer Expressway, The Epic marks a prominent gateway between downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum. The project serves as a vital point of transition where the urban scale shifts and the city’s character evolves. Rather than creating a solitary destination, the project responds by organizing the entire block into a cohesive, connected public realm.
The heart of the site is a linear public courtyard connecting Elm and Good Latimer. More than just a walkway, this active, shaded corridor is designed as a destination in its own right. With an interactive water feature, a koi pond water feature, intentional seating and a public art sculpture called The Tree of Ténéré that features 75,000 interactive LED lights, the courtyard balances daily transit with moments of stillness and social gathering.
This movement extends beyond a single line. Openings between buildings create north–south connections that keep the block permeable, allowing people to enter, cross, and re-enter from multiple directions. Office workers, residents, hotel guests, and visitors move through the same spaces, creating overlap rather than separation. Along the perimeter, Elm Street, Pacific Avenue, and Good Latimer Expressway are reinforced as active edges, with continuous pedestrian movement, clear entries, and ground-level activity that extends Deep Ellum’s street life into the site. Access, service, and parking are resolved within this framework without interrupting it.
Activity continues above the street. A shared rooftop deck and a series of terraces provide additional space for gathering, offering views toward downtown and back across Deep Ellum. These elevated spaces expand the public life of the project, creating a second layer of occupation tied to the energy below.
Utilizing the historic Knights of Pythias Temple designed by Dallas’ first African American architect, The Pittman Hotel reconnects the past to present as an upscale, boutique hotel positioned between contemporary downtown and eclectic Deep Ellum. The hotel pool courtyard activates the streetscape, extending the building’s presence while seamlessly connecting it to the surrounding environment and was the first pool in the Unites States to utilize a Twinscape Hydrofloor system that allows the pool to be transformed into an entertainment space.
The Epic supports a full mix of uses including office, residential, hotel, and retail, but it is the public realm that defines it. The central street can be closed to traffic and opened for events, allowing the block to shift from daily movement to collective activity. What begins as a route becomes a place people return to.
Rather than acting as a barrier between two distinct districts, The Epic serves as a porous threshold where Deep Ellum and Downtown Dallas converge and allows their unique energies to overlap and flow through the site, creating a seamless urban continuity.
Client: Westdale
Architecture: Perkins+Will, LRK
Civil Engineer: Kimley-Horn
Structural Engineer: Stantec
Water Feature Engineer: Roman Fountains
Lighting Designer: Architectural Lighting Alliance
32°47’05.3″N 96°47’17.0″W