The Real Deal

Purse Building listed as redevelopment play near $3B convention center project

The brick building constructed in 1905 was used by the FBI as an investigative command center after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in nearby Dealey Plaza. It’s on the National Register of Historic Place and is approved for state and federal historic tax credits as well as the city’s 10-year historic tax abatement. 

The Pam Goodwin Show

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Designer to Developer in Downtown Dallas with Tanya Ragan on The Pam Goodwin Show

In this episode, I’m thrilled to introduce you to my good friend, Tanya Ragan, the powerhouse entrepreneur and President of Wildcat Management. Tanya’s journey is nothing short of inspiring—she started with a background in fashion design and has built a reputation as one of Dallas’s leading real estate developers, transforming historic properties and shaping the future of this city. 

Crexi Podcast

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From Style to Structure: Historic Restoration in Dallas | The Crexi Podcast

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This episode charts Tanya Ragan’s, President and CEO of Wildcat Management, journey from fashion to urban redevelopment pioneer in Downtown Dallas.

CultureMap Dallas

You could own this darling historic building in downtown Dallas

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 A unique and historic building in downtown Dallas is up for grabs: The Purse Building, ideally situated across the street from Dallas' No. 1 tourist destination Dealey Plaza, is now for sale. Beyond its own stunning features, it has an optimal location across the street from Dealey Plaza and the Book Depository, a tourist destination that sees nearly 7 million visitors annually.

Bisnow

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Brick By Brick: Historic West End Enters New Era Of Growth

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Best Real Estate Deal - Award Winner Located in downtown Dallas’ flourishing West End Historic District, the Purse Building located at 601 Elm Street is a 65,000-square-foot architectural landmark.

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Dallas Business Journal

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Historic Purse Building - Explore this Downtown Dallas Gem.

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Best Real Estate Deal - Award Winner Located in downtown Dallas’ flourishing West End Historic District, the Purse Building located at 601 Elm Street is a 65,000-square-foot architectural landmark.​

Texas Business Minds Podcast

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Dallas: Wildcat Management President Tanya Ragan

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In this episode, Dallas Business Journal Managing Editor Rob Schneider profiles the past, present and future of the Historic West End. How is Ragan managing her real estate portfolio and working through this crisis? And what does the future hold for commercial real estate in the Downtown Dallas core? 

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Business of Architecture Podcast

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Revitalizing Downtown Dallas with Tanya Ragan

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In today’s episode, Tanya shares with us her experience in real estate development, the synergy between community history and urban development, and her quest to rebuild, restore and revitalize Downtown Dallas.

Paper City​ Magazine

Dallas’ Historic Purse Building and its Ghost Signage Being Restored by Woman Developer With a Downtown Plan

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Dubbed The Purse Building for its ghost signage on the exterior that states “Purse & Co. They told a story of when President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dealey Plaza in 1963, the FBI came into the Purse building and used it as their operations center.

Candy's Dirt

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Historic Purse Building Activates Key Corner of West End

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The building — once a furniture warehouse and, in its previous use, an office building for the county — has revealed its stunning character as the process of restoration has uncovered, layer by layer, the beauty of what lies beneath the patina of neglect.

Candy's Dirt

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​Developer Tanya Ragan Hosts 'Pack The Purse Drive Benefiting At-Risk Mothers

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It’s probably more than a coincidence that developer Tanya Ragan of Wildcat Management is both hard at work fixing up the Purse Building in downtown Dallas’ West End and hosting a “Pack the Purse” event.

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TOWERS

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Still Cool After All these Years, The Purse Building Gets Its Second Chance

Ragan understands why some buildings don't survie, and how old buildings endure upgrades that are often not flattering and can hide critical flaws.

CandysDirt.com

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​Tanya Ragan launches restoration of historic Purse Building in Dallas' West End

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One of those is the West End, an area Ragan describes as almost a “Boston within Dallas” now loading with offices, restaurants, retail, and some residential. “The offices are central — so close to downtown and the core,” she says. “You can hop on DART. Or you can walk outside and still see cobbled streets.”​​​

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Dallas Business Journal

Downtown Dallas properties hit market with new uses imagined
They include historic Purse Building, parking lot that could go vertical

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That is in response to what I feel is renewed activity," she said about her decision to re-list the downtown property, noting it was also driven in part by the upcoming multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the convention center, which is just six blocks away.

KeyCrew Journal

From Wildcatter to Urban Pioneer: Tanya Ragan's Evolution in Texas Real Estate

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“We’re taking the Purse Building a 100-year-old structure that had sat empty for 30 years and was boarded up… we found this fabulous history on it, an amazing family with an incredible name who ran a fabulous furniture store there for almost 50 years.”

Katy Trail Weekly

Community building one brick at a time

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Tanya Ragan, president of Wildcat Management in Dallas’ West End, is committed to rebuilding neighborhoods. While her nearly 20-year portfolio of development projects is spread throughout DFW, she has gained notoriety in the real estate community for work in downtown Dallas, the West End and in the Farmers Market District.

 

Texas Business Minds Podcast

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Dallas: Full Speed Ahead! Wildcat Management's Tanya Ragan Delivers an Update on Developments

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It's been over two years since we last checked in with Ragan, President of Wildcat Management. While the world has changed, or adjusted, development in Dallas is back on track like it's 2019 again. In this episode, DBJ Managing Editor Rob Schneider invites Tanya back for an update on her projects, and she shares her optimistic outlook for all of Texas.

BUILDINGS Magazine

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The Grand Dame of Dallas​:

Meet the Historic Building at the Center of Dallas’ West End Revival

The restoration of the 116-year-old Purse Building has restored an architectural landmark to its former glory and placed this “grand dame of a building” at the center of the Dallas West End revival.

Dallas Business Journal

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Best Real Estate Deal Award Winner

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With developer Wildcat Management at the helm, the building saw a complete interior demolition and some of the property's original floors and materials revealed. The preservation of the facility, built in 1905 and vacant since 1990...​

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Bisnow​

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​Is Downtown Dallas the Most Recession-Proof, Design Forward Market in DFW?

When it comes to what DFW submarkets will thrive in the next recession Downtown Dallas is a top contender with its stock of historic buildings and affordable lease rates.

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Dallas Business Journal

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West End anchored by history, infused with innovation

Redeveloping the Purse Building. Each of the historic West End building's six floors, some of which are ready for tenants, features large windows, high ceilings and wood floors.  What does it take to redevelop a historic property.

Dallas Morning News

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How Tanya Ragan navigates Downtown Dallas’ ‘boys club’ of real estate developers

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Recently named by The Business Journals as one of the top 100 real estate influencers in the U.S., Tanya Ragan's most recent project is restoring the 114-year-old Purse Building.

Dallas Morning News

Renovation of historic Purse & Co. Building in downtown Dallas moves ahead

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Built in 1905, the Purse Building is one of the last undeveloped structures in downtown Dallas' West End Historic District.

Ragan's Wildcat Management is redeveloping the building with historic tax credits and is seeking incentives from the city's tax increment finance district.

CultureMap Dallas​

Historical building in Downtown Dallas' West End opens for tenant tours

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"We're creating an atmosphere that is a fine balance between paying homage to history and being cutting edge," Ragan says.

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Bisnow

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Purse Building Joins Other Efforts To Revitalize West End

Renovation of the historic, and long vacant Purse Building joins a slew of projects intended to revitalize Dallas' West End. 

Business Insider

Historic Purse Building, a 65,000-SF Landmark in Downtown Dallas, Officially Listed for Sale; Rare U.S. Redevelopment Opportunity Near Convention Center and Growing Business District

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Potential redevelopment scenarios include boutique hotel (102-116 key feasibility), creative office, residential lofts or condominiums, or mixed-use concepts combining retail, dining, and workspace. As a historic property, the building also qualifies for federal and state historic tax credits and local abatements, which can offset up to 45 percent of rehabilitation costs.

REDNews 

2024 Texas Icons

Redefining urban development through authentic experiences. Tanya Ragan is more than a real estate developer; she is a change-maker, an advocate for historic preservation and a leader who prioritizes community-driven development. 

AIA Dallas | Columns

Dallas + Architecture + Culture

Don't Kill the Vibe
Gentrification in Dallas Neighborhoods

In the last seven years a lot of young people have moved to Dallas, and we’ve seen explosive growth downtown with a residential population. Our downtown — previously sleepy after 5 o’clock — became active.

Candy's Dirt

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Purse Building Receives Preservation Achievement Award

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"While the building has been through many iterations, it remains a keystone to the West End as well as an important historic backdrop to all those photographs taken at Dallas’ most famous Plaza.  Subsequent to the tragic event in the Plaza, the building was also a temporary FBI operations center due to its proximity."

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Dallas Business Journal

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Most Inspiring Leaders

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Ragan has a special place in her heart for downtown. The Minnesota native says she’s been downtown for 15 years and is currently involved in several ventures in the area. Since 2014, her real estate firm, Wildcat Management has owned the historic Purse Building.

(photo credit: Jake Dean)

CandysDirty.com

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Born And BRED: Dallas Business Journal Best Real Estate Deals of 2019 Awards

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When Tanya Ragan has an idea, there’s no stopping her. The real estate developer behind Wildcat Management has used her tireless will to breathe new life into...

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Bisnow

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​Dallas' Historic West End Is Ready To Compete On Price And Its Coolness Factor

In the 20th century, the West End's brick-adorned real estate served as a backdrop to the famed Bonnie and Clyde saga and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 

Architectural Digest

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​Purse Building Lives to See Another Day

The Historic Purse Building Dowtown Dallas is being restored by real estate investor Tanya Ragan. "I'm inspired by projects that have a level of impact. This building is the entry to the West End, " Ragan told PaperCity Dallas. 

Dallas Business Journal

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​RENOVATION  REINVENTION

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Working Downtown for nearly a decade, Tanya Ragan is kicking off the second phase of the refurbishment of her latest project: The West End's iconic Purse Building. Ragan sat down with the Dallas Business Journal to discuss what it takes to redevelop a historic property, the plans she has for the building and being a leading woman executive in Dallas real estate.

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D Innovates​

Look Inside: Historic Purse Building Reopens In West End

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The building’s restoration was inspired by the work of author, urbanist, and activist Jane Jacobs, whose larger-than-life face is printed in the building’s ground floor lounge along with her quotation, “new ideas need old buildings,” says Wildcat Management CEO Tanya Ragan.

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Dallas Morning News

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Breaking Out of the Corporate Office Box

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Historic Purse Building will chase new generation of tenants.

“We got interest as soon as we started working on the building,” said investor Tanya Ragan, who earlier this year started a fix-up program on the Elm Street structure. 

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D Magazine

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​Wildcat Management's $15M Renovation of the West End's Purse Building

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For nearly 30 years, the historic Purse Building at 601 Elm St. in the West End has been empty. Now, it’s being rehabilitated by a woman-owned real estate investment, development, and management company, Wildcat Management.