Iconic mustangs sculpture site near Dallas to get makeover

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Just look at the photos on Google or Instagram: The most recognized landmark in Irving is the Towers at Williams Square.

The Dallas Morning News reports that's the Las Colinas high-rise complex with the sculpture of wild mustangs out front.

Any time of the day or night, you can find visitors taking Facebook photos or selfies on the stone plaza that surrounds the horses.

Soon they'll be romping through a park, not a field of granite, at the site about 10 miles northwest of downtown Dallas.

"When the Green Bay Packers were staying at the hotel over there, they asked if they could put cheesehead hats on all the horses — we said no," said Bill Brokaw, senior vice president with Dallas-based Hillwood, which is a partner in the project and leases and manages the four-building office development.

Built as the centerpiece for Las Colinas, the 1.4 million-square-foot high-rise complex sold for $330 million in 2015 to Apollo Global Real Estate of New York and Vanderbilt Partners of Chicago. Since then, the owners have been working to upgrade the 34-year-old Irving project and keep it competitive for business tenants.

While one phase of the mega building makeover is wrapping up, a more visible renovation of the Irving project is still ahead, including a redo of the central plaza.

"The process has been to reinforce the allure of such a trophy property and cater to the changing work environment," Brokaw said. "We are redefining this building as the iconic piece of Las Colinas."

That's what Las Colinas founder Ben Carpenter was aiming for when he built Williams Square in the 1980s. He even named it after his brother-in-law.

Back then, most suburban North Texas office buildings were on the puny side.

Carpenter wanted a downtown-worthy skyscraper at the...