Are you being served Dallas? Butler Brothers ring redo bell

DALLAS – Owners of a historic downtown Dallas building have begun demolition to prepare for renovation of the property.

The 104-year-old Butler Brothers Building at 500 S. Ervay is one of the last large vacant commercial buildings downtown.

Owner Alterra International has announced plans to spend more than $85 million turning the eight-story former warehouse building into a mixed-use project with retail, apartments and hotel rooms.

Work crews are now gutting the interior of the 510,000-sf building to prepare for the redevelopment.

The building was one of the largest structures in Dallas when it was built to house warehouse operations for Butler Brothers of Chicago — a wholesaler and an operator of variety stores.

The big warehouse had more than 11 acres of storage space. In the 1950s it was converted into the Dallas Merchandise Mart — a wholesale showroom center. The property — located across the street from Dallas City Hall — has been vacant for more than a decade.