After a fruitless search in a scorching hot Dallas commercial real estate market, Ben DuBose had just about given up buying a property in which to relocate his plaintiffs personal injury law practice last year when he spotted a shuttered office building on North Central Expressway.

The empty, white, one-story 1954-era brick building wasn’t listed for sale. But the faded sign above the entrance read “Adelfa B. Callejo”—a name that any native Dallas lawyer instantly recognizes.