Downtowns South Side is drawing more interest.

[CTroyMathis]

The South Side's upside
Sears complex's redo boosts interest in other projects south and west of downtown

03/22/2002

By STEVE QUINN / The Dallas Morning News

When Randy Burkhart heard that his company, InStaff Personnel, would be moving this summer from Plano to South Dallas, he thought, "Oh no."

But after his first visit to the new headquarters site – the South Side on Lamar development, just south of downtown Dallas – he changed his tune to a resounding OK.

"It's just a great feel down there," said Mr. Burkhart, the company's chief operations officer. "It blows me away at how nice it's looking."

South Side's developer, Peter M. Coughlin, considers Mr. Burkhart's testimony as a validation of his company's vision. Six years ago, Matthews Southwest Inc. paid $2.2 million for the landmark Sears complex at Lamar and Belleview streets.

The six buildings had been empty since 1993, and Matthews Southwest's plan to turn them into loft apartments, stores and office buildings was met with skepticism.

"There was the mentality that we were south, and that means a problem," said Mr. Coughlin, development coordinator for Matthews Southwest.

When InStaff moves in this summer, it will join a corporate roster at South Side at Lamar that includes Southwest Securities Technology's services subsidiary; PrimeSource FoodService Equipment Inc., an equipment manufacturer; and the telecom company WINfirst.

Also open for business will be a dry cleaner, a small grocery store, a branch of Resource One Federal Credit Union and a coffee shop.

"The way it has all changed is unbelievable," Mr. Coughlin said.

Charles English, chief of operations for the Southern Dallas Development Corp., said South Side's success has boosted interest in other commercial projects south and west of downtown Dallas.

One beneficiary, he said, is the development agency's plan to renovate Jefferson Tower, an eight-story building on Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff.

"The common denominator is, this was a building that sat vacant for some six years before we took on the role of acquiring it," he said. "This represents opportunities to bring in other financial, insurance and real estate services into that Oak Cliff area."

The driving forces behind South Side's growth, officials say, are the nearby DART rail line and the success of the 457 loft apartments at South Side.

The lofts – which were carved out of the upper floors of the 10-story Sears warehouse that dominates the complex – opened 18 months ago and are 85-percent leased.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Cedars station, on Belleview, just a block east of South Side, opened in 1996. It now connects South Dallas with the Park Lane rail stop near NorthPark Center. This summer, the line will be extended to Plano, where many InStaff employees live.

The area between the rail station and South Side has become a development hub.

Across the street from South Side, the Dallas Police Department is building a $59 million headquarters, where 1,300 officers and civilian employees will work. It is scheduled to open in October. And at the northeast corner of Lamar and Belleview, the South Side Grill opened six months ago, often attracting standing-room-only crowds at lunch.

Next up: Gilley's Dallas Texas, a 100,000-square-foot country-western club that is planned along Lamar between Belleview and Cadiz Street. It is expected to open next year.

"Dallas needs this," said South Side resident Joseph Guttieriz, an executive chef at Voltaire restaurant in Dallas. "The downtown area is the heart of any city. And if you don't have a healthy heart, then the whole city eventually shuts down."

The success has Matthews Southwest officials drafting plans to expand South Side. The company has bought 17 acres of land near its existing holdings to make way for more development.

Mr. Coughlin's wish list for the entire project includes a hotel and a restaurant, and he is courting an anchor tenant for an existing 75,000-square-foot office building between McKee and Arnold streets.

"I still can't say what percentage we are toward being done, but we are going to do so many more things around here," Mr. Coughlin said.

South Side has also drawn strong interest from the North Texas Opportunity Fund, which invests in two types of North Texas companies: minority-owned firms and those willing to move to underdeveloped areas.

The fund's investments in InStaff and PrimeSource FoodService, which is now based in Addison, prompted the companies' moves to South Side.

Luke Sweetser, a general partner in the fund, said South Dallas is a sound investment for companies looking to relocate. He pointed out that PrimeSource will save about $500,000 a year on rent when it moves to South Side this summer.

"From a shareholder standpoint, having $500,000 added to your bottom line by moving 11 or so miles south is worth it," he said.

Matthews Southwest officials also tout the project's aesthetic appeal.

The developers were careful to keep numerous original features in the loft building, which was built before 1920.

The historic touches include 800,000 square feet of hardwood and hexagon tile floors; exposed, 14-foot ceilings; bay doors; and Art Deco-style metal stairwells.

The old loading bays are now gallery storefronts for artists who have lofts and work studios behind the galleries.

"There's an incredible freedom of space here," Mr. Guttieriz said.

[John T Roberts]

Last time I was over that way in February, I noticed that the activity was starting to pick up.

A big plus for the area is the DART Cedars Station. The station is one of the catalysts for the neighborhood.

[CTroyMathis]

Without a doubt, if Cedars Station wasn't there - that would still be a dead zone for sure.

Now, the area has a nice long (re)development future - I believe. And, who knows where a new Police Hdqtrs. would've been built...

[GarrettCarey]

Has anyone heard about any new developments on the south side lately?

[bloodandpopcorn]

I wonder what the new Police Headquarters will do for the area. Will people see it as more of a plus or a negative? The building is gorgeous, but will people really like the idea of living next to, or a couple of blocks from, the headquarters, or will they see it negatively? I'm very glad it's been built there, and the design is great, so I hope people will look at the area, love the idea of the Headquarters there for safety, and start building West Village or Victory like structures around there.

[gc]

Southern Dallas going and growing
From retail to leisure opportunities, good things are happening in city's southern sector
Peter Beck and Albert Black - DBJournal

Good things are happening down south. Southern Dallas, that is.

That's because a potent combination of talent and resources has made a commitment to this important part of the city — with some visible results. Business and community leaders along with the Greater Dallas Chamber have played a leading role in developing the area.

The southern Dallas/Oak Cliff area is important to the region. It features the largest undeveloped landmass in the city. Growth and development are particularly significant because of the potential to help reduce unemployment, poverty and resultant social services spending.

So, what is happening in southern Dallas? There's now a real blending of mixed-use facilities there. People with vision have designed the right combination of office, industrial, sales, service, distribution and housing components to make this a vital economic area.

A solid example of this vitality is Pinnacle Park. For the past two years, local leaders and the chamber staff have been involved with the industrial park's development, including planning, establishing the needed infrastructure and recruiting tenants.

Soon afterward, companies including SBC, Neiman Marcus, Tandy and AVW established their operations there. Economic development efforts have helped to recruit or retain more than 2,300 people as employees in Southern Dallas.

The final component, retail, is now announcing its presence at Pinnacle Park in a big way. A Wal-Mart Supercenter and a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse are both under construction.

With these two major stores joining other merchants that have been anchoring the southern sector, residents can conveniently buy the things they want and need near where they work and live.

Besides the Pinnacle Park retail development, there's activity under way along Interstate 20, including at Mountain Creek Business Park and Southport Center.

On a related development note, the Trinity River area holds promise for the future. City and Dallas Chamber staffs are actively promoting economic development in the area. One idea being pursued is recruiting the National Audubon Society to operate various business and leisure venues. Other Trinity River vicinity recreational options include the Great Trinity Forest Nature Center, canoe trips, hike and bike trails, boat docks, equestrian facilities, dining and shopping.

For more southern Dallas leisure opportunities, one can go to the Dallas Polo Club. One of the best facilities of its kind, it features more than 85 acres of outdoor fields and an arena. Three leagues call this facility home. The site hosted the first polo tournament between Texas and Mexico last year.

For relaxation on the water, there's Joe Pool Lake. Cedar Hill State Park is located on the shoreline of this 7,400-acre park in Southern Dallas. Residential communities also line this part of our city.

Education has a strong future in southern Dallas, too, at the University of North Texas campus, now in development. The initial 202 acres purchased by the city of Dallas, combined with 57 acres of privately donated land, will house the first state-supported public college in Dallas County. Construction is set to begin in late 2004, with classes starting in 2007.

Southern Dallas has a lot going for it, including the accessibility provided by major highways and proximity to airports. Dallas Executive Airport, formerly Red Bird Airport, is owned by the city of Dallas. Located at Interstate 67 at Hampton in Southwest Dallas, it boasts a new terminal, control tower and entrance, offering the area a bright future in private aviation.

Good things are happening in southern Dallas as the result of committed leadership, careful planning and the right resources. It all adds up to keeping this important part of our city going — and growing.

Beck is a former chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber and managing director of The Beck Group. Black is a former chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber and president and CEO of On-Target Supplies & Logistics.

[gc]

Seeing and believing
Lisa Tanner Staff Writer - DBJournal

DOWNTOWN DALLAS — When Jack Matthews formulated plans to purchase the former Sears Catalog Merchandise Center building to house the area's largest loft project, he was sure of two things.
First, he wanted the existing community around the building to feel it had a stake in the project, and second, he wanted to be instrumental in revitalizing not only the building but also the area.

Now, open just 18 months, the 457-unit South Side on Lamar project, on South Lamar Street, just south of downtown in an area known as The Cedars, is nearly fully leased, with residents and retail tenants living and working side by side.

It's a huge project that took a "gutsy and visionary" person like Matthews to pull off, said Ryan Evans, Dallas assistant city manager, development. "It's one thing to redevelop a 5,000-square-foot building, but the Sears building has more than 1 million square feet — the size of a skyscraper," he said.

"The progress has done wonderful things for the south side. Without Jack working on the Sears building, this would never have happened. I fully believe the area will develop now," Evans said.

Across the street is a new office complex for the Dallas Police Department, on land Matthews donated for the project, and just past it is a DART station. The police building will open in March.

At one time, Canadian-born Matthews worked for his family's construction and development company, Matthews Group Ltd., which produced annual revenue in the $500 million range. He was also CEO of Paxport International from 1991 to 1993, when that company won a contract covering the privatized redevelopment and expansion of two terminals at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

Matthews, who holds a bachelor's degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, also has developed several large hotels as well as condominiums, office, retail and residential developments in Ontario.

His current projects include a 270,000-square-foot office complex for Bell Mobility in Ontario and an 8,000-acre industrial development in San Luis, Sonora, Mexico. He's also doing an office/town center project in Lewisville called The Tribute.

The South Side on Lamar project includes unique elements such as a former train bay that is now a covered streetscape. Several artists have combination working/living spaces that open on to the tree-lined walk, as do several businesses that have offices in the 1.4 million-square-foot building that is the centerpiece of the 31-acre development.

Matthews has had business projects in Dallas since 1988, but didn't move to the area until March 1994 and purchased the Sears property in February 1997.

"It was in a neglected part of the city that hadn't had any tender loving care," he said. "It wasn't bad, just neglected.

"We could see a loft community here, but it was tough for others to see it," Matthews said. "Many bankers and other local business people thought the place was a white elephant."

And the project wasn't without its troubles. "There was never a dull day," Matthews said, including the removal of much more asbestos and lead paint than was anticipated. But the building was sound and he strove to save whatever touches of the Sears operation remained.

Those artifacts and support for artists who live in the development have been instrumental in bringing back the soul of the building, Matthews says.

But his vision is more extensive and includes an entertainment area that would draw convention center visitors to the development and restaurants nearby. It looks as if the delayed Gilley's country-and-western bar project will soon be moving ahead, adding that element to the area also. More residential development, as well as retail, entertainment and other businesses will help continue the revitalization.

"We're excited about what South Side on Lamar has done on the other end of the Cedars neighborhood," said Gary Smith, president of Old City Park. "With the addition of the art projects and galleries, there are multiple reasons to come to the area, and that makes us all stronger."

Already South Side on Lamar and other projects Matthews has in the works have changed that whole community, said Jack Wierzenski, assistant vice president, economic development and planning for DART.

"Jack has a big vision for the area, which it lacked in the past," Wierzenski said. "He's done a good job of working with all sides and getting the whole area to move forward."

[rantanamo]

I wish I was seeing more than an abandoned McDonald's being rennovated and turned into Blimpies. I think it's inevitable for the neighborhood to develop. The questions I will have are will they keep with the integrity of the area. By that I mean, this is a true warehouse district with some gems sitting throughout. I don't mind new buildings at all. I welcome them. Just no West Village stuff. West End or Southside Lamar type buildings are more appropriate there. I think the crime in the area is a problem too. Between my office and Southside Lamar is one of the most dangerous areas of Dallas. Suprisingly the lofts like Hickory St Annex and American Beauty Mill(my new fav thing in Dallas) sit right in the middle of this. I'm not saying displace low-income residents. I'm saying put up nicer digs like the ones going up near Cityplace. Low-income housing doesn't have to be a slum. The city also needs to simply buy the small motel owners out in the area. Huge prostitution and drug problem catalysts. Lots of nice food joints over there, many of whom contemplate leaving if nothing is done soon. Working there awhile I have always felt the wish and desire to own property there as I think it has huge potential.

Sorry if I sound facist about the place, but it's close proximity to downtown amenities and cheap land make it a frustrating place to see sometimes. It could truly become a great neighborhood again.

[gc]

BTW, sorry for the long posts there.

I agree rantanamo, there is a lot potential for this particular area of South Dallas. I think that all types of housing could succeed as well as small business. The South Side Apartments, the DART rail station, and the new police station are perfect anchors for development in that area.

[freewaytincan]

Eh, the new headquarters seems to be trying too hard to be fashionable. It doesn't look like it suits the purpose, whereas a place like the FED on Woodall Rogers does.

[bloodandpopcorn]

I disagree. I think the new police headquarters looks rather nice. Yes, it has the 'new building' look to it, but that will wear off in a couple of years once it's had it's share of rain and wind and sleet. Then I think it will be quite an interesting addition to the area, and fit in in a slightly abstract way.

[downtownbum]

the police building doesn't bother me too much, but i would like to talk about these trendy brick midrises (urban will know the renaissance hotel and SBC building in Galatyn Park as examples) that i think look "wussy." what i am talking about is pale pastel colored brick and blue tinted windows. give me west end (or south side loft) style red brick buildings. i dont think these "wussy" buildings will age as poorly as late 50s-early 60s highrises have, but they still get on my nerves. west village should stand as an example to all other developers in the city on how to do new midrise construction.

[freewaytincan]

Yeah, I like red brick. In fact, that's what makes my suburban alcove actually shine: individuality. Classic red brick, with dark brown (with green tint) shingling, black window frames, dark green shutters and windows, and no "North Dallas Specials" on the roof; it is very simple. It is the antithesis of the suburban home of the last fifteen years.

I like the traditional look. In Galatyn Park, well, that stuff was designed for Nortel, and I do have respect for Canadians, but come on. They seem to get progressively worse! The older part of the campus with the tower and all, is pretty cool, with lots of dark glass, red brick and bold curves. And really, if you don't build with red brick of something, use limestone. That's always fun. And you can mix styles, too, like in Addison Circle. I'll give them credit for that. Uniformity, but only to a certian point. Just look at Aventura!

[downtownbum]

at the meeting on sunday someone mentioned the proposed Gilley's bar in south side. it was announced about 2000, then postponed and i have not heard anything about it in several months. i think something like that would be great for the area, bring in tourists, country folk and city people as well. does anyone have any information/knowledge about gilley's???

[MustangMonkey]

UL :

the curved nortel building you are refering to was actually built for a predicessor company. I think they were bought out by nortel; the building is commonly refered to as the BNR or B&R building, named after the preceding company.

[freewaytincan]

Oh, you mean the one with the arch...I was including the curved tower. The arched one was indeed BNR, but that was a subsidiary of then Northern Telecom. I remember all of that being built. I was little, and thought it was going to be a mall or something. How naive and suburban I used to be! Oh well.

[downtownbum]

when i was a kid i used to confuse the nortel building with the galleria. the ones i was complaining about are not the nortel buildings, but the sbc and renaissance hotel right on the rail line. again i don't hate them, but i dont think they are that great at all.

[freewaytincan]

Oh now, well, I'm not a big fan of the now SBC building up here. It's all right, I guess, but that's because it actually has height. The colors could be way better. I was thinking of the area at Campbell and Central, like you are now speaking. I like the red brick. I can see it out my window here, and it's a nice orange glow at night. That's a good thing.

[downtownbum]

btw that south side grill has a pretty dang good chili cheeseburger ahhh yes....

[gc]

have never been to the south side grill.....is it really that good or are you yankin my leg?

Speakin of GOOD burgers....there is a burger joint in Highland Park Village (i know i know) called Who's Who Burgers. They serve Kobe burgers (like kobe steak) that are unbelievable....at least IMHO.

[bloodandpopcorn]

Oh I defintly agree on Who's Who's burgers! absolutely delicous. Expensive for a burger, but cheap for Kobe beef, and probably the best hamburgers I've ever had. Good fries and shakes, too. and the design of the building is very interesting.

[crescentboi]

Sorry if this is old news, but I thought this was interesting!

Retail joins Wal-Mart in Pinnacle Park
Lisa Tanner Staff Writer
PINNACLE PARK — Retail powerhouse Wal-Mart is already building and now Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse plans a big-box store. The two will kick off the retail component of the massive Pinnacle Park mixed-use development in southern Dallas.

Deals also are inked to add the first restaurants to the business park. Wendy's International, McDonald's and Taco Cabana have committed to build restaurants there while Exxon Mobil plans a gas station, said Bill Beuck of Morning Park Inc., which owns the park. About 20 acres of the development have been sold to a Houston-based apartment developer that plans 380 middle- to upper-tier apartment homes. Construction is expected to begin in February on the complex, which will be called Vistas of Pinnacle Park.

Pinnacle Park is just south of Interstate 30 and stretches across Cockrell Hill Road. It offers easy access to downtown Dallas and draws workers — and soon shoppers — from west, south and southwest Dallas and Oak Cliff.

Morning Park purchased land for the development in 1994 but, with no utilities or roads through the area, it took time to make the project marketable, Beuck said. The size of the project — 900 acres — necessitated large-scale industrial and distribution users going in first.

In recent years, the project has attracted large industrial developers, including Hillwood, Panattoni Development L.L.C., Industrial Developments International, Argent Property Co., First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. and ProLogis.

With those operations in place, the momentum is now with the retail component.

The city of Dallas and others have long worked to add retail to the area. The $15 million Wal-Mart Supercenter is the first significant retail presence in the sector, which has been overlooked by retailers expanding across the Metroplex.

With the Wal-Mart and Lowe's on track, other retailers will begin to fall into place, said Linda Burns, director of economic development for the Greater Dallas Chamber.

"Retailers have a built-in audience, from employees who work in the area to people who live in downtown Dallas or the Grand Prairie area," she said.

The park employs about 6,000 — half the final target of about 12,000 — said John Terrell, senior vice president of Christon Co., which represents Morning Park Inc. on the retail component.

Signing Wal-Mart for the retail portion of the development has already had a "snowball effect" on retailers, Terrell said. In addition to Lowe's, another major anchor tenant is planned for the project, which also will include space for two smaller, junior-anchor tenants as well as some small-shop space. A second phase of retail is planned on 17 acres across Cockrell Hill Road from the Wal-Mart and Lowe's center, Terrell said.

But Pinnacle Park is still a hard sell for retail, because potential tenants touring the area don't immediately see the residential rooftops they'd like in close proximity, said James Christon, president of Addison-based Christon Co. With Wal-Mart and Lowe's, tax incentives from the city were a must, and without Wal-Mart, the entire retail component might not have happened, Christon added.

The Dallas City Council has indicated it would be receptive to tax incentives for anchor tenants at the development, but not for the smaller retail users. For Wal-Mart, for example, the council voted unanimously to approve a 10-year, 95% abatement of city property taxes. The Wal-Mart store is expected to generate about $500,000 in sales tax revenue for the city each year. Research shows those shoppers now travel from Dallas to Duncanville, DeSoto or Irving to shop.

Both Wal-Mart and Lowe's aim to open their stores in August 2003, Terrell said. Other retail tenants will likely be announced in early 2003, he added.

[bloodandpopcorn]

Any pictures of this place? No residential yet, I suppose, but I wonder if it's an ugly industrial park or a nice, interestingly designed place with much potential? I certainly hope for the latter.

[freewaytincan]

You want to see an example of Wally World and a Lows (yes, they are deliberatly mispelled) look at Spring Valley and Central, at Keystone Park. And big box? Well then, I guess South Dallas is getting the North Dallas treatment. That is not good.

[bloodandpopcorn]

While a walmart and a lowes are defintly not the 'ideal' tenants for a new development, they are very necessary ot get people into the area. the things they offer are very integral to people living in an area and, at least to get the place started, they're necessary. Hopefully they'll be gone in a few years, though.

[freewaytincan]

I don't know about that. It seems once Big Box is built, then even if the original tenent moves out, another Big Box retailer moves in. It doesn't ever seem to go away.

[gc]

I agree with Blood on this one. Though these "big box" retailers may not seem ideal to some, try telling that to the south Dallas residents that have been retail neglected for so many years. Walmart and Lowes provide an affordable place to shop, Dallas tax dollars, jobs, etc.

I'd like to know what other types retail developments people think should go in this area. What is an "ideal" project for an industrial park?

[downtownbum]

as a downtown resident for the last several months, i have missed the suburbs' convenience of having a walmart, loews wendy's etc near a major highway. i will definetely frequent these establishments, and hope that the owners and tenants will keep them clean, as many big retailers in mixed-income neighborhoods get trashy and that discourages a lot of customers.

[downtownbum]

and i think that for the south dallas/ oak cliff residents that have been rightly complaining about having to drive to the suburbs to shop, walmart and lowes ARE the ideal tenant. they may not excite the urbanist as much as a downtown restaurant, but they will serve a more practical purpose to many more people, and make it that much more convenient to live intown.
i agree with a post from a couple of weeks ago that walmart would be a terrible choice for dt, but dt along with oak cliff etc are competing for residents with the suburbs, and convenience is always a plus.

[crescentboi]

I am very excited about the building of the wal-mart and lowes in south dallas. part of why people with families and such are so drawn to the suburbs is the convenience of getting items for everyday living. things that are sold at these stores. I think if you place the stores in the south dallas area with a close enough proximity to downtown i think that it will bring more peole certainly into the southern area, and maybe even more people downtown, especially if they're adding more residential downtown. I would rather see strip malls with a wal-mart and such down in south dallas, then the emptiness and undesirable enviroment that lies there now.

[freewaytincan]

No, you're not hearing all of what I say...I personally think that Wal-Mart represents much of what is wrong with America. Now if it were a Target or something, I could support that much more easily.

[tamtagon]

THere are two things I see wrong with places like Wal-mart and Home Depot: too few indivduals benefit from the huge profits of ownership, and preditory, slash-and-burn leasing tactics which result in vacant buildings.

There are many thing I see right about places like Wal-mart and Home Depot. The prices are great; I can save hours of time by consolidating shopping trips; the warehouse atmosphere is very energy efficient; 24 hour availability.

Wal-mart is Capitolism at it's best.

[tamtagon]

One of the mass merchandisers will come up with a plan which will work in an urban, downtown setting, and that company make people rich. The desire for a verticle mall would find satisfaction in a 5 story [mass merchandiser] built over a transit station.

[downtownbum]

walmart is capitalism at its best and worst. i agree that it does a lot of harm, but when i need a new pair of socks i dont think of going anywhere else. urban, i would like to know what is wrong with walmart compared to target, what makes it worse.

[gc]

Long-neglected populace gaining access to goods, services
03/30/2003 - By DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News

Connie Briggs travels eight miles to get her diet ginger ale, 10 miles to see a movie, 11 miles to buy her books and even farther to get accoutrements for her organic gardening. Think she's what marketing hipsters call a back-to-nature, crunchy granola-type who lives in the country? Think again.

Ms. Briggs is an urban dweller, begging for her consumer wallet to be tapped.

She lives south of the Trinity River – that great Dallas divide between the over-retailed and the under-retailed. Southern Dallas is home to nearly half the city's residents and holds about half the real estate. Yet for decades, the residents have complained that corporate America and its homogenizing chain stores have failed to recognize the area's existence.

"The excuse they give us is, well, the demographics," Ms. Briggs says. "Do you think whites, Hispanics and blacks over here don't read books?"

For that matter, Ms. Briggs says, all three groups also use photocopying services, sip java at coffeehouses and like to roast a finer cut of lamb now and again. Those products and services are scarce in southern Dallas, she says.

Some change is finally coming. A Wal-Mart Supercenter will open in late summer at the Pinnacle Park industrial-retail and office development just off Interstate 30 at Cockrell Hill Road.

A Lowe's home improvement store will be a neighbor. And residents are buzzing about a few new restaurants fancy enough to have white tablecloths or two forks at each place setting.

Yuppies bubble that brie can now be found south of the Trinity, too. There are more prosaic but important indicators of bustle: Interstate 30 has a new "diamond interchange" – a must-have off-ramp for retailers so that the load of cars to shopping centers can be handled properly at such retail venues as Pinnacle Park.

In Pleasant Grove on the city's southeast side, a Fiesta supermarket will open this May to serve one of the city's poorest sections – an area, where used-car lots are far more abundant than grocery stores with attractive produce.

On the city's southwest side, the year-old West Cliff Shopping Plaza hums with shoppers, thanks to a good dose of activism and capital by black leaders.

But the fate of the aging Southwest Center Mall is up for debate. Its owners were foreclosed on last month. Its occupancy rate has sunk to about 60 percent. A movie theater complex at the mall has yet to break ground in a region that has no cinemas at all.

"We recognize that the southern sector of Dallas is greatly underserved by retail," says Hammond Perot, the city's assistant director of development services.

Underscoring that point was a 1997 study that found $1.1 billion in consumer spending leaks out of the area annually, Mr. Perot says. That's why the city has been courting nationally recognized chains and firms to provide a mix of services for the area.

Demographics

Southern Dallas is largely black and Latino, with each group making up about 42 percent population blocks. The other 15 percent is composed of mostly non-Hispanic whites.
The median age of both Latinos (26) and blacks (30) is younger than whites, whose median age is 39. That means they are just hitting their prime consuming years, making them attractive retailing targets. But household incomes are lower – an ironic twist in a metro area that makes it onto a top 10 list for concentration of millionaires.

In southern Dallas, the average household income is nearly $40,000 a year, the 2000 census shows. That compares with the average household income for the entire city of Dallas of $57,000 and an average household income for Texas of $54,000.

The median household income in southern Dallas is about $31,000 a year, meaning that half the households are above or below that figure. That compares with a median household income for the entire city of Dallas of about $38,000, and nearly $40,000 for Texas.

To be sure, there has been great gentrification of southern Dallas in the '90s – in such areas as Winnetka Heights and Kidd Springs and, more recently, in Elmwood, Stevens Park Estates and the Kings Highway corridor. The 2000 census showed about a dozen census blocks where the median household income ranges from the $60,000 to $91,000.

And it's helped in other ways, too.

Lupe Garcia, who runs a funeral business in Oak Cliff, says he's watched change sweep in for two decades. For a time, he thought bulldozers would scrape away decaying neighborhoods such as Winnetka Heights. Then something happened.

"In come these guys with the preservation mentality," he recalls.

That preservation mentality led to the rise of the Bishop Arts District, which begins at Bishop Avenue and West Davis Street. Mr. Garcia's business, Calvario Funeral Home, sits on the edge.

The creative class that flocks to arts districts has long had a way of pumping up an economy. But the Bishop area has struggled over the last five years, even after a $2.4 million infusion of capital improvements from the city of Dallas two years ago.

Still, there are tensions in the Bishop Arts District that some say are a microcosm of problems throughout Dallas.

Blacks complain that Hispanics are pushing them out. Hispanics complain that gays are taking over. And class issues come into play as some wealthier whites gripe about Mexican immigrants, who function in their own bubbling economy of other Spanish-speakers at businesses decorated in eye-popping hues with handcrafted signs.

A different mentality

One culture's eyesore is another culture's treasure: a Mexican botanica that peddles love potions along with indigestion remedies, a shop of wigs with rebellious curls that caters to black women.
"It's not the Plano mentality where everything has to be new, new, new," says Nathaniel Castañeda, co-owner of two restaurants here. "That mentality where everything has to be bright and shiny or it is trash."

Entrepreneurs hope that they now have the magical critical mass, a fusion of art galleries, gift stores and restaurants. The latest entrants are two trendy eateries, Veracruz and Hattie's, which are bringing in foot traffic for the rest of the shops.

Veracruz is a more upscale, Mex-Mex restaurant. Along with its artsy ambience and Veracruzano marimba and harp rhythms, it features specialties native to Mexico's Caribbean coast, such as chicken in a spicy, pumpkin seed sauce.

Hattie's is a bistro offering an ever-changing American menu of such exotica as cheese-and-nut stuffed figs and coconut-flecked ice cream, as well as seafood, pork and beef staples.

"Business breeds more business, and success breeds more successes," says Mr. Garcia.

Even so, Mr. Garcia says he'd like a big-box home improvement store in the area where he could quickly get light bulbs and acoustic tiles for his million-dollar business. Just the other day, he had to drive across a Trinity River bridge to buy $700 worth of office supplies – a tidy sum that he would have preferred to have left with a neighborhood business.

"I pity the people who say they don't want a Wal-Mart or a Lowe's in their neighborhood," says Mr. Garcia. "They don't want to put up with the traffic? Look at all the driving I have to put up with to get what I want."

Wooing Wal-Mart and then Lowe's to Pinnacle Park took some doing, says Jim Christon of the Christon Co., the real estate broker for the New Orleans-based developer Morning Park Inc.

It helped that Pinnacle sits in an enterprise zone, where there is a 90 percent discount on taxes. The population within a three-mile radius is also younger and richer than southern Dallas as a whole: Half are under 26 years of age; the average household income is nearly $49,000, and 52 percent of the residents own their homes.

But to get the retailers into the area, "I went to church every Sunday and prayed," Mr. Christon jokes.

John Terrell of Christon Co. notices another pattern. Developers in Dallas showed little interest in a project atop an old rock quarry.

"It took outside developers and owners to see the potential for this site," Mr. Terrell says.

Likewise, in southeast Dallas in the Pleasant Grove area, it took outside developers to build a $6 million shopping center. The center is ready for a May opening at Buckner Boulevard. Its big anchor will be a Fiesta supermarket. In this case, the developers are from Houston.

Farther south on Hampton Road, Darren Reagan, the CEO and chairman of the Black State Employees Association of Texas, watched for years as his neighborhood shopping strip deteriorated. He knew that with a proper face lift the shopping plaza at Hampton and Ledbetter Drive would be a draw for middle-income blacks in the area.

Plaza rebirth

Built in the mid-1960s, Westcliff Mall was declared a public nuisance in 1993 and ordered demolished by the city. The next year, a new owner took over and christened it Rosa Parks Mall, after the black seamstress who refused to take a seat in the back of a bus in Montgomery, Ala..
The mall's new owner eventually ended up in bankruptcy court. That's when Mr. Reagan and his community group stepped in, purchased the mall and built anew.

The revived West Cliff Shopping Plaza now features an Albertson's with a credit union, a Blockbuster video store, a Subway sandwich shop, a beauty salon and two insurance companies. West Cliff is also home to Emma's Cafe, a soul-food restaurant that says it cuts the calories but not the flavor. Its owner, Orin Moore, developed the business plan while recuperating from a heart transplant. Far too many African-Americans suffer from diabetes and heart disease, he says. That's why his cuisine is heavy on the herbs, for healthful eating.

And Mr. Moore survived his first year in business with growth in every quarter, he says proudly.

Martin Burrell, a vice president of public affairs for American Airlines Center, lives a short distance from the West Cliff shopping center. And he says the region is building steam.

New housing has also gone in at Bonnie View Road and Loop 12 at a site formerly known for crime-ridden apartments. The developer is Southwest Housing Development, a Dallas-based firm specializing in affordable housing.

Mr. Burrell says he considered living north of the Trinity for the retail conveniences. He currently crosses the Trinity to shop at Whole Foods, and he believes southern Dallas would support one.

But he'd much rather live in southern Dallas. He's bought two homes there in the last two decades and says: "I am not interested in the congestion that North Dallas has."

Infusion needed

Signs that southern Dallas needs even more capital are apparent.
Occupancy at the 28-year-old Southwest Center Mall – the only mall in southern Dallas – has fallen to 60 percent, according to its management company Insignia/ESG, a unit of New York-based Insignia Financial Group Inc. In fact, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. foreclosed on the mall's owner in February after a default on more than $36 million in loans.

"It's on life support," says Mr. Reagan, who says he thinks occupancy may be even lower than 60 percent. .

When there's a foreclosure of the ownership of the mall, it creates a dilemma for the anchor stores, Mr. Reagan says.

In February, the Dallas City Council approved a one-year loan of $500,000 to Los Angeles-area developers who would like to take the old space that previously housed J.C. Penney and convert it into a movie theater, says Mr. Perot, the city's economic development official. The 2.9 percent loan must be paid back in one year. The developers are working with Cinemark USA, a privately held Plano-based company, Mr. Perot said.

Plans for a new theater house have been announced at least three times in the past but always seem to hit a snag. Many retailers are finding profits farther south, outside Dallas city limits. The growing city of Cedar Hill became home to such household names as Barnes & Noble, Linens 'N Things, Old Navy and OfficeMax in late 2000. Wal-Mart opened a Supercenter there in 2002. And J.C. Penney said recently it will open a store this year in Cedar Hill, which draws shoppers from Duncanville and southern Dallas.

"Most of the suburban communities are really benefiting from our lack of interest in southern Dallas," says Mr. Reagan, the activist. "The city needs to put a full-court press on its commitment of the mall."