Mockingbird Station

[amarkscpa]

Nice photos. On the ground floor, not visible in the photos, they have installed a 2 foot layer of white styrofoam material on the former parking lot to raise the first floor level to the sidewalk level. Appears they are about to pour concrete on top of this styrofoam so that we have the first floor of this retail space complete.

[dallastophoenix]

i recently went to a tenant meeting where the MS staff discussed the parking woes, new signage for the development, and daily events to draw people more consistently to the "station."

parking has been difficult, but the main issue is that people don't know about the 2 different parking garages available. the main garage (under angelika) has 2 entrances/exits, but people don't always know they're there. the business garage (closest to the 75 service rd) is open to the public on weekends, and it's free. once the newest phase is completed, several hundred new spaces will open up.

the new signage will likely be on the dark glass tower off the service road. it wasn't thoroughly discussed, but i assume it will be a lighted sign - "mockingbird station." this will really help identify the development for drivers heading north on 75. it's so funny how people driving south have no clue it's mockingbird station. they simply think the development (or even apartments) is called "west elm."

i don't recall all of the daily events (we showed up late for this discussion), but they seemed a bit trivial, especially considering the type of customers MS attracts.

it was obvious the development heads are VERY glad west elm is there. they mentioned the store numerous times throughout the meeting, discussing the added traffic the store has brought to the station.

[mjblazin]

Stop telling people about that business garage. It was one of the best secrets there. Combine the sharp up angle ramp off the service road, the industrial strength cleaner used in that green metal stairway and the non-descript door next to what used to be the music store, and it was perfectly hidden.

[vman]

They need to work on getting that restaurant spot in front of Angelika leased out. It's been vacant for way too long and is extremely visable.

[Kelley USA]

Do we have any idea what new retailers will be moving into the new phase?

[rosewood]

I always use the Valet! NEVER had a parking problem.

They are opening the retail up SUMMER 2008! Same time as PARK PLACE.

[Uptown72]

The Valet is NOT always the best choice, dahling. My AssMart likes to park on the street so she can be seen and easily accessed periodically.

[rosewood]

There is nothing more stylish and gauche than having the Valet retrieve ones car merely to place a small Chanel bag in the trunk and send it back. Tipping handsomely, of course.

[amarkscpa]

Do we have any idea what new retailers will be moving into the new phase?

Sunglass Hut and Lululemon Athletica is all so far... , both on bottom floor. There are 9 retail spaces on the blueprints of which 5 are downstairs and 4 upstairs.

I sure would like to see Cafe Brazil or BuzzBrews or some other breakfast place move in... Maybe La Madeline will have to move when Bush Library goes up...?

FWIW, video of the day...

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=20822466

[noelamador]

I can't believe anyone would complain about parking. it's SO easy. ever since I started working at West Elm I've been able to find parking in mere seconds EVERY TIME I'm there. the problem is people don't want to walk more than 15 feet from there car to any one shop. that's sad!

[lpepping]

Yea I agree people only want to park 5 feet from the store. I see them circling the parking lot over and over like cattle.

[cowboyeagle05]

Yea I agree people only want to park 5 feet from the store. I see them circling the parking lot over and over like cattle.
Its no different than at places like Firewheel mall where a large number of people will spend the first 20 minutes driving through the center streets to get one of the parking spots right in front of the stores. When there are plenty of parking directly behind the buildings right up next to the backs of the stores and some that have back entrances directly to the Parking lots. They will fight over parking spots right in front of places they won't even shop at even though they could get potentially closer parking spot behind the building. Course I will never drive to MockingBird station it just seems weird for me currently to drive to dart station when I can take a train their but I live in the suburbs and don't won't to get in and add to Mockingbird traffic.

[Mephis Gooseberry]

Is there any word on the Prescott and First Worthing developments?

[SDORN]

This update Taken Nov 14, 2007

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/6237/mockingbirdexpansion1ih7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[SDORN]

More demo work is being done on the Ole UA cine off yalle Just drove by it.

[palchik]

Spike and the Gelato/Pizza place haves closed at Mockingbird Station...theres an eviction notice on the door of the Gelato place...says they havent paid their rent.

[SDORN]

Thanks palchick for keeping us in the Know.

[amarkscpa]

Spike and the Gelato/Pizza place haves closed at Mockingbird Station...theres an eviction notice on the door of the Gelato place...says they havent paid their rent.

Geez, I live at the Mockingbird Lofts and did not realize this! Must have closed Friday or possibly Saturday night as I recollect people being there this weekend as I walked my dog.

Both Spike/Gelato were owned by same company and are next to one another. Eviction notice says they have not paid their rent from August to December.

Does not bode well for Phase III development currently under construction. Mockingbird Station had better hope the new George Bush Library gets located at SMU, this would likely spur more tenants in the area...? The Bush Library would likely add over 40,000 visitors per month to the Mockingbird Station area and change the tenant mix here...?

Here are excerpts from the Clinton Presidential Library economic impact on Little Rock (over 40,000 visitors per month in its first year):
_____
Nearly one year has passed since the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, and the tourism business is reporting record numbers for 2005 and continued positive projections down the road. Hotel revenues, tourism tax collections, individual travel, motor coach business and convention bookings all saw big gains in 2005 and the future looks to be as bright in the coming months and years, said Dan O’Byrne, chief executive officer of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau (LRCVB).

“You can’t over estimate the value of the Clinton Center to the tourism business,” O’Byrne said. “President Clinton put our city on a whole new course in 1997 when he chose to build his presidential library here. Since that time we have gone to a different level and our 2005 numbers and future forecasts reflect that. Most of what has happened in the eight-year period since 1997 is a direct result of President Clinton’s commitment to our city, and for that we owe him and his staff a great deal.”

With visitor totals approaching 500,000 people, the Clinton Center has far surpassed the projection of 300,000 visitors for the first year, according to Clinton Foundation officials, and the hospitality industry has felt the positive effects of this influx of tourists. Several large conventions, including the League of United Latin American Citizens and City Year’s Cyzygy came to the city in 2005 as a direct result of the Clinton Center.

“Meetings and conventions in Little Rock have brought thousands of people to the Clinton Center, many more than we anticipated,” said Skip Rutherford, chairman of the Clinton Foundation. “One of the best decisions we made on this project was the location of the facility – just down the street from the convention center, on a major interstate and just a short walk from great hotels, restaurants and other attractions.”

Also, more than 500 out-of-state motor coaches visited the Center this year, doubling the LRCVB projection of 250. This total does not include in-state coaches, school buses or motor coaches that visited Little Rock but did not visit the Center.

Collections on Little Rock’s 2 percent hotel and restaurant tax are up more than 11 percent in 2005 as compared to 2004, according to the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. This figure offers, “A reflection of the health and vitality of the hospitality industry in Little Rock,” O’Byrne said.

Hotel room revenues in Little Rock for the first three quarters of 2005 are up $15 million from the same period in 2004, a 21 percent increase in business, according to a report by Smith Travel Research. The number of hotel rooms sold in 2005 has increased 15 percent over 2005 with over 550 more rooms sold per night in Little Rock.

“Those numbers speak for themselves,” O’Byrne said. “Not only do we have more people staying in our hotels, but the industry has increased its supply with over 2,000 new or renovated hotel rooms in the city. So, our supply and the quality of that supply is increasing along with the demand.”

But the direct and indirect impact of the Clinton Center on the tourism business won’t end in 2005, O’Byrne said. Many more future meetings and conventions have been booked for 2006 and years beyond, and the city is eagerly awaiting more new attractions, including Heifer International’s World Headquarters and Global Village, a Game and Fish nature center and the Center for Arkansas Studies, all to be constructed within walking distance of the Clinton Center.
________

If worse comes to worse, can always use that new Phase III space for a Motor Coach Mecca!! They are widening Mockingbird Lane in the Park Cities area currently, guess this would be because the Bush Library is coming?

[grantboston]

Geez, I live at the Mockingbird Lofts and did not realize this! Must have closed Friday or possibly Saturday night as I recollect people being there this weekend as I walked my dog.

Both Spike/Gelato were owned by same company and are next to one another. Eviction notice says they have not paid their rent from August to December.

Does not bode well for Phase III development currently under construction. Mockingbird Station had better hope the new George Bush Library gets located at SMU, this would likely spur more tenants in the area...? The Bush Library would likely add over 40,000 visitors per month to the Mockingbird Station area and change the tenant mix here...?

Here are excerpts from the Clinton Presidential Library economic impact on Little Rock (over 40,000 visitors per month in its first year):
_____
Nearly one year has passed since the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, and the tourism business is reporting record numbers for 2005 and continued positive projections down the road. Hotel revenues, tourism tax collections, individual travel, motor coach business and convention bookings all saw big gains in 2005 and the future looks to be as bright in the coming months and years, said Dan O’Byrne, chief executive officer of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau (LRCVB).

“You can’t over estimate the value of the Clinton Center to the tourism business,” O’Byrne said. “President Clinton put our city on a whole new course in 1997 when he chose to build his presidential library here. Since that time we have gone to a different level and our 2005 numbers and future forecasts reflect that. Most of what has happened in the eight-year period since 1997 is a direct result of President Clinton’s commitment to our city, and for that we owe him and his staff a great deal.”

With visitor totals approaching 500,000 people, the Clinton Center has far surpassed the projection of 300,000 visitors for the first year, according to Clinton Foundation officials, and the hospitality industry has felt the positive effects of this influx of tourists. Several large conventions, including the League of United Latin American Citizens and City Year’s Cyzygy came to the city in 2005 as a direct result of the Clinton Center.

“Meetings and conventions in Little Rock have brought thousands of people to the Clinton Center, many more than we anticipated,” said Skip Rutherford, chairman of the Clinton Foundation. “One of the best decisions we made on this project was the location of the facility – just down the street from the convention center, on a major interstate and just a short walk from great hotels, restaurants and other attractions.”

Also, more than 500 out-of-state motor coaches visited the Center this year, doubling the LRCVB projection of 250. This total does not include in-state coaches, school buses or motor coaches that visited Little Rock but did not visit the Center.

Collections on Little Rock’s 2 percent hotel and restaurant tax are up more than 11 percent in 2005 as compared to 2004, according to the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. This figure offers, “A reflection of the health and vitality of the hospitality industry in Little Rock,” O’Byrne said.

Hotel room revenues in Little Rock for the first three quarters of 2005 are up $15 million from the same period in 2004, a 21 percent increase in business, according to a report by Smith Travel Research. The number of hotel rooms sold in 2005 has increased 15 percent over 2005 with over 550 more rooms sold per night in Little Rock.

“Those numbers speak for themselves,” O’Byrne said. “Not only do we have more people staying in our hotels, but the industry has increased its supply with over 2,000 new or renovated hotel rooms in the city. So, our supply and the quality of that supply is increasing along with the demand.”

But the direct and indirect impact of the Clinton Center on the tourism business won’t end in 2005, O’Byrne said. Many more future meetings and conventions have been booked for 2006 and years beyond, and the city is eagerly awaiting more new attractions, including Heifer International’s World Headquarters and Global Village, a Game and Fish nature center and the Center for Arkansas Studies, all to be constructed within walking distance of the Clinton Center.
________

If worse comes to worse, can always use that new Phase III space for a Motor Coach Mecca!! They are widening Mockingbird Lane in the Park Cities area currently, guess this would be because the Bush Library is coming?

When I first went to the Clinton Library, I was surprised that they put the gift shop about a quarter mile away in downtown Little Rock. Now, I understand this was to increase the connectivity between the Library and downtown. Sounds like it's working. I wonder if the Bush Library might try something similar? If they built a pedestrian bridge over 75 from Mockingbird Station to the campus, I think that would not only help flow tourists back and forth between Mockingbird Station and SMU, but probably attract a few students as well.

Just thinking out loud, here.

[sogod]

Mockingbird station is always busy when I am there. I doubt these two places can not be replaced; I am sure Mockingbird station will be fine.

[HarryMoto]

Went there last night for a 7 pm movie and the whole place, including the theater, seemed oddly empty. Maybe it was the cold weather, the holiday season, or the finale of "America's Most Smartest Model" on VH1. Whatever, it was probably the emptiest I've seen it though I don't think I usually go on Sundays.

[Kelley USA]

Probably the weather and people who didn't want to get out after watching the Cowboy game... But Mockingbird Station is doing great- West Elm, Cafe Express, Urban Outfitters, Starbucks are always packed!!! I think that Spike and the Gelato place just weren't that good- or the owner ran into other problems. I don't think it's a reflection on MS though...

[msutton]

The gelato there was pretty awful, I thought.

[SDORN]

I just drove by The Old UA Cine. They are still demoing the building. They are mainly spending a lot of time sorting the various metals.

[SDORN]

Hey, this this is stil being demoed. This has got to be the slowest demo I have ever seen.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1772/uacine121720071nv8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Lakewooder]

Hate to see UA Cine' go..

From backtalkeastdallas:

Mockingbird Pedestrian Bridge to be unveiled
Councilmembers Angela Hunt and Sheffie Kadane will be holding a meeting in Mockingbird Station on Tuesday night, December 18, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm to discuss the design of the pedestrian bridge portion of Phase VI of the Katy Trail. The bridge will apparently span Mockingbird Lane and connect to Mockingbird Station. The meeting will be in suite 240, next to the Angelica.

Email this • Digg This!

Posted by Norman Alston on Dec 17, 2007 at 03:21 PM in Neighborhood | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

[amshepar]

spike's food sucked when i was there. never went to the gelato place, although i tried once and it was closed at like 9pm one night during the summe. Seems like if you are not willing to keep your place open late, like when movies end at the Angelika, then you are missing great opportunity for revenue. Also, didn't it serve pizza too? Wouldn't late night pizza by the slice there do really well? just a hunch, but with multiple bars and a movie theater, it seems like a great opportunity that was missed.

owner was probably just dumb and didn't know how to manage.

[Lakewooder]

http://lakewood-now.net/view/article/1813

The Katy Trail Bridge

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/bridge.jpg

[BigD5349]

Wow, that's terrific!

[msutton]

It's an interesting design. I'm more a fan of "tasteful elegance," but, I'll take a big glass caterpiller, too.

[smudoode]

http://lakewood-now.net/view/article/1813

The Katy Trail Bridge

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/bridge.jpg

Don't get your hopes up. This is just a design and hasn't been approved. Read the lakewood article.

[jimmyx18]

I don't think that bridge design works well for the area its in.

[mrowl]

http://lakewood-now.net/view/article/1813

The Katy Trail Bridge

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/bridge.jpg

WTF?

It look like pedestrian bridge over LBJ, but it looks like it has been hit by high winds and damaged... This is not the right choice IMO.

[rantanamo]

Looks great. I'm all for anything spicing up our conservative landscape.

[Geaux Tigers]

Looks like some of the pedestrian bridges over the Phoenix freeways.

[Hannibal Lecter]

It's an interesting design. I'm more a fan of "tasteful elegance," but, I'll take a big glass caterpiller, too.Look closely. I think that's chain link fencing, not glass.

[palchik]

Look closely. I think that's chain link fencing, not glass.

Not exactly chain link...its tensioned wire.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Not exactly chain link...its tensioned wire.Thanks for the clarification.

[sterling]

I love it. Most interesting thing possible that's come along in years. Not fit in? By inserting some personality into it's unmemorable adjoining landscape it might actually distinguish the area. I hope this baby is born with all it's humps and curves, bells and whistles. Dallas bridge deliveries have been challenging lately... It would be nice to see one or two actualized as they were originally designed.

Some of you may know that Antoine Predock is having his name removed as the architect of the new courthouse in El Paso, because of all the changes and cost saving materials implemented while building it. Does anyone think Calatrava and others might have just as much to worry about here?

[clipper]

Will look good until the first truck hits it.

[Kelley USA]

It's funky for sure... Not sure this is the right place for it. I would prefer to have everyone put on a harness and zip line across the street.

[Uptown72]

Whoa...that is one ugly pedestrian bridge. Is this the start of "Blade Runner" futurism? There are plenty of versions of pedestrian bridges in the world and someone picked this version? We would be the laughing stock of Texas for ugly urbanism!

[Uptown72]

Here's a thought...how about a design to complement the Calatrava bridge across the Trinity? It could be a separate bridge adjacent to the current bridge, or could be reworked on either side utilizing what is currently there. Calatrava did a bridge in Redding, CA that is called the Sundial Bridge. The point or mast on top simulates the time of day with the casting shadow. It is lighted at night and really is pretty cool. We could use a little night light in this part of town anyway and this could be our "signature" pedestrian bridge like the Calatrava will be for downtown.

[LH_Newbie]

Am I the only one that thinks it looks like a pair of boobs?

[texcolo2]

I would have thought that the trail would have gone under Mockingbird.

[Forrest Gump]

http://lakewood-now.net/view/article/1851?page=1

http://lakewood-now.net/visual/image_file/5542/BridgeSnake.jpg?1198213474

http://lakewood-now.net/visual/image_file/5543/BridgeBoxcar.jpg?1198213474

http://lakewood-now.net/visual/image_file/5544/BridgeHabiTrail.jpg?1198213475

[mrowl]

I think they need to start over. All of those are really bad.

[DallasMan]

Yeah, hate to rain on their parade, but I think all 4 of them are ugly. Sorry.

What would be cool is if the bridge had plants on it, to make it more inviting to casual pedestrians to make the journey from the shops on the N side of Mockingbird to just walk to those on the S at the Station.

Maybe there would have been more of us at the meeting if it had been publicized better? I first found out about it the day of. Maybe I'm just poorly informed.

[gshelton91]

Yep all things considered lets go with plain and just get the thing finished... every bridge doesn't need to be a gateway.

[SDORN]

Urban pollution at at its best.