Downtown Living

[snooch]

I wish Dallas were on this list.
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Real Estate Center Online
http://recenter.tamu.edu/news/recon.html

POPULARITY OF DOWNTOWN LIVING RISES

HOUSTON (har.com) – More Houstonians are embracing the trendy lifestyle of living downtown, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. Residential sales in downtown Houston (including single-family properties, townhomes, condos and highrises) have more than quadrupled within the past seven years.The median price of these properties has increased from $97,000 in 1997 to $232,000 in 2003.

"The popularity of urban living is increasing as young professionals and empty-nesters are realizing the convenience and ease of access to jobs and entertainment located in and around downtown," said HAR Chairman Dovie Morgan. "Overall, Houstonians are becoming more accustomed to the hassle-free type of lifestyle downtown living provides."

U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that Houston, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Atlanta, Memphis and San Diego all experienced greater percentage increases in their downtown populations than in their entire urban areas over the past decade.

"Buildings that once housed companies are being converted to residential housing such as lofts, apartments and condos," said Minnette Boesel, HAR board member.

All listing categories combined, the Houston market showed an increase across the board in sales, available inventory, pending sales and total dollar volume.

[dallastophoenix]

After visiting all of those cities this past year, I definitely believe it for all of them - except Atlanta... I'm not quite certain the numerical differences b/w dallas and atl, but i would think that the DTD population would be greater. Of course, the above figures represent total DT residents to city population (atl only has around 400-500,000 people). Houston is apparently being more aggressive than dallas at attracting investors to build or renovate buildings for residential... it is quite a successful picture down there. Memphis, although seeming smaller, has a really cool DT - and the street-life is always full of people. If any of you have not had the opportunity to visit San Diego, do it!! Their DT reminds me of dallas in the early 80's - cranes everywhere... the difference in SD... it's almost all for residential. Simply a beautiful city with so many residential options and tons of things to do... also, the city has an incredible 1st-time buyer program for DT living (something like no interest loans for 5 years...) to check out more on SD and the various projects (you'll be amazed - and wish that all of this was going on here in dallas): http://www.ccdc.com/
- the project tabs give the best info...

[aceplace]

DallastoPhoenix,

You should be comparing Dallas' downtown AND uptown to the other cities' downtown living in order to have a realistic comparison to other cities central city areas.

[aceplace]

Once again, the weakness in comparing Dallas' downtown residential to Houston's downtown is in your definition of "Downtown".

If you define "Downtown" as south of Woodall Rogers, Dallas will look very feeble, indeed. The majority of central Dallas residential and all of its office construction is north of Woodall Rogers.

San Diego doesn't divide its center city into a "Downtown" and an "Uptown", nor do most other cities.

A better method of defining land use is to identify the central pedestrian zone in a city, and compare it to similar central pedestrian zones in other cities. By that standard, Dallas' downtown extends from the Farmer's Market up to Blackburn, and as far west as Oak Lawn.

San Diego's pedestrian zone would extend from the ballpark area with all its new construction, to just north of its traditional office district, up to the area called "Little Italy".

This part of San Diego has seen large increases in residential population in the 1990's, as has the center of Dallas.

Bottom line... defining DT Dallas as south of Woodall Rogers is a dysfunctional and useless definition... any conclusions you come to under that definition... are meaningless.

[mikedsjr]

I think the common man in Dallas defines Downtown Dallas as the area where the highways encircle it.

And the ones who are more into this stuff, probably see Uptown as part of Downtown.

Larry Powell of the DMN says it is the encircled area and the areas just on the edge of it, like the AAC.

I think this would be a great poll for DMN to do.

[dallastophoenix]

True, dallas does have a more substantial residential figure when combining uptown, deep ellum, the cedars. if you look at SD, Memphis, and even less in houston (still greater than dallas), most of the residential is centered around the bustling business centers - the core. Yes, dallas' greatest concentration of residences is in uptown, but the city's largest concentration of offices are located across the freeway DT... therefore, you don't find the street-life DT that you do in other cities. As cool as uptown is (and i do love it), it's still relatively car-centered...

[aceplace]

DallasToPhoenix,

San Diego also does not have much street life in its urban core outside of Horton Plaza and The Gaslamp district.

Its office district up and down Broadway, called The Core, has some street activity, but mostly vagrants and Greyhound transients. Essentially, real street life in central SD is in a cluster of clubs, bars and restaurants (and a shopping mall), just as it is in Dallas. Except that we have several clusters of them, not just one.

When Dallas had a million people, and Fort Worth was physically separated by 30 miles of prairie, the CBD area below Woodall Rogers was appropriate to a metro area its size.

Now that metro DFW is pushing six million, you'd expect its central core to be correspondingly larger, and it is. Instead of 1-2 square miles, it extends to 4-5 square miles. Good. This is what a city is all about. Just don't expect 5 square miles of street life, anywhere in America, outside of NY and CHI.

Actually, San Francisco also does not have any street life in its office district, Montgomery Street, at night. Same with LA.

The population of Dallas' central core seems to be enormous compared to Houston's, and even larger than San Diego, from what I saw a few months ago. True, if you want to compare Main Street in Houston to Main street in Dallas, the results are different... but irrelevant.

So they want to draw some arbitrary boundaries and call it downtown Dallas... and then compare that to San Diego? That's as absurd as defining a Dallas gallon as one quart and comparing it to a 4 quart gallon somewhere else.

[tamtagon]

Ace is right. Dallas is unusual by having a ring of highways defining it's central business district, and we all see how this wall has kept most residential developments on the outside.

[JaeTex]

If you are interested in the central pedestrian zone of Dallas it might be the Galleria, people walk around there for a few different uses which you would be har pressed to find elsewhere.

Dallas is car centered, even downtown its depressing, and as a resident of uptown the only walking I see most people do is when they have to park a few blocks away from the bar. My wife and I do walk to restaurants, but when we mention this to our NEIGHBORS in uptown they always seem a bit surprised.

So if you define downtown as the central pedestrian zone...we just might not have one. Which is why I define downtown as the loop. If you don't focus your definition then your efforts won't be focused either and downtown will become this moving beast sucking up land to the north and leaving piles in the south of abandoned buildings as its droppings. What once was first class space will become 2nd, 3rd and downtown will migrate slowly ever northward

(anyone read Craig Hall in today's paper looking at the cars backed up on the tollway as the inhabitants of his future northern high-rises? it's scary)

[psukhu]

Downtown Manhattan is also dead after hours.

I used to do work for a for a comany at Bush St. & Market St. in SF and I agree with Ace that it is pretty dead there at night. If anything, they have tons of homeless.

Both cities have their work zones and their play zones. I guess Dallas is following that lead. While living in NYC, I mostly hung out in Midtown and the Upper East side. When working in SF, after work I will usually head to some other district to the west of downtown.

[gc]

CENTRAL PERKS
Rooftop pools, wine cellars and even dog-walking trails are just some of the amenities being enjoyed by downtown Dallas' new residents
Lisa Tanner - Staff Writer
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2004/09/20/focus1.html?page=1

For those eager to live in downtown Dallas, there are more options than ever. So developers are offering rich and diverse amenities to distinguish their properties from the competition. They're aiming to provide the accouterments that appeal to the discerning urban dweller. Although living downtown is often a lifestyle choice attracting those who like the energy of being in the center of town, apartment and condominium managers also must address a more mundane slate of considerations.

That includes deal-breakers such as parking and security. But once those issues are taken care of, properties often distinguish themselves with a rich list of amenities that mirror those of the finest homes across the Metroplex, including pools and entertainment areas, media rooms and wine cellars. And because many downtown residents arrive with their pets in tow, providing a dog-walking area is also essential for many downtown buildings.

About 3,500 people now live in downtown Dallas, and 1,200 more units are under, or poised to start, construction, said Nancy Hormann, president of the Central Dallas Association. Still others are likely to begin construction within the next nine months, she added. Figuring an average 1.7 people per unit, Dallas could have about 5,000 downtown residents within 18 months, Hormann said -- and the number could grow to 7,000 a year after that. "People are looking for the urban experience, where they can come home and park their car and not have to take it out again," Hormann said. The downtown area isn't quite there yet, although the number of restaurants is growing, she said.

"We have the ambiance of an urban area, but not yet the convenience," Hormann said. Still, a planned downtown grocery will help in that effort, as will a downtown pharmacy, she said. A petition campaign is under way to convince a pharmacy company that the support is there for a downtown unit. When a downtown Dallas urban dweller comes home at the end of the day, his or her building often offers everything a shelter should. Westmount Realty, owner of the Santa Fe Terminal, a large loft apartment building created in 1998 from a former warehouse, currently is converting the 203 units to condominiums. That means beefing up the amenities already in place to improve the property, now called SoCo Urban Loft Condominiums, a nod to the area south of Commerce Street.

Lifestyle choice

The units became available for purchase by those other than current residents on Sept. 8, with prices starting at $95,000. "The response has been gratifying," said Westmount partner Stephen Kanoff. As apartments, the project boasted a 90% occupancy rate, he said. "There are people who want to live in downtown in an 80-year-old building with national landmark status," he said. "They are choosing a lifestyle and if they want a true loft in a historic building, they can't find that in Addison." The property offers high ceilings, exposed masonry and duct work and the necessary square footage to allow residents flexibility in configuring their space.

But the new residents aren't necessarily moving downtown to be closer to work. Most don't even work downtown, Kanoff said. But with the confluence of freeways in downtown, residents are set up for an easy reverse commute to other parts of the city, he said. Since they are still using their cars, residents appreciate the convenience of taking one elevator from the lowest level of parking to the highest residential level in the building, he said. The SoCo building's rooftop pool deck draws rave reviews because views are not blocked by other buildings, Kanoff said. The building also features a fitness center and media room where residents can entertain guests. To take care of the needs of residents' dogs, the building offers a small grassy area. "A surprising number of residents have dogs," Kanoff said. For exercise, residents often take their four-legged friends to nearby Pioneer Park.

Luxury amenities

"Living downtown is a lifestyle choice," Kanoff said. "There are more convenient areas to live, but it's not inconvenient." With the conversion to condos, Westmount is adding same-floor storage units for each residence, he said. Units already include room for full-size washer and dryer machines, although the building has two laundry rooms.

An abundance of space that could not be converted to living units means 1505 Elm, a condominium property that's more than two-thirds sold, offers top-of-the-line amenities. The building, located at Elm and Akard, was once a bank. Now Lazarus Property Corp. has transformed it into luxury residences. Twenty-four-hour valet parking, a concierge, a party room and a former bank vault that is now a wine cellar are included in the property. A pool is located on top of the parking garage where there also are a putting green, grill and dog-run area. About half the residents have pets.

Units run from $289,000 to $415,000, while the building's 6,000-square-foot-penthouse is offered at $1,499,000. Residents have their own wine lockers in the old bank vault that is now a wine cellar, said developer Sam Ware. "It's the building's signature feature," he said. "People's response is never ho-hum to it. It's always 'wow!' " Residents can enjoy their wine in the Moroccan room next door to the vault. What was once the building's mechanical area now includes a billiards area, sound system, kitchen and individual seating areas. A fitness center and 20-seat theater are also included in the building. Residents like the self-contained nature of the building.

Nesting

"They can drive in on a Friday after work and entertain their friends that weekend on the pool deck or in the Moroccan room and not have to leave again until Monday morning," Ware said. It's part of the urban experience that people yearn for, said David Griffin of David Griffin & Co. Realtors, which is marketing the residences. They want to walk to work, to restaurants and to entertainment options, he said. A rehabilitated old building in downtown presents a unique draw and one-of-a-kind features that can't be duplicated.

High expectations

"It's not just the garage or the appliances or countertops that is important to people, but the downtown experience of being in the center of the Metroplex, at the hub rather than viewing it from a distance," he said. Still, convenient retail and grassy areas for pets are issues that must be addressed by those who are considering a move downtown, said Ryan Baldwin, building manager for the Davis Building and the Dallas Power & Light building. The 183-unit Davis Building, owned by Hamilton Properties Corp., welcomed its first residents in October 2003 and is 95% leased, Baldwin said. The DPL building is still undergoing renovation for an anticipated resident move-in of February 2005. It will boast a two-level lobby bar, among other amenities.

Residents are also looking for a social component when they move downtown, Baldwin said. So common areas, a rooftop cabana, outdoor deck, fitness center and other areas for gathering are essential to a property's success, he said. The Davis has a small grassy area to accommodate owners' dogs. "The rents are higher than they are in the suburbs, so people expect higher quality," Baldwin said. Renters are generally in their mid to upper 30s, he said -- affluent people who are looking for the "little kick" that living in an urban area provides.

[tamtagon]

About 3,500 people now live in downtown Dallas, and 1,200 more units are under, or poised to start, construction, said Nancy Hormann, president of the Central Dallas Association. Still others are likely to begin construction within the next nine months, she added. Figuring an average 1.7 people per unit, Dallas could have about 5,000 downtown residents within 18 months, Hormann said -- and the number could grow to 7,000 a year after that. "People are looking for the urban experience, where they can come home and park their car and not have to take it out again," Hormann said. The downtown area isn't quite there yet, although the number of restaurants is growing, she said.

"We have the ambiance of an urban area, but not yet the convenience," Hormann said.

An encouraging article for downtown, aka Central Business District. Considering the CBD as a separate community, it would show up on the top of the 'Fastest Growing' lists having more than doubled in population between 2000 - 2004, and projected to experience a 65% population increase by 2006. These percentages are big attention getters, but are insignificant, really, since the CBD population base is so small. COnsider that between 2000-2004, DFW population increased by about 500,000 and the CBD registered less than 1% of the total population increase.

Hampering the quest for a liveable CBD, most business must consider the trading area to be that which is "walking distance" since getting in and out of the CBD creates a substantial convenience barrier for the 100,000+ residents living within a one mile radius. Until the permanant population of the CBD reaches the level to sustain the mundane resicential consumer business (grocery, gas station, video rental, drug store etc), the CBD consumer offerings will continue to cater to the office workers, tourists and diners.