Downtown Dallas Priorities

[GarrettCarey]

This is similar to another poll......but different. What do you guys think would have the most immediate effects on the revitalization of DT Dallas?

[JaeTex]

Restaurants would go hand in hand with any theaters that came DT, but this being Dallas I think restaurants on their own can draw, and maybe lead to theaters?

Greenery, street improvements and lighting by themselves won't bring people DT, though maybe someone can come up with real cool lighting scheme, not Freemont St. in Vegas, but something that would make DT seem more lively at night. I was in Ft. Lauderdale and they had a neon ring around each of the palm trees lining one road, it was kind of wimpy so I didn't actually notice it until the second night but it was the germ of what could have been a good idea with better implementation.

[MustangMonkey]

It all needs to be done, but I voted based on what would give the most imediate results, not necesarily the best long term vision.

[GarrettCarey]

Downtown parks: City needs to fill the void
08/12/2002 - DMN

There was a hole in the middle of the ground

The prettiest hole that you ever did see...

And the green grass grew all around and around

The green grass grew all around.

– Children's folk song

Downtown Dallas is not green. It is not extensively treed and landscaped. It lacks overall design. But even a hole has potential, and Dallas citizens, businesses and government can work together to plant the seeds for growth. Literally.

The Dallas Park and Recreation Department has been working on a much-needed park master plan. Neighborhood parks and community centers have been inventoried and analyzed. After citizen meetings and surveys, the city parks plan is being finalized, with official adoption scheduled for September. The plan will help qualify Dallas for some state and federal grants. And it will help the city better direct its own limited funds.

However, beyond providing neighborhood recreation, the plan is looking to transform the very core of Dallas. About $10 million is being discussed for investment in downtown parks as part of the next bond package in 2003.

Think of how cities have been defined by its parks – Central Park in New York, the Tuilleries in Paris, or Hyde Park in London.

OK, Dallas is too far along in development to replicate any of those major city parks, but it can do something wonderful and still significant like Bryant Park, an eight-acre respite of green space next to the New York Public Library. The park bustles with activity and offers multiple attractions – from the traditional chess tables to free wireless Internet access, from summer movies under the stars to a French bowling (boules) tournament. Perennial gardens and promenades, restaurants and food kiosks attract thousands of visitors every day. A nonprofit company manages the park with private contributions and funds from the neighboring property owners' business improvement district.

How about smaller gems like Boston's Post Office Square, an attractively fountained square constructed above a parking garage ("park above, park below"). It was designed and financed as a public-private partnership with parking fees used to help defray some costs.

Then there's the three-acre Murphy Park in Glendale, Ariz., with its old-time flavor and antique store neighbors. And the Washington Squares – one in New York and one in San Francisco, with lounging young people and nearby sidewalk cafes.

Events make parks work. And parks that are successful have had offerings ranging from morning Tai Chi to afternoon teas. But design is important.

The Project for Public Spaces, on the Internet at pps.org, notes that many parks and plazas fail because they don't even provide a place to sit, lack gathering points (like food stalls) and have poor visibility and meaningless paths.

There's an art to planning parks. That's why Dallas needs to get professional input for a master downtown park plan. With a good master plan in place for downtown parks, as part of the city's overall park plan, more – and more attractive – development will be the reward.

Park experts note that the land and property in the immediate area of parks and open space generally increase in value. Increased property tax receipts can offset the investment in public space. Additional economic benefits also accrue from visitors, businesses and retirees who are more attracted to the area. This all is in addition to the park benefits of air cleansing, increased ground water storage for flood control, and of course simply prettier views.

Valerie Bristol, Texas director of the Trust for Public Land, says more developers are learning that parks raise property values and are becoming more interested in them. But she says, "We are all going to have to get a lot more creative about how we handle these special things like a downtown park." The nonprofit organization has hired an urban planner to open an office in this area to help forge local public-private partnerships in preserving open space.

One really successful urban developer definitely interested in downtown is Ken Hughes, developer of the innovative and very successful Mockingbird Station. He envisions a privately run park downtown in the style of Bryant Park. His enthusiasm is wed to very specific park plans.

The site that Mr. Hughes, the mayor and others have found would enhance the Commerce Street area. This locale is a classic example of derelict parking lots and disposable buildings that could be transformed into an asset.

With developers anxious to get started downtown – and Mr. Hughes says he would consider a Mockingbird Station replica downtown at some point – it's important that the city move to start on professional planning for the whole of the central business district, including its parks. And the city must link these central Dallas plans with Trinity River development and with new plans for Fair Park.

A lot is happening downtown.

The office vacancy rate has declined to about 21.5 percent – well below the 27 percent citywide average and much lower than suburban office districts. That's after downtown Dallas at one point had the highest vacancy rate in the nation.

Main Street development is proceeding apace, new restaurants are on the way and several historic buildings are starting renovations. Different interests are working together on the Akard-Main corner, with plans going forward to convert the area into housing, public parking and retail space – including potentially a much needed downtown grocery store.

One thing leads to another. The city needs to invest in some professional park planning for downtown, with the public intimately included in that process, if it wants city development to really take off.

[Columbus Civil]

That sounds pretty encouraging. Any idea where the location of that privately-run park would be located?

[MustangMonkey]

This is great news for downtown parks.
I do have to disagree with one point. I do not think that Dallas is so far into development that ideas of a central park aren't attainable. Afterall Central Park is not in Downtown New York.

[GarrettCarey]

No word on where the park may be....at least I am not privy to that information.

MustangMonlkey, I agree with you.....kind of. Dallas is not too far into development for a central park...except for the uptown area. I think the area immediately south of DT is prime for park development. There are many run down buildings and vacant lots in the southern sector. It would also encourage growth and development in southern dallas.

[GarrettCarey]

From the August 23, 2002 print edition of DBJ
-----------------------------------------------
Can art save downtown?
Glenda Vosburgh

Even considering recent improvements in downtown Dallas, such as new restaurants and loft apartments, let's face it — by no stretch of the imagination can we describe most of downtown as vibrant.

While he doesn't have a solution to the problem, Dallas artist Chris Lattanzio thinks he may at least have a component of the solution. And, he hopes it's the start of a new trend.

Lattanzio, 39, has set up a studio in the vacant Mercantile Continental Building at 1810 Commerce St. The building, purchased in September 2001 by Simbol Commercial, was once part of the Mercantile bank complex and has been vacant since a Bank One call center there closed in 1999.

Lattanzio, whose 3-D "line and light sculptures" sell for between $2,500 and $75,000 each, moved into the building in February and, he says, paid his rent in art after striking a deal with Simbol's president and a supporter of the arts, Glenn Solomon.

Part of Lattanzio's deal with Solomon is to display his art on-site. It's one of the few signs of life on that block after dark. The lighted pieces, sculpted out of large pieces of wood, are displayed in the windows of the building that face Commerce Street, giving a sense of life to a vacant building surrounded by other vacant buildings.

Solomon said he's received several offers on the Continental recently.

"Having Chris in the building keeps a light on," he said. "It keeps the look fresh."

It also saved him a few dollars in repair bills. When a hot water heater in the building broke recently water began to leak out, but Lattanzio was in-house and spotted the leak before it was able to cause any damage.

Dallas City Councilwoman Veletta Forsythe Lill thinks Solomon and Lattanzio are onto something, and she'd like other artists and building owners to follow suit.

"The biggest deterrent to leasing a vacant building is having other vacant buildings around," she said. "Downtown is for window shopping and sight-seeing. Displaying art in the downtown windows will have the effect of keeping people in downtown longer."

David Biegler, executive director of the Central Dallas Association, says he also supports it.

"I think it's a great concept," he said. "About 10 years ago CDA had a similar program where we displayed student art work in downtown windows, but that program was hard to sustain." Biegler says he thinks agreements like Lattanzio's and Solomon's might be longer lasting. "It's so personal to the artist," he said.

Lattanzio has full access to the 11-story, 249,938-square-foot, office building. He even provides a spot for an art intern to work. The top floor of the building, where much of his work transpires, is so wide open that Lattanzio, his assistants and assorted interns sometimes stage nonmotorized scooter races through the rooms. It helps to fuel the creative juices.

He's working on pieces to be auctioned at a fund raiser for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, "Through the Eyes of a Child in Moving Pictures," at the Lakewood Theater Sept. 21.

Other cities have tried various programs for using art displays to revitalize downtowns. A quick search on the Internet reveals a near staggering number.

But, for these types of partnerships to work, they have to become a trend. And, Lattanzio knows, one artist in one vacant building does not a trend make.

"There must be a million square feet of vacant space within a few blocks radius of this building," he says, "and there are so many artists who need studios."

Just image all those now-vacant buildings suddenly having that occupied look. It could bring something to downtown after dark that is sorely missing — proof of life.

Vosburgh is assistant managing editor at the Dallas Business Journal.

[bloodandpopcorn]

Wow! What a great idea! I'd love to go and just hang out around him to watch him work... maybe he'll let me make a documentary of it all. If nothing else I'll definitely have to go chck that out! Wouldn't it be awsome for dallas to have an 'artists' area of downtown, were we are known for having masses of artists working in one area on all these projects, displaying them all around there? What a thought...

[jobrayne]

I noticed that 'shops' weren't listed in the choices, so I picked 'anything just do it' option.

I wish Dallas would get an Ikea (yeah yeah Houstonians!) .
In the small amount of time I've spent there, I would just say that I wish Dallas would attract more to make it unique. Get shops that others haven't got, and concentrate on building on any vacant lots and reviving empty buildings.

PS, I LOVE that this board is a Gold board! Ace!

[FOMA]

I'm a Houstonian visiting the forum. I lived in Dallas for six years before moving to Houston, and I think that Dallas is a nice town with great potential.

It's good that Dallasites are starting to take steps to revitalize the (long-neglected) downtown. The "just do it" option is probably appropriate (not that I really have a right to vote, I guess). Dallas should tie in Ellum and the West End via downtown/ convention center. That would be VERY successful. More greenery is also very necessary. And for God's sake, repair the streets and clean up the area around the Campbell courthouse!

I've included a link to an interesting study on retail prospects in downtown Houston. These are some of the marketing issues that Dallas will face.
www.centralhouston.org/Da...273388.PDF (http://www.centralhouston.org/Data/Preview/Files/273388.PDF)

[GarrettCarey]

Council hears plan that envisions new life for downtown Dallas
12/03/2002

By VICTORIA LOE HICKS / The Dallas Morning News

Like kids with their noses pressed against a shop window, Dallas City Council members were presented Monday with a vision of a downtown where pedestrians stroll along landscaped boulevards from Uptown to the Farmers Market, pausing at intervals to shop or relax on a shaded park bench or at a sidewalk cafe.

Landscaped boulevards would convey motorists into downtown from every direction in a rational, orderly – and well-marked – way, and wastelands of surface parking would be replaced by attractively designed parking garages.

Judging from their comments, council members liked what they saw, but there was little brass-tacks discussion of whether they're willing to pay the price of admission – aside, that is, from Mayor Laura Miller, who set the planning process in motion.

The future of the entire city "all comes down to downtown," Ms. Miller said. "We have no choice."

The two-hour presentation was billed as an interim report by the Inside the Loop Committee, appointed by Ms. Miller to devise a physical plan and a revitalization strategy for downtown. Robert W. Decherd, whom the mayor named to lead the committee, said the city must have not just a plan for downtown but a business plan.

"This is a large business that we are all responsible for managing," he told council members. Downtown will only be revived, he said, if City Hall creates a "virtuous cycle" of public investment that spurs private investment that makes possible even further public investment, and so on.

Mr. Decherd is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Belo, which owns The Dallas Morning News, WFAA-TV (Channel <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"> and TXCN (cable Channel 3<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"> . Belo is among a handful of major corporations that still have their headquarters in downtown Dallas.

The city's most urgent task, the committee said, is to conclude a deal with a developer to build a hotel adjacent to the convention center. Beyond that, most of the panel's recommendations fit into two broad categories: creating parks and other green space; and bringing rationality and pedestrian appeal to a drab and often convoluted street system.

Under the heading of parks, the committee envisioned a 4.7-acre park dubbed "Commerce Garden" straddling Commerce Street between Harwood and St. Paul streets, plus a 61-acre "Emerald Bracelet," or linear greenbelt, immediately inside the freeway loop.

Under the heading of streets, the panel urged refashioning five major north-south streets, from Harwood on the east to Field on the west as pedestrian-friendly links from the Arts District to City Hall and the convention center.

The report also stressed the importance of linking downtown to surrounding areas by decking portions of Interstate 30 and Woodall Rodgers Freeway, creating a Central Boulevard on downtown's eastern edge, and improving major thoroughfares such as Ross Avenue, and Young and Canton streets.

Mr. Decherd stressed that, with the exception of Commerce Garden, which the committee believes should be built as soon as possible, the other recommendations are preliminary and may be superceded by the work of professional consultants who are about to analyze the issues of downtown parks and transportation, respectively.

Ms. Miller echoed that thought.

"All this is a work in progress," she said.

The Inside the Loop Committee did not attach price tags to each of its recommendations, but in a presentation last spring, Mr. Decherd urged the council to include more than $25 million to initiate some of the downtown projects in the bond package that could go to voters in May.

Among various bond scenarios drawn up by the city manager's office, only the largest package – totaling nearly $603 million – would include the startup projects on the Inside the Loop list. In particular, $10 million toward the creation of a major park such as Commerce Garden is omitted from all but the $603 million scenario.

That being so, "we ought to have a $600 million bond package," Mr. Decherd said.

Monday afternoon, in a separate discussion that followed Mr. Decherd's briefing, council members appeared deeply divided about whether the city can afford or can sell voters on such an ambitious bond package.

Mr. Decherd urged council members to consider the potential citywide rewards of ambitious but well-chosen outlays on downtown. If the city can lure private companies to invest downtown once again – something that has not happened in 15 years – tax receipts will rise, lessening the tax burden on homeowners, he said.

"A $1 billion increase in value [of property encompassed by the downtown freeway loop] is possible if you have a plan and stick to it," he said.

At present tax rates, such an increase would generate $28 million a year for local governments and schools, including $7 million for the city of Dallas, according to the committee's analysis.

That won't happen, though, he said, if the city isn't willing to do what it takes to put some there there.

"It will not happen if it is left to the private sector," he said.

E-mail vloe@dallasnews.com

[UrbanLandscape]

The change will begin with the end of the popularity of the suburbs. The question is, how do we do that?

[psukhudallasmetropolis]

>>>The change will begin with the end of the popularity of the suburbs. The question is, how do we do that?

I think it has already begun:

1) Increasing commute times from outer suburbs
2) 121 plan delayed until 2010
3) More young people waiting longer to have kids, not needing to be near great schools
4) Dallas gaining population from Northeastern cities; they prefer an urban setting
5) new "in-town" townhouses for less than $250k
6) Dallas night life getting better each year

[Wadden]

This is exactly what i am looking to get into as far as business wise. I feel that when someone has a unique frame of mind and has that art mind set, they are an artist within themselves. There is no one particular type of art, that's what is so awesome. To see an individuals mind through his art is something that this city or world needs. What i mean is, is that not everyone can talk or act to show their personality, artists show themselves through their work and express how their mind thinks through the images, object, sculptures, and their own particular type of design.
I could go on and on about this. My name is Matt, and would like to get more information about setting up shop somewhere or if so, an internship to see how the business side works. I do not have alot of pieces of art at this moment, but my mind is thinking of new and unique things everyday, and i know exactly what it is i want to do. So, if there is anyone who would be kind enough to give me information, please email me at Mattrey1fo1@aol.com

I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Matt

[UrbanLandscape]

I want to be an urbanist, I hate the suburbs, I don't really like little kids, much less children under ten...

I really really believe in all of that, but I don't know how I'll do it, especially financially. 250 for a townhouse near DT? I won't be able to manage that for a long time!

Damn these suburbs...and I'm only sixteen...

[GarrettCarey]

<strong>Belo the Belt </strong>
<em>Our mayor joins the Beloans to gang up on the little people</em>
<strong>BY JIM SCHUTZE</strong>

So you think nobody likes a bully. You're wrong. I think bullies may be getting popular around here.
Over the last two years we've been reporting in the Dallas Observer on a campaign by Belo Corp., owners of The Dallas Morning News, to refashion its metastasizing campus of land at the southwest corner of downtown by linking it to the city's convention center.

Belo also wants to link its campus with the West End by a series of plazas. And Belo would like to attract a 1,000-room convention hotel to its property ("Belo Bashing," April 5, 2001).

This isn't something Belo talks about in any detail publicly, because, who would? It's real estate. Real estate, like all courtship, depends on stalking.

Truth is, things have not always gone as favorably for Belo in this campaign as you might expect, given the enormous local political clout of the Morning News. In July 1999, in fact, Belo got slammed pretty good by the Dallas Plan Commission. Belo wanted the city to close a block of Jackson Street through the middle of a proposed Beloan plaza.

Marc Richman, a neighboring property owner, says he learned about the proposed street giveaway only a few days before the hearing at the plan commission. The bad news was that he had little time to prepare. He says the good news was that Belo was even less ready for opposition:

"Basically Belo was very unprepared. They thought it was a done deal, that they had snuck it by everybody."

Richman argued it was crazy to shut off a major downtown traffic corridor. "Their basic statement was, 'We own both sides of the street, so you ought to give us the middle.'"

Richman won. The plan commission voted 14-zip to deny Belo its request for a closing of Jackson Street.

Since the street-closing deal, Richman says he and neighboring small-property owners have been engaged in a guerrilla real estate war with Belo. He accuses them of building fake walls inches from his property, putting up fences to cut off access, stuff like that.

I called Belo for comment for this story, of course, and they did not, of course. Their spokesperson said to me in an e-mail: "I don't think I'll be able to get a comment for you re: the Record Street article, as those who might provide insight are on vacation for the holiday." Well, I can actually understand their not wanting to talk to the Observer so close to Thanksgiving. There's probably even a rule.

Because I couldn't talk to Belo about those details, I won't go into them, except for what I could see with my own eyes: Right behind Richman's law office at Record and Jackson streets, Belo has built what can only be described as a Potemkin Transit Station. Supposedly it's some kind of visitor parking lot for people with business across Wood Street at Belo headquarters. But it doesn't look like any parking lot you've ever seen. It looks just like a miniature DART transit station.

There has been much discussion lately, especially in the Morning News, of how DART needs to bring a new train line down Jackson Street. There also has been discussion, behind the scenes, of some kind of north-south people mover between the West End and Belo. So what the fake transit station looks like is a kind of real estate voodoo: "Focus closely now. You see a transit station here. It's already here. You see it. It's very transit-like. You want to make a train come here, don't you? You are yearning for a train to come."

And, of course, that gives people like Richman and other property owners with whom I spoke the absolute willies, because it raises the specter of eminent domain. Maybe Belo can't force them to sell, but DART, the regional transit agency, could.

Earlier this year Belo went to the plan commission again and asked it to shut down half of Record Street between Young and Wood streets, taking away a lane of parking along the half of the block that is adjacent to the Belo-owned Potemkin Station just at the end of Richman's building. Belo said it wanted to turn the parking lane into a doublewide sidewalk.

Why would the city squeeze half of a street for half of a block, taking away a lane of parking? Belo said it had done the same thing on the other side of Young Street in front of its own corporate headquarters--took a parking lane and turned it into a fat sidewalk. Belo said it wanted the sidewalks on both sides of Young Street to match.

Wha-a-a-t? Screw up a downtown street right next to the George Allen Sr. courts building, which is about to be expanded, so that the sidewalks will match? What's with sidewalks matching? Whoever heard of that?

The plan commission said no. It turned Belo down cold again. I'm sure everyone on the plan commission figured out what was really going on here with the proposed matching sidewalks. Belo wants the whole block that Richman's property sits on, and Richman is what we call a "hold-out." He won't sell for whatever price Belo has offered.

Holding out happens to be one of the privileges appertaining to private property in this country. A holdout is the contrary, in real-estate terms, of a holdup. All this business about matching sidewalks, erecting walls around the back of his building and so on, is clearly aimed at forcing Richman to sell. The plan commission wasn't buying it.

When Belo appealed the plan commission's denial to the city council, several of the council's more conservative business-oriented members, including Alan Walne, Sandy Greyson and Lois Finkelman, expressed skepticism about shutting down one lane of a downtown street in order to create matching sidewalks for Belo. Walne in particular brought up the fact that the city normally charges people thousands of dollars for even allowing awnings or signs to poke out over the right-of-way a few inches. Why would the city give the whole right-of-way to Belo for free? And for such a loony ostensible reason? Matching sidewalks? They can't do better than that? It's like the duke saying he wants a date with your daughter on her wedding night, because, "It pleatheth me."

But after the rest of the council was done expressing its skepticism, Belo's new champion on the council, Mayor Laura Miller, tongue-lashed Richman for not selling to Belo:

"They [Belo] tried to buy Mr. Richman's building," the mayor told the council, "because they wanted to have the whole block, and beautify the whole block and extend the sidewalk down the block and extend the trees down the block. It is Mr. Richman's choice to not sell this building if he doesn't want to."

She paused. She looked at Richman. She said: "Are you willing to sell your building?"

Nope.

Then Miller put a full-court press on the rest of the council and got them to overturn the plan commission and vote yes, to take away all the parking along half of one block of Record Street leading right to Richman's door. Free to Belo. No air rights. No fees. All waived.

Miller doesn't deny she has been championing Belo's cause lately, nor does she deny that this position represents a notable shift from where she stood as a council member and as an Observer columnist. She says the reason for the shift is that now she's the mayor, and as mayor she thinks it's her duty to get behind whatever makes downtown better.

"Who's the advocate for downtown?" she asked. "When you have 14 council members all fighting for their piece of the community, there's no advocate for downtown."

She concedes that a convention hotel on Belo property is a possibility. She says she has to pick horses, and right now she thinks Belo is the strongest, winningest horse for downtown. You could argue that her ability to get over past contretemps with Belo and give support to their cause shows that she is smarter and more mature than the average Observer columnist.

I don't not get that. But it still bugs me to see Belo taking on this guy--Richman--whose family has owned a piece of property downtown since the 1960s; the Potemkin Station and the talk of train lines down Jackson Street are an unsubtle threat of eminent domain to squeeze him out; and then they have the mayor beating him up in a public forum for not selling to them.

Exactly how much more of an advantage does Belo need?

By the way, I made a bad mistake in a column last week. I said a proposed park at the other end of downtown was going to cover 46 acres. I meant 4 to 6 acres. The park would be big but not nuclear. I might mention, in this vein, that the area between Belo and the West End that people are talking about turning into Beloan plazas is roughly 127 acres. Not 1 or 2 or 7 acres, but 127.

Yikes. A hundred and twenty-seven acres of matching sidewalks. But let me ask you something. Sincerely. Why do we want to make downtown look like a shopping mall?

Downtown was cool when it had funky little Greek cafeterias in basements, when it had Sol's Turf Bar and the Point, street preachers and cops in riding breeches--the little incongruities and anomalies that make a city cool. Downtown's not dead now because it isn't scrubby enough. It's dead because the yo-yos who developed everything in the '80s scraped off all the texture. Who wants to go? It's got all the charm of Siberia.

Matching sidewalks, indeed. Anyway, that's a made-up reason. Why does Belo really want plazas, a hotel, a transit station and no more Marc Richman?

"It pleatheth me."

Apparently it pleatheth the mayor now, too.

<strong>dallasobserver.com</strong> | originally published: December 5, 2002

[GarrettCarey]

<strong>So Long, Partner</strong>
<em>City officials dump vendors' plan to develop Farmers Market shed</em>
<strong>BY ROSE FARLEY</strong>

James Barfoot is starting to get that feeling that comes shortly before a good relationship goes bad. As president of International Market Place Inc., a company comprising the independent vendors who hawk goods inside Shed Two at the Dallas Farmers Market, Barfoot suspects that he and his colleagues are about to get dumped. Their would-be suitor is the city of Dallas.
"We feel like we're in a courtship where every time we get close, they close the door on us," Barfoot says of the city. "It seems like they're courting us only until the real bride comes along."

Barfoot doesn't know who the real bride is, but he knows what type of bride she'll be: a yuppie, with a taste for Brie, country baguettes, tiramisu and other high-end sundries.

"We don't fit their demographics," Barfoot says. "We're too blue collar."

The Dallas Farmers Market, as its name implies, has always been a venue for farmers to sell their fruits and vegetables to Dallas residents direct. In recent years, it has also become home to a small number of independent retailers, who have successfully converted Shed Two from a white elephant into a bustling marketplace for imported furniture, artwork, jewelry and other household wares.

Despite their success, which has translated to steady rental income for the city, the vendors fear that their days at Shed Two are numbered. Last month, city officials rejected a proposal that would have given International Market Place Inc. a 10-year lease of Shed Two, guaranteeing the vendors' ability to stay in business. As part of the proposal, the newly formed company would also act as Shed Two's "developer," the vendors having promised to spend up to $2.5 million to renovate the building.

Once the improvements were complete, the existing vendors also promised to make room for new vendors who would sell high-end food products that would complement the fruits and vegetables. The promise came at the direction of city officials, who want to turn Shed Two into a deli-style market that caters to downtown workers and its new residents, who have begun flocking into the neighborhood's growing collection of renovated lofts, apartments and high-end condos.

City officials, however, weren't convinced that the vendors would follow through on their promise. While the vendors may be good tenants, the household furnishings they sell don't fit into the city's plans for Farmers Market, says Mitchell Rasansky, chairman of the city council's business and commerce committee, which on November 4 voted to reject the vendors' proposal.

"We're trying to rebuild downtown Dallas," Rasansky says. "The merchandise that is there now is inappropriate for the Farmers Market. It's just inappropriate."

Rasansky's comments are not new. For several years, city officials have been unsuccessfully looking for a developer to take over the 27,000-square-foot building, which is in dire need of major improvements, including the installation of central heat and air. The most recent attempt came in March, when the city publicly advertised that it was looking for someone to take over the project as part of a 10-year lease.

News of the bid shocked the vendors, who claim that city employees had previously agreed to create a "partnership" in which the vendors, via the newly created International Market Place Inc., would ultimately win the lease and the right to develop Shed Two.

Shortly after the bid was announced, the vendors sued the city to stop the process. Rather than fight the lawsuit, the city agreed to mediation, and in April the two parties signed a settlement agreement that effectively gave the vendors the first shot at coming up with a plan to develop the building. Although the city agreed to cooperate with the vendors and, ultimately, give full consideration to their proposal, it made no promises or agreements that their plan would be accepted.

In hindsight, Barfoot says he's not altogether surprised that the city rejected the vendors' proposal last month: He doesn't believe the city ever had any intentions of giving the vendors the lease. As the owner of Lost Empire Trading Co., Barfoot stands to lose the most if the vendors are ultimately evicted: He is Shed Two's largest tenant, paying the city some $4,600 a month in rent. (The other tenants typically pay about $300 a month for 9-by-18-foot stalls. In recent years, as the vendors have filled the shed to capacity, the monthly rent they generate as a whole has grown from about $10,000 to $25,000 today, according to Barfoot.) Now, Barfoot says the city will have another fight on its hands; the vendors are preparing to sue the city again, arguing that it did not negotiate in good faith.

"They feel they've dealt with us. We feel like they never even gave us a chance," Barfoot says. "We feel like we've earned the right to progress with this project."

Whether the lawsuit materializes remains to be seen, but the vendors appear to be on the verge of learning a lesson that most apartment dwellers know all too well: Landlords can be cruel, particularly when the lease is up and their property is in demand.

Rasansky, for one, is in no mood to mince words. The complaints that the city sold the vendors out are "absolutely unfounded." The city has given the vendors ample opportunity to come up with a proposal to develop the shed; they didn't, and now Rasansky says it's time for the city to move forward.

"There is no partnership," Rasansky says. "When you sign a lease agreement--if there was a lease agreement--when the lease is up, it's up."

As harsh as the words sound, Rasansky may be right: Although the vendors repeatedly use the word "partnership" in describing their relationship with the city, no document establishing any formal business relationship between the city and the vendors exists. In fact, the vendors do not even have written leases describing their current rental terms with the city. Although Barfoot says city officials have said they would give the vendors several months' advance notice of eviction, he concedes that the city is legally entitled to give the vendors the boot pretty much at will.

But before that happens, Barfoot says he hopes the city will remember that the vendors have been loyal tenants at a time when tenants were hard for the city to come by. Now that the neighborhood is on the rise, Barfoot hopes city officials won't turn their backs on the ones who helped bring it to this point.

"Shed Two is truly the last place in Dallas where you will rub elbows with every level. We don't want it to lose its intrinsic value," Barfoot says.

<strong>dallasobserver.com</strong> | originally published: December 5, 2002

[CTroyMathis]

Terrific articles! Very good (exceptional even) thread in general.

This is now a stuck post. It will stay atop the list.

[paulsukhudallasmetropolis]

Steve Brown's column from 12-20-2002 DMN:
I
ron Cactus lease


An Austin-based restaurant chain has signed one of the largest new leases yet in downtown Dallas' Main Street retail district.
Iron Cactus Southwestern Grill & Margarita Bar has taken 14,000 square feet of space near Main and Akard streets.

The new restaurant will occupy a redeveloped building overlooking the Pegasus Plaza next to the Magnolia Hotel.

Developers Thomas Taylor and John Tatum will construct the three-story, restaurant, bar, sidewalk café and rooftop garden.

Selzer Associates is the architect for the redevelopment, which will include a dramatic curved glass façade overlooking the park.

[GarrettCarey]

most excellent!

[bloodandpopcorn]

<img src="http://www.downtowndallas.com/downtown_partner/1522-main.gif" style="border:0;"/>

The developers of 1520-1522 Main Street plan to restore the 1915 terra cotta and marble facade. The west side of the structure will extend into Pegasus Plaza creating an outdoor dining experience on the plaza itself, a second story balcony level, and a roof top garden space. The developer has a pending lease with tenant out of Austin that will occupy the entire 16,000 square feet space.

Is this the building they will be occupying? That's awesome! This looks gorgeous, I can't wait until it's finished.

[freewaytincan]

It's going to be great.

I wish I could read that poll without highlighting it...:(

[gc]

I walked around the entire DT area last week and came to a conclusion. I am about to ramble.....

I started this thread with a poll a long long time ago. Though I think Dallas should have all of these options as top priorities, I am inclined to feel that one of those options gives Dallas the most immediate effects. I know we need more restaurants, retail, etc......but I think greenery would have the most notable effects in the shortest timeframe. Dallas is widely considered to have one of the ugliest DT areas around. We have lots of vacant buildings and lots of ugly parking lots....and that is a problem too. Now I also know that in order for the revitalization to be successfull, we need to draw more people into the city, but what about first making it a pleasant experience for those who already spend a lot of time working there? If those who spend time here already find it enjoyable then they may be more inclined to come back when they are not working......therefore putting DT on the right track. I am not talking about making it look like a forest or anything, but there is so little greenery in the area. The streets are ugly and the few plazas that exist have only a couple of trees. To me, adding more green to the city adds another element of beauty and can make the DT experience more pleasant. The entry/exit points to the DT area seem like an ideal starting point.

Here are some of the areas I am referring to (many of these mimic the thoughts from the DMN special report - Go Dallas):
[list=1]
The Arts District (everywhere)
Griffin/Field streets near Woodal Rogers
South side of City Hall
Commerce Street near Deep Ellum
Farmers Market area
Reunion Arena/Hyatt Regency/Union Station area
Dealey Plaza area
etc
[/list=1]

I know I have beaten this to death so I apologize, but the city needs some GREEN! Can I get an amen?

[tamtagon]

I would like to see property owners and/or major occupants of large buildings to provide most of the basic greenery as a benefit to the people working in the buildings. The city should focus on the locating the most appropriate spots for small green spaces.

[tamtagon]

Amen

[bloodandpopcorn]

I'm not sure if this is one of hte places that you mentioned, but there is a huge, ugly parking lot just north of the Majestic. It has huge potential to be turned into a rather large park, perhaps with a few paths and a large fountain as its centerpiece. It would be a great place for patrons to go before/after a play, for people in offices to go to work, and it's literally a block away from a DART station.

[CTroyMathis]

Re-started here so the poll can be opened back up and voted on.

[freewaytincan]

Problem: that is rather superficial. NYC, for example, has little greenery outside the parks, and it works. We need to pull in residents, and that takes monetary advantages. Make it pay to live down there, if you know what I mean...

[gc]

Yeah I agree it is a little superficial......but the difference is that NYC is not trying to figure out how to get residents into the city....or more tourists....they are busting at the seams all the time! Residential skyscrapers go up daily! I mean c'mon....it is NYC! :D

My point was that DT needs a small victory and one that people will notice.......then maybe more people would pay attention rather than sigh when they hear "DT Dallas Revitalization"

what do i know?

[gc]

Chamber chief focuses on Dallas' horizon
Leppert says cleaner air, more vibrant downtown would boost city's allure

01/03/2003

By CHERYL HALL / The Dallas Morning News

Tom Leppert gazed from his office on the 49th floor of the Bank of America Plaza recently and cringed at the brownish sky scum hovering for miles.

"It doesn't have to be a hot summer day to see the problem," says the 48-year-old chairman and CEO of The Turner Corp.

It's not exactly the vision the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce usually touts.

Yet haze on the horizon and a lack of vitality downtown below were two key reasons Mr. Leppert agreed to be this year's chamber chief.

What, realistically, can a chamber chairman do?

For one thing, talk about the problems.

The nation's largest general construction company, which did nearly $7 billion in construction last year, moved its headquarters from Manhattan in late 1999 – citing the litany of Big D positives we've become so blasé about.

And while Mr. Leppert still feels Dallas is a terrific place to live and do business, he warns that certain pluses are slipping into minuses.

"Some advantages Dallas had several decades ago it simply doesn't have anymore," says Mr. Leppert, who did his first stint here in the late '80s as a national partner for Trammell Crow Co.

"The infrastructure [from potholes to airports] has gotten old," he says. "Our downtown clearly doesn't rate as world class. It's very difficult to find world-class metropolitan economies that don't have strong and vibrant downtowns."

We've made progress on the educational front in the last two years, but much more has to be done, says the father of three school-age kids.

And Dallas needs a more coordinated effort to sell itself to medical and biomedical companies around the country and to create job opportunities in these fields.

Mr. Leppert wants to create a prioritized plan of attack so that the chamber can take a regional leadership role in addressing these pressing issues.

In the air

Top of his list is air quality.
Dallas could lose its federal transportation funding if the situation doesn't improve. But more important, companies don't relocate and people don't want to live where the air is too thick to breathe.

Right now, he says, there's a dearth of pertinent data about who, what, when, where and how the pollution in North Texas is being created, other than too many one-person cars on the road. There are other toxins from other sources being released into the air – and they don't stop at the county line.

Houston, he says, is well ahead of us in pinpointing the exact sources and chemical composition of its pollution.

"It's amazing to me that we don't have a better backdrop of data." Without this crucial information, Mr. Leppert says, you could wind up taking significant measures that have limited impact.

"If we don't deal with air quality in a proactive way, we run the risk of being in a situation similar to Atlanta," he says, referring to federal restrictions on development in the Georgia city. "When you take decisions out of local control, that's a recipe for disaster."

Given the sour economy that has most CEOs totally focused on their businesses, why would Mr. Leppert take on such a significant chamber commitment?

Partly because his company is doing well – 2002 gross sales earnings were up 15 percent in a down year for most construction companies.

Catalyst for change

But Mr. Leppert says his primary reason is that he thinks his expertise and perspective can help the chamber become a catalyst for the region's economy.
"I've lived other places so I have an appreciation for what's happening elsewhere," he says simply. "The reality is, if we're going to be successful, we have to become more competitive."

This time next year, Mr. Leppert fully expects to still see smog, hit potholes and wonder if downtown will ever be better than it is now. There is, after all, only so much you can do in 12 months as a chairman.

"I realize that in a year, you're not going to change the world," he says. "But I hope we'll put some key pieces in place that will lead to those changes in the not-too-distant future."

[psukhu]

You should add 'more residential' to the poll.

[gc]

good idea.....and done!

[tamtagon]

I'm pleased the chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce places air quality on the top of his fix-it list.

[freewaytincan]

I wanna change my vote!

Anyway, I thought it was worth metioning that greenery will do very little, and it did very little in the past. I mean, look at NYC! It has very little, and it's great. It takes time, as well. NYC is about 450 years old, and Dallas is about 160, so it's going to take some time!

[gc]

Urban, you are right. NYC has little greenery and is awesome. However, Dallas is not NYC. People are beating the doors down to live, work, visit, and play in NYC. They do none of that for DT Dallas. Unfortunately, it seems that people here in the DFW metro area have to be persuaded to come into the city....whether by restaurants, greenery, improved streets, etc.

That's all I am saying bro.

[freewaytincan]

True, but unfortunately, many people think it will solve all the problems. It must come later, after they enact regional level legislation that encourage downtown redevelopment, and more people and businesses can move in. Greenery and all come later.

[mikedsjr]

I said "anything just do it". Whatever it takes to make Downtown a place that people want to go can only be a good thing. I love going to downtown Fort Worth on the weekends or any night.

Not Dallas. Not without a gun. ;)

[mikedsjr]

Originally posted by UrbanLandscape
True, but unfortunately, many people think it will solve all the problems. It must come later, after they enact regional level legislation that encourage downtown redevelopment, and more people and businesses can move in. Greenery and all come later.

I totally agree. There certainly has to be a regional level legislation. I know it wont happen here, but some form of Portland ring, i believe it is. Which limits growth the sprawl.

[gc]

Okay, so we can agree to disagree about the approach. I agree that greenery will not solve long term problems. I'd sure like it though. (Downtown Dallas = DTD)

mikedsjr, I would not consider DTD unsafe at all. In fact, the CBD crime rates have gone done every month for a while. However, it does appear scary to some because it lacks a few things like.....good lighting, good street conditions, and some greenery (Sundance Square has these things).

I am not sure I agree that regional legislation will make things better. My point about all of this is perception. People percieve DTD to be the modern day 'OK CORRAL', when in fact it is not. I live in DTD, it is not unsafe. This perception is part of the problem for luring people into DTD.

DTFW has done an outstanding job ensuring this doesn't happen to them. Therefore, people love to go to DTFW.

Ultimately, my argument is the same. Make the CBD more inviting to people and they are more likely to come....whether it is greenery, better lighting, more restaurants, more businesses, improve the street conditions, etc. I encourage folks to stroll through DTD both at day and night and tell me what you think would have the most immediate effects.

[crescentboi]

I think it takes both lighting and greenery. Take Stone Street Gardens for example, and basically that section of Main Street as well. With the shrubbery, flower baskets and such SSG is a wonderfull and inviting place to be. Also I love the strings of lights on Main Street that criss-cross over you. That actually adds a lot of light to the area. Its amazing how just that little bit made it so much more enjoyable.

Also as far as safety goes, I don't think its a huge issue anymore. Granted it looks kind of creppy but I think its more than safe to walk around and enjoy life!

[gc]

Finally! SSG is a great example.

and yes the criss cross lighting on main street really makes a difference!

[gc]

Depending on your point of view on this particular matter, here is another small success in DTD. A new bar called Divan opened up this week. It is located on 2026 Commerce St. between Harwood and Pearl (south side of commerce street). I have not been there so I do not have a report. Anyways, I hope it is successful. Here is the description from guidelive.com.



The lengthening list of hipster lounges has another addition: Divan has just opened. Located in a two-story building that used to house a printing company, Divan has room to burn (4,500 square feet) and room to spare (another 4,500 square feet on the second floor, unfinished, with the possibility of a rooftop deck).

Ismail Burduroglu, co-owner with his brother and cousin, says what they all say when they've been bitten by the bug: He went to a lot of bars and never found one he liked. So, after 14 months and however much money, say hello to Divan. It has potential, with high ceilings with restored tin panels, soft lighting, a custom-painted concrete floor, plush furniture spread about in clusters and a lot of walk-around space. The long, blue pearl granite bar is an amenable place to prop an elbow. Music is that polyglot international lounge sound that's everywhere now.

Divan is open Wednesday through Sunday evenings. The proprietors hope to draw some after-work traffic, downtown residents and the before-and-after crowd from the nearby Majestic Theatre. They'll control the door with a dress code rather than cover charge or guest list.

[ibryant]

Here's the official website: www.divanlounge.com

[gc]

cool thanks!

[psukhu]

I agree on the DTD safety perception. I know DTD is safe, but the lack of pedestrians makes it feel otherwise.

As more late night businesses open in DTD, the amount of people walking around at night will increase. Also, I think more residents and better street lighting will also help with the safety perception.

Also, don't be a target and use basic street smarts. Try to stay on major streets, even if it means walking a few extra blocks. Safety in numbers, etc.

[jsoto3]

regarding urban growth boundaries, they don't work.

1. they only increase housing costs within the boundary, and
2. unless the net is cast wide enough, growth will still occur just outside the boundary to meet the demands for affordable housing. (this is happening in portland)

http://www.rppi.org/urban/ps263.html

[gc]

Chaeck it out....

Dig This - Amateur archeologist Alex Troup has some advice for those who would bring life back to downtown Dallas: The answers are under your feet.
(http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2003-01-30/feature2.html/1/index.html)

[gc]

I decided to start posting things here that are display the small progress being made in DTD. So, as I walked the streets of Dallas this evening (03.18.2003), I noticed a few positive things....

A new mexican restaurant named "Pegaso" (a little play on words there....you know "Pegasus") that should be opening in the coming months
Another huge mural behind the The Davis building (fronting the parking lot) has been put up
Cafe Izmir is now open in the Stone Street Gardens
The Hart Furniture Building is making significant progress

[bloodandpopcorn]

Where exactly is the mural? I want to check it out before the week's end...

Have you tried Cafe Izmir? If so, how is it?

I also saw the posting for Pegaso this evening, walking around DT with a friend of mine. I hope it will be a nice addition to the street scene. Though I must admit, I'm a bit tired of all DT developments being restaurants... eating will get people down there for a few moments, but they need to be walking the streets and looking in shops, I think...

Still, development is development, and I'll be very glad to try a new eatery.