Victory Park: Projects + Construction | V2.0

[Mark Lea]

i love it!

[clipper]

That looks like an office building.

[Tnekster]

Looks like the other office buildings on the other side.

[jsoto3]

anyone know anything about this? it appears to be in the empty lot next to the american airlines center parking garage.
http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=1356&highlight=2600+north+houston

[txRNGr]

From the location...Cirque II?

[Mephis Gooseberry]

Cirque II is supposed to be south of Payne St.

[Mephis Gooseberry]

What is the earth work goin on in the gravel parking lot west of the Plaza buildings? Are they preparing for another small retail building?

[Tnekster]

^Directly west or across the Victory Ave?

[rantanamo]

When is WFAA moving into their Victory studio? And will they go HD with their newscasts from there. Sorry, just joined the HD club and looking for some content.

[psukhu]

^
Welcome to the HD club. Good Morning America is in HD, but the local WFAA news is not. However, many prime time news shows are not in HD like Dateline and 60 Minutes.

[rantanamo]

Thanks. I watched GMA and Today this morning in HD, and had my first taste of HD football over the weekend. Saw Heroes and Friday Night Lights last night. Great sound in addition to the picture. Even Everybody Hates Chris(great old school background music in the rear surrounds) looked great. Can't believe people aren't flocking to HD. OK, forgive my excitement, but this HD stuff is surprisingly fun and worth the money.

Anyways, reading around I've noticed some locals around the country have their local news in HD. Was just wondering if this Victory Plaza studio might be HD ready. Not that I want to see Dale Hansen in HD, but Alexa, Erin Foxworthy and Macy might be good. Didn't the press release say September?

[HarryMoto]

The stores in Victory are set to open in November and December (and a couple not til January). Not sure what WFAA's timetable is.

[Kelley USA]

They have installed a scrolling ticker board above the windows where WFAA will be. It's below the big screen. I assume they'll have news stories, sports scores etc... scrolling across.

[Mephis Gooseberry]

^Directly west or across the Victory Ave?

Directly west, last week all the gravel was gone and there was fresh dirt work behind the blue fence.

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/8830/dirtworkcj6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Tnekster]

Could it be for parking? Just wondering since they will lose the valet spot W uses when the Mandarin Tower starts going up.

[Tierdallas]

I believe that is going to be a parking garage.

[St-T]

The neighborhood map shows it as parking.

[Tnekster]

The Victory master plan shows a couple of unidentified structures on this site but I bet that means parking until they get into that phase of development.

[jsoto3]

The Victory master plan shows a couple of unidentified structures on this site but I bet that means parking until they get into that phase of development.
They're too tall, skinny, and irregularly shaped to be parking garages:

[Mephis Gooseberry]

I drove by tonight, I think I saw forms in place for Light Pole supports. Looks like it is going to be parking for now.

[JasonDallas]

Can't believe people aren't flocking to HD. OK, forgive my excitement, but this HD stuff is surprisingly fun and worth the money.

I've been saying that for 9 years. I will have to continue saying that until February 17th 2009, when people will learn for themselves.

Jason

[X Factor]

From Wfaa's Chris Heinbaugh:

What is the time line on the WFAA Victory studio? Will it be an HD studio, and what broadcasts will be done from this studio?

I’m not sure. There is a great deal of work still to be done, and plans are still being made regarding shows. I’m told they’ll have an update soon. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.

Also, I was watching the Mav's pre-season show and they lady said that it will be open in January.

[tamtagon]

...you know, all the ultramodern, clean, white and gleaming buildings in/around Victory Park will make for an interesting contrast to the brick of The West End.

The appearance and pedestrian comfort level of roads and sidewalks under Woodall Rogers will make the contrast either good or bad. I think replacing some of the parking under the highway with space for vendors will make the whole area rock!

[elmstreetdallas]

And cleaning up the asbestos dumping ground, um, I mean the former Katy Depot site, would help a lot as well....

[BigD5349]

From yesterday. They are laying the sidewalks around the area that will be Victory Park.

You can see Azure on the horizon, far left of the pic.

[Tnekster]

Study shows downtown developments are more lucrative than predicted
Dallas Business Journal - November 10, 2006by Dave MooreStaff Writer
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2006/11/13/story13.html

While the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars have racked up wins in their five years at American Airlines Center, Victory Park has been raking in the dough.

That's the conclusion of a study commissioned by the American Airlines Center's operators and the developer of Victory Park -- Hillwood and partner Hicks Holdings LLC. American Airlines Center is part of Victory Park, a blend of high-end residential and commercial development near downtown Dallas.

The study, which was completed by the Plano office of Conventions Sports & Leisure International, a firm whose studies include the economic impact of sporting venues and operations, states that:

The development will generate $1 billion annually in cash, nearly $250 million more than was originally predicted.
By its 2009 completion, the project will create 11,000 full-time, permanent jobs, compared to the 8,100 jobs originally projected.
The city of Dallas, which spent $137 million on the development, will see a 48% profit on the deal.
Key to the success -- besides the Mavs' and Stars' records -- is combining the city-owned sports facility with a mix of retail and residential developments, said Russ Simons, a principal at HOK Sport Facility Operations' evaluation and analysis group in Nashville. Kansas City, Mo.-based HOK is a nationally renowned sports facility design consultant.

The Dallas Business Journal asked Simons -- who wasn't involved in the study -- to review Conventions Sports & Leisure International's report, which is expected to be made public Nov. 10.

Simons said the development reflects a nationwide trend of pairing athletic complexes with commercial and retail developments to create year-round attractions.

One similar example Simons cited was the Staples Center in Los Angeles where, in September 2005, ESPN announced plans to build a five-story, $100 million mixed-use development.

Victory Park spans 75 acres and will include 4,000 residences and 4 million square feet of office and retail space, according to the report.

The study, which industry experts estimate cost up to $150,000, included a University of Dallas survey that showed higher-than-anticipated spending from arena crowds.

"We were pleasantly surprised with, when the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments are in town, how much they were spending," said Brad Mayne, president of the Center Operating Co., which runs the American Airlines Center and is owned by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Stars and Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and businessman Ross Perot Jr.

Mayne said the study was conducted to mark the five-year anniversary of the completion of the $420 million American Airlines Center.

The University of Dallas surveyed 1,350 American Airlines Center patrons between March and April and found they spent an average of $355 on lodging, meals, transportation, shopping and entertainment.

Another surpise to Mayne was the distance patrons traveled to attend events at the center. It's not uncommon to draw people from southern Oklahoma to events, Mayne said.

Bill Rhoda, who authored the study for Conventions Sports & Leisure, said the development is succeeding for a blend of reasons:

If city of Dallas hadn't converted the abandoned city dump, a former rail yard and an aging power plant into usable land, the development wouldn't have happened.
A variety of events -- including the Big 12 and NCAA basketball tournaments, rodeos and big-name concerts -- have kept the center's seats filled.
Though Dallas has a smaller market than Los Angeles, it has managed to successfully combine a sports venue with a large real estate development -- a relatively difficult task to pull off.
dmoore@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7112

[OneDallas]

Victory gets a prestigious tenant
Haynes and Boone law firm to take 6 floors of new office tower
10:58 PM CST on Monday, November 13, 2006
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/111406dnbusHaynes.312943c.html

Haynes and Boone will be the first large business tenant to move to Victory. Haynes and Boone will be the lead tenant in the 20-story building – the first office tower to be built in the 75-acre development.

Construction starts immediately on the northwest edge of downtown at Lamar Street and Victory Avenue.

Haynes and Boone will take up to 175,000 square feet on six floors of the building.

...

"The other thing this building does is complete the circle at the southern end of the project," Mr. Woods said.

One Victory Park will join the 28-story House condominium tower and the Terrace condo building, which are under construction on Victory's south side near the West End entertainment district.

The 456,000-square-foot project will open in mid-2008.

Architect BOKA Powell of Dallas designed the glass and masonry Victory office building. San Francisco-based architect Gensler designed the interiors. Austin Commercial will be the general contractor.

One Victory Park is the first of two office towers Hillwood and Hines plan adjacent to Stemmons Freeway.

Additional office space will be located in the Victory Plaza and 43-story Victory Tower buildings.

[Tnekster]

^Another tower, it's really amazing if you ever come across the Contintental bridge into downtown to see all of the cranes and realize how dense this area is becoming. And so quickly.

[Mark Lea]

picture...?

[Lionel Hutz]

Wow. Law firms sure are moving around. Thompson Knight to One Arts. Bracewell Giuliani to Fountainplace. Now HayBoo to Victory. Looks like there are some deals to be had.

Working in Victory would be awesome. But getting out of the parking garage on game nights could be a bitch. Of course, going to games would be easy - just park in your office building garage for free and walk to the arena.

[Truone]

Did anyone see Charlie Gibson Host World News tonite from dallas last night? As he was signing off they showed the closing graphics for the show on this humongous screen on the side of a building...it looked like it was down in the Victory area and i was wondering if the screens were working already....I could just be behind on this but any responses would be great!!

[HarryMoto]

They've been testing the screens for the past few weeks.

I wish I'd seen the Gibson broadcast. Did they do any Dallas-centric stories or show any other parts of the city? Why was he doing it from Dallas?

[kenc]

Did anyone see Charlie Gibson Host World News tonite from dallas last night? As he was signing off they showed the closing graphics for the show on this humongous screen on the side of a building...it looked like it was down in the Victory area and i was wondering if the screens were working already....I could just be behind on this but any responses would be great!!

Yes, that was Victory...we got a look at the screens at the very beginning as well as the end of the show.
And yes, the screen are working - I've seen several videos being displayed as I drove by.

[Truone]

well theyre doing some kinda road trip on World News Tonight so today they will be broadcasting from Houston. They did some stories in fort worth about gas drilling on peoples property and the monetary benefits of it and then a story about the wild pigs destroying 50 mill dollars worth of Texas crops. I dont recall seeing to much on Dallas but i did not see the whole broadcast either. Glad to know the screens are working are they on 24/7?

[CTroyMathis]

picture...?
You'll find one in the first post of this thread. Speaking of which, OVP might as well have it's own thread now.

[1999McKinneyAve]

well theyre doing some kinda road trip on World News Tonight so today they will be broadcasting from Houston. They did some stories in fort worth about gas drilling on peoples property and the monetary benefits of it and then a story about the wild pigs destroying 50 mill dollars worth of Texas crops. I dont recall seeing to much on Dallas but i did not see the whole broadcast either. Glad to know the screens are working are they on 24/7?

The screens are on most of the time...as they are right now. Not playing video though....more like a colorful "screen saver"

[Kelley USA]

Last Thursday night all 11 screens were running promos for WFAA. Had video of Gloria, John, Dale and Troy. The quality is just amazing and it looked so cool.

[Jack Flack]

I could see some of the screen display while waiting for the elevator at the downtown 24hr fitness last night. Looking toward Victory one can see the W, AA center and the three video screens that are on top of the tower. I can't wait to see that view with Victory Tower and Cirque completed.

[HarryMoto]

well theyre doing some kinda road trip on World News Tonight so today they will be broadcasting from Houston. They did some stories in fort worth about gas drilling on peoples property and the monetary benefits of it and then a story about the wild pigs destroying 50 mill dollars worth of Texas crops. I dont recall seeing to much on Dallas but i did not see the whole broadcast either. Glad to know the screens are working are they on 24/7?

For the average viewer in Seattle or Syracuse, how do you think Dallas came off?

[Tnekster]

^Like we are a bunch of pig farmers with gas wells on our property.

[JasonDallas]

They've been testing the screens for the past few weeks.

I wish I'd seen the Gibson broadcast. Did they do any Dallas-centric stories or show any other parts of the city? Why was he doing it from Dallas?

It seems like every month or 2 he does it from Dallas.

Jason

[jsoto3]

I don't think this has been posted yet.

Victory retail map:
http://www.victorypark.com/map2.pdf

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1333/victoryretailmapcl4.th.jpg (http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=victoryretailmapcl4.jpg)

Legend attached.

[jsoto3]

Has this video already been posted?:
http://www.victorypark.com/video_wmv.html
http://www.victorypark.com/video_qt.html

[incrediculous]

Poor music selection for those videos.

I get the sense that Victory will age really well. Better than the West Village will.

[Mark Lea]

yea, they have been posted multiple times but still its exciting to watch everytime

[Agnus Dei]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111506dnmetaacsign.39832271.html

All signs point to video board conflict at AAC

Developer says teams' play will clash with their programming

By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News

A massive video board the Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center operators want to affix to the arena's southern face has an influential neighbor plenty upset.

Hillwood, which is building a mixed-use, midrise development and pedestrian plaza immediately south of AAC, has invested $30 million in 11 smaller video boards of its own, company officials say.

They say they fear the AAC's video board would conflict with, not complement, video and audio programming the Hillwood boards intend to provide. Eight of the screens can move horizontally along elevated tracks.

“We’ve paid considerable attention to how the screens interact with each other,” said Kristin Gray, director of Hillwood’s Victory Media Network. “Without coordination with our boards, the other screen – it’s noise. It’s confusing. It’s distracting. And we feel like they’re drafting off of us.”

Talks between arena officials and Hillwood “are under way and continuing,” said Dave Brown, vice president and general manager of Center Operating Co., which operates the city-owned AAC.

“This is cutting-edge technology that will be a backdrop for home and away games, as well as for concerts and other entertainment events,” Mr. Brown wrote in a statement about the proposed AAC video board. “This will provide a screen that is appropriate for the scale of the plaza, which is the size of a football field. It does not involve the expenditure of any taxpayer funds.”

In order for the AAC to erect the proposed 30-foot-tall, 50-foot-wide video board – 1,500 square feet in surface area – the Dallas City Council must approve an amendment to a signage provision that prohibits signs or media displays of more than 1,000 square feet from being attached to the arena.

And the City Plan Commission, which reviews and makes recommendations on such cases before they proceed to the council, is scheduled Thursday to hear the Center Operating Company’s amendment request.

Initially, the city planning and development staff recommended the plan commission approve the requested sign-size amendment.

Now the staff will recommend that the commission not yet act on the request, holding it instead under advisement.

“We still need to know more about the logistics of the sign and how it will be coordinated with other signs in the plaza area,” said David Cossum, an assistant director in Dallas’ development services department. Based on the city’s previous signage rulings, “the concept was not to have another Times Square with unlimited signs, but to create a unique public area where the larger signs were coordinated to create a unique effect.”

David Neumann, plan commission vice chairman, says he’ll reserve judgment on the size amendment until at least Thursday’s hearing.

“The question really is this: How does it fit into the character of what’s going to be a great entertainment district?” Mr. Neumann said. “This sign is gigantic. I like the idea of these message signs, but I have great pause with this one.”

Said plan commissioner Jeff Strater, “Your average person may say, ‘Oh my gosh, what are you doing to the AAC? A delay might be a win-win. That may allow some time for the two parties to reach a compromise.”

Regardless of City Hall’s lukewarm reception to the mega-board, Center Operating Company isn’t dawdling: Workers have already removed masonry from the AAC’s southern facade and wood panels cover holes where a video board’s moorings would be anchored.

An 18-page internal AAC document indicates the arena-mounted video board would feature high-definition video, include audio and be exclusively owned and operated by the AAC/Center Operating Company.

The document states that in addition to various sport and entertainment content, “sponsors/advertisers will have the opportunity to display messages in a variety of forms.” These include commercial sports, short films, branded borders and animated special effects, according to the document.

The video board would operate between 10 a.m. to about 10:30 p.m. each day, excluding special event days, during which operating times may change, the document states.

Timing is key to what AAC officials plan for their board, which includes an unveiling before the National Hockey League All-Star Game commences in late January at the AAC.

“It will be a centerpiece for an international audience that will hopefully view Dallas as one of the best places in the world to host major events,” Mr. Brown wrote.

“If we can find a way to coordinate it with ours, that’s my dream,” Hillwood’s Ms. Gray said. “This is two businesses trying to figure out what’s best for the district and what’s best for our two entities.”

Compromise is the ideal option for council member Pauline Medrano, whose District 2 includes both the AAC and Hillwood’s Victory development.

“I want both groups to come to the table to discuss communication and coordination among their signs,” Ms. Medrano said. “These are not just going to be your normal advertising billboards. You can’t have eight movable screens with one message and have another giant screen on the American Airlines Center with, perhaps, a different or competing message.”

E-mail dlevinthal@dallasnews.com

I didn't see this posted.

[FoUTASportscaster]

That's the conclusion of a study commissioned by the American Airlines Center's operators and the developer of Victory Park -- Hillwood and partner Hicks Holdings LLC.

Since it isn't an independent study, I can't believe what preceeded and followed this sentence.

[dfwcre8tive]

Didn't they promote Victory Plaza as our very own "Times Square"? I don't think the video boards in Times square are all coordinated; quite the opposite: they are all competing for your attention.

EDIT:

“the concept was not to have another Times Square with unlimited signs, but to create a unique public area where the larger signs were coordinated to create a unique effect.”

I guess I was wrong. This area hasn't been promoted as Dallas' Times Square?

[SCARLETandBLACK]

I always thought it was supposed to be something like a hibrid between Times Square, a piece of artwork, and a Budweiser commercial.

"Anheuser-Busch is the Official Beer Sponsor of the NBA."

Either way, I think that WFAA and The Dallas Morning News should probably steer clear of this one because they are a little too close to the story. I didn't even see a disclaimer in that article stating that WFAA and it's parent company, BELO, have a stake in that plaza (and an agreement with Hillwood).

Call me the wary reader.

I think that the AAC should tell Hillwood that it has already compromised. That would be hillarious. They could say that they first thought of putting in another "Godzilla-tron" like The University of Texas at Austin, but thought it was too large (and wouldn't fit), so they thought of a "Giga-tron," like the one at Kyle Field, but thought it would be too invasive, and settled on a relatively normal sized Megatron.

If the city has allowed the Hillwood group to put in all the rest of those boards, I see no reason to stop the AAC from putting in another one.

Of course, I'm not a fan of "lick 'n' stick" Schwartz (nor the professor who coined the phrase -and is now banned by the from cowtown because of it), so I would just be happy with anything that covers the "hangar."

I was wondering how they were going to make the transition between those sleek annodized alluminum and glass buildings with video boards and the arena anyway.

[freewaytincan]

...so I would just be happy with anything that covers the "hangar."

http://www.dallasarchitecture.info/praetorian.jpg