Reply With QuoteNow that you mention it.... a real waterfall in the plaza would be nice and help with the potential noise. I really dig the one across the street at the Magnolia.Originally Posted by cowboyeagle05
I just don't like how down town is becoming the half-clothed, Rihanna wanna-be, drunken-idiot playground on Sat. night... OK, well I don't mind the half-clothed part, just the drunken-idiot part. Sad part is that it's not even at half-potential for idiot-ness...
My apartment backs up to a quiet street behind DP&L... hope it stays that way.
(Pardon any subpar usage of hyphens)
"I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."
Now that you mention it.... a real waterfall in the plaza would be nice and help with the potential noise. I really dig the one across the street at the Magnolia.
"I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."
So you moved downtown but don't want it to by noisy or busy?
Does the law allow for glass box alcohol sales? I thought it was shirts, sunglasses, shoes and jewelry. I'd expect those places to be closed after dark.
Everyone has to sleep at some point...
"I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."
Some of it is that... but it is a lot better in this regard than uptown or Lower Greenville.
No sleep til Brooklyn, bro
I'll admit I thought the whole food truck thing was kinda a silly. But after enjoying my banh mi while sitting on a bench in front of the Trammell Crow building with some family and friends it was pretty damn cool to be eating surrounded by skyscrapers and people walking to and from the arts district.
Tighten the female dog!
.
Downtown Dallas shows new signs of life
IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL: David Glasscock, Colliers International executive managing director who
specializes in downtown properties, predicts increased developments in the next 18 months.
‘Dallas is extremely vibrant,’ Glasscock says. ‘We have a lot of business focused on downtown.’
by Candace Carlisle, Staff Writer
Dallas Business Journal, Friday, 11-04-11
Noel Aveton has lived in downtown Dallas with his family since 2002.
In that time, Aveton has raised 7-year-old son Beau in a two-story home near the Farmers Market, a quick walk from Main Street Garden.
The office where he works in Fountain Place as an associate principal at architectural firm Callison, is just blocks away.
Aveton and his family embody the lifestyle downtown’s advocates expect will attract more people interested in living, working and playing in one place. They can point to several projects that help sustain that lifestyle and they say more are on the way.
We wanted ...
Full article requires DBJ subscription: http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/pr...own-shows.html
Last edited by skys the limit; 04 November 2011 at 05:27 PM.
Couldn't find a thread for 1616 Commerce (if one exists) but this banner always makes me laugh. Probably time for an update.
Whats interesting about that space is until just recently its always been blocked off with black tinting in the windows because Neimans uses it for storage cause it used to house some of Neimans offices back in the day. If you look at the window lettering near the front door to the retail space I believe it still says thats where the advertising and marketing teams were located at one time when Neimans had a need for that much office space.Couldn't find a thread for 1616 Commerce (if one exists) but this banner always makes me laugh. Probably time for an update.
Downtown Dallas Inc just announced the other day that they will be working with a local artist to fill in empty retail windows with locally created art to make Downtown look nicer even when spaces are not as occupied as we all would like. I am guessing Neimans had the black tinting removed so they could hang new art in the windows. I dont suspect they have found a tenant for the space yet. It will be a nice change though from the ugly abandoned look it had before.
Speaking of art, did the city ever get that art in the glass cases out of that section of tunnels that is now likely unused? Years ago that was a big deal with the new connection between the Thanksgiving Place section and the TXU section. I've since gone through it and the displays are dark and people may be unaware of the specially commissioned sculptures there. The most memorable were metal guitars.
It's still there sitting in the dark. I didn't know anything about the sculptures, though.
And now it's back to the blacked out windows.
I guess they were just getting it re-tinted, how odd. I mean I know one of the windows was broken for the longest time I guess they got the broken window replaced and re-tinted them all to match? Im surprised the let the broken windows sit for so long considering Neimans knows that a plywood window makes the place look pretty run down.
Downtown (the CBD) is now at 5,300 residential units and an estimated 7,400 residents. Not bad.
Downtown Dallas housing at halfway point to critical mass
By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Published: 01 March 2012 09:47 PM
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/r...tical-mass.ece
Was out yesterday taking my parents to a late lunch at a resturantant that abuts the new park infront of the Dallas Grand, and I was pleastantly surprised. We parked at my office and walked a couple blocks over. Yesterday (and I am sure today) the streets where alive downtown with a lot of people walking their dogs, runners, bicyclist, families playing in the park, people going in and out of the restaurants / strolling along mainstreet, people looking for parking spots and saw some dog walkers. I see the morning, lunchtime, and evening rush putting alot of people on the street everyday, but this is the first time I have truly noticed the streets alive on the weekend other than that 'occupy movement'. I thought at first there must be a special event, but no. My parents (one use to work downtown some years ago) who had not been downtown for lunch on the weekends in quite some years both commented 'They are really bringing downtown back to life.' It was fun to see, and on our way back home into uptown, the street cafe's and sidewalks where full as usual with the nice wheather around 3pm.
Last edited by slfunk; 25 March 2012 at 12:56 PM.
^ I noticed that myself yesterday. Quite a few strollers out. WalkableDfw pointed out suburban residents are becoming downtown tourists. Which this suburban resident can attest. I remember one night over hearing an older couple from Plano having drinks at the Chesterfield. Certainly, we need an escape that is only a short drive away. Legacy and Watters Crossing cannot replicate certain things.
Tighten the female dog!
Keep in mind there are two big events Downtown this weekend. The Dallas Auto Show which attracts everyone and their mothers. Also the Rock N Roll Marathon which starts at Dallas City Hall and finishes at Fair Park. I'm not saying there aren't more people frequenting the area but at least this weekend there is some big events attracting people.
After all, that is the natural way of big cities.
The balloon expo brought another 5000 or so to the Sheraton on Sunday.
I had someone in from out of town this weekend. We hit Farmer's Market, downtown, uptown, Lower Greenville, Oak Lawn and Henderson and every area was packed with people. The patios were full and there were actually people walking everywhere. Even the Dallas Debbie Downers cannot deny that this city has changed dramatically in the last 5-10 years and is actually a pretty nifty place to live. I was proud of our city this weekend.
^ I agree. I would have thought the crowds at first were due to a special event. But these where clearly locals walking out of the residential towers, families, lots of people with their dogs and people coming downtown with bikes on top of their cars.
I rode the red line from Cityplace to convention center for the car show and the trains were packed but not just for the car show. There were tourist, locals, families obviously going to the zoo, people going to work and downtown was full of all kinds of people walking about. We stopped into to Chophouse Burger and there was a line out the door on a Saturday and all of the other restaurants were full as well. I felt like I was visiting another city it was amazing and fun to be in it all day.
It's nice to see Chophouse Burger so busy on a Saturday, which says quite a lot about how downtown is changing. Last weekend may have been due to the trifecta of downtown events, beautiful weather and residents out and about, but I do get the sense that more and more people are visiting downtown on weekends (taking pictures of buildings, jogging, etc.), and residents are taking ownership of the public spaces. One interesting thing I've noticed is that despite the Lily Pad being closed, people still sit there to enjoy the shade, eat their lunch or relax.
Downtown is so close to the tipping point that it's more important than ever to keep security and cleanliness top of mind. Friday evening I saw a DD safety patrol officer walk up to a group of vagrants drinking their Bud Ice in plain sight. He quickly snatched it away and poured it out before throwing away the empty can. It was good to see that (and not so good to know that stores are still selling Bud Ice).
Just a quick antidote I know various people who really enjoy some of the more recent restaurant additions to Downtown because they are less pricey but offer reasonably good food. Finding parking has never been a problem for people I run into particularly once I show them the Elm Street garage above CVS. I've actually heard people do that "Lets go to that ________ place Downtown" Course these are some suburban types but some live in Dallas and a few have gotten tired of Oak Cliffs parking woes and crazy Uptown so Downtown kinda fits in the middle if they can get a few more places in there.
hahaha
What's wrong with Bud Ice? That's Brad Gilbert's favorite beer.
You're probably right. But I'll take it: those are the sorts of things that get people to venture out in the first place. After all, they have to go once before they can come back.
...dooo beee do-be-do...
It's poor folk swill...can't have none of them unwashed masses down there, now, can we?
if I were homeless I'd go for the higher gravity beers... more expensive but much higher alcohol content.
If I were homeless, I'd go with cheap vodka and (maybe) something to cut the vodka.
Wait, shouldn't this be on the "What are you drinking tonight?" thread?
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_CEO/...fts_North.aspx
Forum...you may post when ready.One such event could occur, but it’s at least a decade away. Amend says he was talking recently with a minority owner of the Texas Rangers, who intimated that moving the baseball team to downtown Dallas when its Arlington lease is up in the early 2020s was a strong possibility. “It’s a renaissance activity that would change the entire face of downtown,” Amend says. “Everyone in Dallas would go to the ballpark, everytime there was a game. It would be a really big deal.”
Tighten the female dog!
They're still counting Victory Park as Uptown and not downtown (in the example of TM moving out of Comerica tower)?
As for the ballpark moving to downtown Dallas: yes and yes. Reunion Arena site, please.
Last edited by lakewoodhobo; 20 April 2012 at 05:41 PM.
If we could build a tollroad between the levees, couldn't we build a ballpark there too? Perhaps you could even hit home runs into the rain swollen Trinity.
Interesting story in WSJ about situation in downtown Kansas City. Ostensibly appears to be a success: many new restaurants, activity, new firms downtown. Area often gets kudos in this forum. Financial underbelly tells a different story. I cannot tell if they used TIFs to pay for bonds or whether just used general obligation expecting overall increase in receipts to cover. In any case, the city has not seen tax receipts to cover the nut demanded by the bond holders and are now cutting other services. Even with improving economy, they are seeing a shortfall.
Forum members frequently cite intrinsic benefits of these investments saying it is not all financial. Real world is the bill must be paid by someone. If the new investments cannot bring the interest payments, then other units in budget will sacrifice because interest must get paid.
Would this be the Power & Light district?
Downtown Kansas City is actually pretty great. I was there a couple of years ago and it put downtown Dallas to shame. Then there is an area called the Plaza that is outside of downtown Kansas City. It's like Highland Park Village and Uptown rolled into one. Kansas City is great. And it feels weird saying that.
DAGNABBIT!
Yes. Full article available here.
I wonder how Fort Worth would compare to KC?
I was there about 10 months ago for a conference and stayed near the district. It looks nice and there are some restaurants around and a couple of them are quite good. The only thing that seems strange was the lack of people. It was dead, even in the evenings it lacked significant foot traffic. There is a parking garage underneath and when we were down there once it was obvious that most of that garage had never seen a car parked in it, only a small portion of the garage was being used. So it was apparent that it was underperforming.
I took the train to Fair Park for Earth Day on Saturday, got off the train in Downtown first to walk around. There were lots of people everywhere, from Main Street Garden down to the West End. Really quite amazing how far Downtown has come in the last few years. We still have several areas that need some serious attention, such as Thanksgiving Square (sad what has become of that), and Elm Street (there is a long stretch with vacant storefronts, vacant office buildings, etc...), but Downtown seems to really have turned the corner and has lots of momentum going for it right now.
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/196594...owntown-dallas
The terrible writing in this story made me cringe (there are more things to do downtown like the Video Festival... but we lost the Cowboys Stadium to Arlington... so we built the MHH bridge and Perot Museum and City Performance Hall). But at least it sends the message that downtown is thriving.
Personally, I have never been convinced that losing the Cowboy stadium was such a horrible event. My office overlooks the new stadium in Arlington and about the only significant development change I have seen out here in the past few years is a few new fast food restaurants and some chain restaurants. They have torn down some old apartment complexes near the stadium and developed fabulous new parking lots. I know the city makes money off the events but what they need most is parking for these events. Most of the time I drive by there is nothing going on. It seems that what they need they get, a huge stadium surrounded by parking lots. Who wants to live around that? The Ballpark is the same way, huge stadium surrounded by parking lots.
Where did they get the numbers for 40,000 people living downtown for that article?
I also wonder how accurate the numbers are. For the cenus people are only counted in their primary residence and from my experience a good portion of condos are second homes. Is someone counted on our downtown population numbers if they have a condo but only stay there on the weekend?
While the report's video component 'tells the story' better than the written part, incongruities like this quote:
"The area used to be the place to work, not eat or play. In 1996 only 200 people lived in a single high rise. Now 40,000 people live in downtown thanks to more old buildings being converted to apartments and lofts. Plus, there are now 250 bars, restaurants and lounges."
...might taint message that downtown is worth considering among people not totally uninformed, but not at all enthusiastic.
Woodall Park will make a huge difference.
John Crawford has been using the 40,000 number (for "Greater Downtown Dallas") since the Downtown 360 plan was adopted. I'm ok with it because this number, however misleading, is what will attract retailers to the CBD.
If I had written the story, I would've said that losing the Boeing HQ in 2001 was a bigger catalyst for downtown redevelopment.
Last edited by lakewoodhobo; 01 October 2012 at 04:51 PM.
Lol....
I think it's been pretty much confirmed that the new cowboys stadium hasn't really boosted up any development, and certainly not nearly as much as was touted during their bid to stick it in Arlington. The Atlantic ran a great article about a month ago that discussed how overblown revenue and development projections are when a group is trying to build a stadium. As a resident of Las Colinas, i can't say that I've seen a significant change based on our loss of Texas Stadium. There wasn't any retail around the actual stadium itself to get hurt by its departure in the first place.
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