Uptown: Shifting into high gear

[Mena]

I'm constantly baffled by the accusation that Uptown is not pedestrian friendly. Yes, there is a lot of improvements that can and should be made. Going forward there should be a much higher standard for new construction, but we have a free trolly that locals don't even use that much because it's so easy to walk anywhere. I've lived here for 5 years and never used my car anything closer than Knox St if I'm not stopping by somewhere on my way home.

I can see why locals choose to walk. I do know of a lot of people who take the trolley from St. Paul to Uptown. We rode to Uptown and it was packed! The weather was fantastic and made the walk home enjoyable. Walking 2 miles wouldn't be my first choice on a bad weather day though. We ended up getting rid of my car because I really only drive maybe twice a month.

[tamtagon]

I'm constantly baffled by the accusation that Uptown is not pedestrian friendly.

I think the final construction bump of the West Village will push the perception of Uptown as a walkable place over the threshold. The developers have stated the last parcels will be more dense, initial proposals appear to more than double the resident-per-square-mile.... MATA has already responded with it's turntable significantly increasing line capacity; this will make the streetcar viable for a greater percentage of Uptown residents and visitors.

The whole stretch of McKinney, from CityPlace to The Ritz will see under-developed property filling up with mid & high rise buildings, further increasing the population density of the area. With more people living 'on the block' the mobility focus of all new developments will by choice cater to the pedestrian.

[Tnekster]

What is the status on the sidewalks in Uptown anyway? I can never remember, is there some plan to widen and make streets like McKinney more walkable? After walking with a group of friends down McKinney one night, one with a suitcase, I could not help but notice they were not so great.

[hamiltonpl]

I'm constantly baffled by the accusation that Uptown is not pedestrian friendly. Yes, there is a lot of improvements that can and should be made. Going forward there should be a much higher standard for new construction, but we have a free trolly that locals don't even use that much because it's so easy to walk anywhere. I've lived here for 5 years and never used my car anything closer than Knox St if I'm not stopping by somewhere on my way home.

It is not as pedestrian friendly as it should be. Many of the sidewalks are far too narrow and plenty of the buildings have parking in the front. For an "urban" area of town it has a lot of suburban pedestrian infrastructure.

[Kelley USA]

This place has opened on McKinney Ave in the former Rock-N-Taco location... http://www.thestanddallas.com/

[Tnekster]

NexBank moving from Galleria to Uptown

NexBank is moving its headquarters to the Chateau Plaza office tower on McKinney Avenue.
STEVE BROWN The Dallas Morning News
Real Estate Editor
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Published: 12 January 2012 01:32 PM
Related NexBank Capital Inc. next week is moving its headquarters from the Galleria complex in Far North Dallas to the Chateau Plaza building in Uptown.

The banking and financial services company will occupy the entire 17th floor of the building at 2515 McKinney Avenue, along with two subsidiaries, Barrier Advisors and NexBank Securities Inc.

“Our companies want to be in the heart of the Dallas business and financial community, and we believe the uptown area is fast-becoming an emerging financial epicenter for the Metroplex,” John Holt, President and CEO of NexBank Capital, said in a statement.

NextBank's move comes after its affiliated company Highland Capital Management relocated its hedquaters from the Galleria to to Uptown's Crescent complex.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...-to-uptown.ece

[homeworld1031tx]

Geez that's not a lot of space. The only reason I say that is because they have signage on the DNT building near the galleria. If they are moving there entire operations to just one floor then it stands to reason that they only had a floor or two up north which I find odd considering they had significant signage rights to the building. Will they still be maintaining offices up there? I can't remember exactly which building there in, maybe they aren't the primary tennants. Is it the same building that Fedex Kinkos is based in?

[profbarium]

I can't remember exactly which building there in, maybe they aren't the primary tennants. Is it the same building that Fedex Kinkos is based in?

No. FedEx "Office" (which is confusing, but how they would prefer you call it) is in 13155 Noel, fronting LBJ. NexBank is in one of the towers farther north on Noel (13455); I believe it's attached to the Galleria.

Oh, and I had to look this up. I don't carry this kind of stuff in my head.

[dfwcre8tive]

In Uptown, Residents Square Off Against Restaurants and Saloons Over Parking
By Brantley Hargrove Thu., Jan. 19 2012 at 5:23 PM
Categories: News
​http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfa...e_off.php#more

There's trouble brewing in the land of lofts, bros and trolleys. Owners of Uptown spots such as Thomas Ave. Beverage Company, The Nodding Donkey and Si Tapas say they're getting squeezed by irascible homeowners who've had whole swaths of Thomas Avenue and Allen Street designated for residents only, leaving patrons with nowhere nearby to park. And they're afraid it's going to get worse.

"This thing is going to spread all around Uptown, which is gonna be terrible for business," says TABC owner Russell Hayward. "We've been trying to be cooperative and conciliatory, but they're just trying to shut us down."

McKinney Avenue-area establishments like TABC don't have big asphalt lots to accommodate patrons, so they're zoned for street parking. "The intent of that is to rely on the neighborhood for street parking," Hayward says. "The reason they did that was to entice people like me to open businesses where there is no parking. That was fine for 17 years.

"Now the new residents don't like that anymore and have basically choked us off on parking."

...

When the Nodding Donkey moved in across the street, Hayward says traffic doubled. Residents began complaining to the police. "They take a corporal off his desk to drive up here to give a ticket to one truck when there's 12 other spots open," The Nodding Donkey co-owner Tony Winkler says.

...

Winkler says the resident-only spots aren't even being used, and that they amount to little more than scorched earth. "They all have two-car parking garages!"

"There's plenty of room, so now it's vindictive."

Winkler says business was down 50 percent in December. Hayward says the lack of parking is killing his weekday happy hour crowd. If residents keep consuming the streets, they both worry about the future of business in the area.

Says Hayward: "They're going to push restaurant operations off of McKinney."

[vman]

Parking problems in Uptown.


In Uptown, Residents Square Off Against Restaurants and Saloons Over Parking

There's trouble brewing in the land of lofts, bros and trolleys. Owners of Uptown spots such as Thomas Ave. Beverage Company, The Nodding Donkey and Si Tapas say they're getting squeezed by irascible homeowners who've had whole swaths of Thomas Avenue and Allen Street designated for residents only, leaving patrons with nowhere nearby to park. And they're afraid it's going to get worse.

"This thing is going to spread all around Uptown, which is gonna be terrible for business," says TABC owner Russell Hayward. "We've been trying to be cooperative and conciliatory, but they're just trying to shut us down."

McKinney Avenue-area establishments like TABC don't have big asphalt lots to accommodate patrons, so they're zoned for street parking. "The intent of that is to rely on the neighborhood for street parking," Hayward says. "The reason they did that was to entice people like me to open businesses where there is no parking. That was fine for 17 years.

"Now the new residents don't like that anymore and have basically choked us off on parking."

Read on:

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfa...square_off.php

[slfunk]

^While its a problem, its actually a good problem to have and sign of how well the redevelopment of the uptown into an urban neighborhood has become. Going from being riddled with drugs, crimes and homes falling apart through the 80's and early 90's to having parking problems at some mid-upscale bars/restaurants and shortage of buildable sites.

[Tnekster]

Startup firms follow apartment deals

STEVE BROWN The Dallas Morning News
Real Estate Editor
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Published: 05 April 2012 09:24 PM

The two Dallas developers turned downtown’s 36-story Republic National Bank building into rental homes, and they built the 26-story Park 17 high-rise in Uptown.

But their biggest deal was starting their own company last summer.

“Our industry has its best demographics in 30 years,” said Chesnut, whose new StreetLights Residential is already working on three projects. “If you were ever going to start a company, this was the time to do it.”

Other builders are thinking the same.

With apartment starts booming in North Texas and across the country, the number of startup development firms is growing.

Even some developers that previously stuck to offices and retail are making a play in the expanding apartment building business.

“They are being opportunistic in the sense that there’s a need and opportunity to build more apartments,” said Dallas apartment industry consultant Ron Witten. “Given the effort and risk involved with starting a development company, I suspect they plan on being around for the foreseeable future.

“The industry’s capacity to build was reduced dramatically during the recession as private companies and public companies both laid off development staff in 2008 and 2009,” Witten said. “To some degree, the new startups are just rebuilding the industry’s capacity that was lost then.”

Other new companies that don’t have a history in apartments may be short-term players.

“Some of them probably won’t be around for the long haul, as they are likely to shift their focus back to their traditional specialties once other real estate products gain some traction,” said Greg Willett, vice president of Carrollton-based MPF Research.

Austin and Houston

Chesnut and Bakewell formed StreetLights Residential after working for years for nationwide apartment developer and investor Gables Residential.

When Gables scaled back its Dallas development operations early last year, the two veteran apartment execs hit the ground running.

“There were a couple of firms that wanted to take us in, but we decided to start our own company,” said Bakewell.

StreetLights formed an equity investment partnership with Dallas’ Hill family and tied up a prime Uptown building site on Carlisle Street for its first deal.

“We put that Carlisle property under contract before we even had our equity venture complete,” Bakewell said.

The nascent developer has begun knocking down the old low-rise office buildings on the property to make way for their apartment tower.

Paige Close, formerly of Looney Ricks Kiss architecture, has joined StreetLights as director of development. Robert de Bruin, another Gables alum, is the president of construction.

Along with the Dallas project, StreetLights is working on two developments in Austin. The first will be a suburban rental project on the city’s north side.

“We have an Austin central business district high-rise site we hope to start before the end of the year,” Chesnut said. “We have also looked at some opportunities in Houston.”

Top market

With about 12,400 apartments under construction in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, developers from across the country are looking at North Texas for expansion. D-FW is one of the top apartment building markets in the nation.

Matt Segrest developed apartments on the West Coast before recently forming a company in Dallas.

His Alamo Manhattan LLC has two urban-style rental projects in the works in Dallas and has looked at a deal in College Station.

“The company is made up of the former leadership team from Simpson Housing’s West Coast development office, based in Seattle,” Segrest said. “While at Simpson, the team developed over $500 million in urban mixed-use apartment projects in San Diego, Portland and Seattle.

“I am a native Texan and always had plans to move back to the great state,” he said.

Alamo Manhattan has a 250-unit apartment complex in the planning stages on Harry Hines Boulevard on the edge of the Victory Park project.

And on the Katy Trail on Carlisle Street, the developer is working on a midrise rental building.

“We are focused on urban Texas deals,” Segrest said.

CMC Commercial, long a North Texas office and industrial developer, broke ground early this year on its first apartment project, a 308-unit development in Austin.

“We broke in February and will be finished sometime in the summer of 2013,” said CMC’s Steve Huff. “Everything is going well — very much on schedule.”

The developer is hunting apartment deals closer to home and in other big Texas markets.

“We have been looking in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas,” Huff said. “Apartment building has become quite the thing, and sites are difficult to locate.”

Follow Steve Brown on Twitter at @SteveBrownDMN.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...ion=reregister

[tamtagon]

I wonder how long it will take the residential population of Uptown/Downtown to double.

[Tnekster]

I wonder how long it will take the residential population of Uptown/Downtown to double.

I don't know how long it will take to double but I do think this next round of development will more significant than the last. The foundation seems firmly set and the momentum contunies to flow in the direction of center city. I'm looking forward to the continued change.

[Tnekster]

Construction starts on 17-story apartment building in Dallas’ Uptown area


StreetLights Residential
The Taylor building on Carlisle Street will have 308 units, with rents starting at $1,300 per month.
By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Published: 26 April 2012 07:51 PM

Construction has begun on a 17-story Uptown residential building — the biggest project to get under way in the neighborhood since the recession.
The Taylor apartment tower, at Carlisle and Bowen streets, will contain 308 apartments and is set to open in 2014.
The project will replace two low-rise office buildings, which were recently demolished.
The Taylor will be less than a block from the popular Katy Trail. It is a project of Dallas-based apartment developer StreetLights Residential.
The rental tower is planned with a resort-style swimming pool, large fitness center and rooftop deck, and the community “will feel similar to a high-end boutique hotel,” said Paige Close, StreetLights’ senior vice president.
Rents will start at $1,300 a month for the smallest unit.
The high-rise was designed by WDG Architects and Marly + Co.
The building is the first Dallas development for StreetLights Residential, which was started in 2011.
The developer also has an apartment community in the works in Austin.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...ptown-area.ece

[Tnekster]

Small-property owners hold on amid Uptown’s boom


Kye R. Lee/Staff Photographer

By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Published: 26 April 2012 03:37 PM

Royd Riddell hasn’t had trouble during the last year giving directions to his Uptown business.
He could tell customers hunting for his Fairmount Street antique documents shop to just look for the construction crane.
Riddell’s family business is surrounded on two sides by a towering new apartment complex that’s still going up.
“When the heavy construction equipment backs up, it has that beep-beep that just drives me crazy,” said Riddell, who owns the Riddell Rare Maps & Fine Prints shop at Fairmount and Carlisle Street. He and his wife also have a picture framing operation.
His business is in a former home that’s a holdover from the days when this part of Uptown was a modest residential neighborhood.
When developer Gables Residential bought up the rest of the block for its seven-story, 329-unit Uptown Trail apartment building, Riddell said he considered selling out.
“They made us some nice offers, but where else am I going to buy a place in this area?” Riddell said. “We’ve been in the neighborhood for more than 25 years.”
He started his business on McKinney Avenue and bought the building on Fairmount about six years ago.
Riddell said that in the 1980s, “Everything was antique stores and no restaurants.”
“Those antique stores are almost all gone now.”
And so are the rest of the low-rise buildings that once occupied his Fairmount block, which adjoins the Katy Trail.
“The worst thing about this whole thing was when the bulldozers came in and pulled down all the old-growth trees,” Riddell said.
Small wood-frame buildings like the Riddells’ shop are fewer and farther between these days in an area now dominated by high-rises.
But there are still a few holdouts.
The family that owns the old home near the southwest corner of Wolf and McKinnon streets declined to sell the 1,152-square-foot house in 1997 when Frost Bank bought up the block for a drive-through location.
After the owners unsuccessfully tried to sell the property in 2004, the house stayed put.
“The original owner passed away, and it’s still sitting there,” said broker David Glasscock of Colliers International, who previously listed the place for sale. “It’s in the hands of his family, and I am a little bit surprised they are still there.”
Driving around the one-time Hispanic neighborhood formerly known as Little Mexico, people will still find a few houses tucked between the office towers and residential high-rises.
“They are part of the real estate business,” Glasscock said. “There have been whole books written on these holdouts.”
For some folks, it’s just a question of hanging on to their longtime homes.
Rudy Villasana and his family have owned property around the corner of Payne and Harwood streets since the 1930s. They still have three small houses and some vacant lots.
Their neighbors’ houses are long gone, replaced by towering office buildings.
“My parents acquired the first house in 1933,” Villasana said. “And they bought the house I was born in in 1934.
“It was a shotgun house,” he said. “There were six of us, and we all slept in one room.”
The Villasanas have had offers over the years but have so far passed.
“We’ve had a for-sale sign up for several years,” he said. “There have sure been some changes in the neighborhood.”

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...towns-boom.ece

[Tnekster]

Construction, leasing in Dallas’ Uptown on upswing

By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Published: 10 May 2012 03:04 PM

For more than three years, Uptown’s Stoneleigh condo tower was a daily reminder of the real estate downturn.
The partially built luxury high-rise sat abandoned after its development partnership ran out of money in late 2008.
It was idled until about six weeks ago, when work crews returned to the stalled project and the long-gone construction crane came back.
The exterior of the 22-story tower off Maple Avenue “should be finished in 12 months,” said Kay Zafar of Centurion American Development Group, which is spending more than $30 million to complete the project.
Zafar said the exterior of the 75-unit condominium tower “will be exactly as was planned before” the original builders stopped work on the project.
The construction crane at the Stoneleigh Residences tower is just one of a flock of building cranes that will soon be popping up across Uptown.
The high-density urban district just north of downtown Dallas is seeing a quicker rebound in both construction and leasing than most other North Texas neighborhoods.
Land costs and building rents are basically back to where they were before the recession.
“Uptown continues to be the top market in Dallas for obvious reasons,” said Joseph Pitchford, chairman of Uptown Dallas Inc. “We are at almost $3 billion in [private property] value today, compared with downtown’s $4 billion.
“There will be a time that Uptown is more valuable than downtown,” Pitchford said.
Along with private-sector developments — which have added millions of square feet of homes and commercial space to the area — construction of public improvements such as the McKinney Avenue trolley line expansion and the new Klyde Warren Park above Woodall Rodgers Freeway are adding to Uptown’s appeal, Pitchford said.
“Everything that people have been saying about the park is true — it will link Uptown and downtown,” he said. “But I think it’s going to be better than even what people expect.”
The $110 million park stretching between Pearl and St. Paul streets is scheduled to open later this year.
By then, developers hope to have construction under way on at least one of the major office projects planned for Uptown.
The area was Dallas’ top office leasing market in 2011, and strong demand for business space has continued in 2012.
“If you looked at this market a year ago, it’s changed dramatically since then,” said Phil Puckett, executive vice president with CBRE Group. “It’s getting down to just a few good office spaces left.”
Despite the high building occupancy levels, Puckett said it’s still going to be tough for developers to kick off new office deals because of high lending standards imposed by banks.
“The big question is, will anybody build a new building?” he said.
Developers are ready — all they need are the tenants and financing.

Saint Ann Court

Harwood International’s newest office tower, the 26-story Saint Ann Court on Harry Hines Boulevard, is more than 96 percent leased. So the developer is finishing plans for its next office tower, to be built near Wolf and McKinnon streets.
Office space in the entire Harwood development is almost 96 percent leased, said Jihane Boury, Harwood vice president of leasing.
“We are ready to build our next building,” she said.
Downtown law firm Winstead PC will move into the project this summer.
Only about 15,000 square feet of the Harwood office space remains to be leased after Centex Corp. moved out.

Victory Park tower

Commercial real estate firm KDC has begun marketing a 23-story office tower to be built in the Victory Park project northwest of downtown.
“We’ve had a great response about the new Victory tower and its location,” said John Brownlee, executive vice president of KDC. “Attracting and retaining the best employees is so important today, and tenants want a vibrant location with great amenities.”
The 400,000-square-foot office tower would be built in partnership with Victory investor Estein & Associates.
“It is an exciting time to be part of Victory Park as we continue to announce more tenants and activities,” said Lance Fair, chief operating officer of Estein & Associates and vice president of Victory Park. “KDC is actively marketing its 23-story office tower, which has resulted in an increase of requests for tours of available space at Victory.”

Crescent plans

Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC has yet to take the wraps off its planned office, retail and residential complex set for a vacant Uptown block at McKinney Avenue and Olive Street.
The strategically located development is being designed by renowned international architect Pelli Clarke Pelli.
The project will contain an office tower with up to 23 stories, 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 50 luxury residential units.
“We are in full swing” with planning the development, said Crescent senior vice president Pitchford. “We’re not ready to show design images until we get it right.
“But the tenants in the market are very well aware of the project and have had, in some cases, sneak previews of what we are planning and thinking.”

‘Space is scarce’

Commercial property brokers say businesses shopping the current supply of Uptown office space are running out of options and getting sticker shock from rising prices.
“The Uptown market is rapidly accelerating,” said Jon Altschuler, founding partner of Altschuler and Co. “Rents are spiking and space is scarce.
“If you are looking for 30,000 square feet or more, you don’t have many high-quality options. We are talking to a number of tenants in that exact situation.”
The biggest block of new office space is in Granite Properties’ 17Seventeen McKinney office tower on Akard Street north of Woodall Rodgers Freeway.
International business consulting firm Bain & Co. recently leased about 40,000 square feet in the tower and is moving its office from Las Colinas to Uptown.
“We have another 55,000 square feet of leasing proposals out,” said Granite COO Greg Fuller. “We are about 52 percent leased.”
Granite expects to have the market almost to itself until new buildings can get going.
Fuller doubts all the office projects being talked about in the area will start.
“Given the size of the buildings planned, you need to justify the land prices and cost of construction,” he said.
“And you are going to need to probably be 50 percent leased to make that happen.”
Earlier this year, Granite added to its Uptown holdings with the purchase of the three-building Cedar Maple Plaza office complex across from the Crescent.
The buildings contain about 120,000 square feet and are 90 percent leased.
Uptown’s landmark Crescent complex has recently scored major leases with some of its existing tenants that had considered moving.
Law firm McKool Smith, financial services firm Stephens Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities have all extended their leases in the Crescent. The office buildings are about 90 percent leased.
Investor Caddo Holdings is upgrading the three Uptown office buildings it purchased in late 2011.
The seven-story Crosstex Energy building at 2501 Cedar Springs Road, the five-story 3400 Carlisle Street building on Lemmon Avenue and the three-story building at 2811 McKinney Avenue are more than 90 percent leased.
“We’ve been in the process of renovations of those properties,” said Dustin Schilling, chief executive officer of Caddo. “Uptown is a strong market.
“And there is a limited supply of land for new developments.”

Dwindling options

Broker Newt Walker, who’s handled some of Uptown’s biggest land sales, said the options for developers are dwindling.
“We’ve recently seen a lot change hands,” Walker said. “The availability of good land is all but exhausted.”
The big Cityplace development at the north end of Uptown has less than a handful of building sites left.
“Now that we are down to just 12 acres, we wish we had more,” said Cityplace president Neal Sleeper. “Things in general here are picking up.
“Our apartment occupancies are high and rental rates are at the top of the market.”
Cityplace is selling one of its last prime development sites on McKinney Avenue to developer Forest City, which plans to build a 20-story residential tower.
The building will have almost 400,000 square feet of residential space and 37,000 square feet of retail and will be across the street from the popular West Village complex.
“The deal we are doing with Forest City is on track to kick off this fall,” Sleeper said.
Uptown is arguably Dallas’ best market for rental communities.
“Occupancy in Uptown is very strong, 96.6 percent, and year-over-year rent growth is significant at 6.5 percent,” said Jay Parsons of apartment analyst MPF Research. “Obviously, Uptown has added a large number of new apartments over the past few years, but if you looked only at the Uptown apartment data, you’d have no idea there was ever a recession.
“Rents are well above pre-recession levels, and newly built units typically get leased up quickly, given that it’s become Dallas’ mecca for young adults coming out of college,” Parsons said.

Cityplace apartments

Apartment builder JLB Partners has two Uptown projects.
JLB is building a 294-unit apartment building in Cityplace at Blackburn Street and U.S. Highway 75. The Allure building will open in September, said JLB’s Scott Sherwood.
And JLB has teamed up with CWS Capital Partners to start work on a 321-unit, five-story apartment building at Lemmon and Oak Grove avenues.
That building will be ready in first-quarter 2013, Sherwood said.
The biggest Uptown residential building under construction is StreetLights Residential’s 17-story Taylor apartment high-rise at Carlisle and Bowen streets.
The 308-unit rental project is just a block from the Katy Trail and is set to open in 2014.
StreetLights Residential CEO Doug Chesnut said the builder has gotten positive feedback about its first development since the company was started last year.
“We think we have a great site between McKinney Avenue and Turtle Creek,” Chesnut said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...on-upswing.ece

[Tucy]

It's good to see Steve still has his pom-pons. ;-)

[1999McKinneyAve]

Not quite Victory Park but close enough. This is great news for our neighborhood: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...n-purchase.ece

An Uptown office project is close to changing hands to house the headquarters of a local restaurant company.

Firebird Restaurant Group LLC – which owns Dallas' venerable El Fenix chain – is buying the 7-story building at Akard and Ashland streets just north of downtown.

The building is a couple of blocks away from the flagship El Fenix restaurant at Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Alamo Street.

Firebird CEO Mike Karns said the company began looking for a new office after deciding late last year to sell its current building 11075 Harry Hines Blvd. The company has close to two-dozen head office workers in that location.

Karns – who also has a commercial real estate firm – said he was attracted to the Akard building because it's close to his firm's restaurants and is in a prime Uptown location.

Along with El Fenix, Firebird is putting one of its MesoMaya restaurants in the historic Luna Tortilla Factory building next door on McKinney Avenue.

And the company has another restaurant planned on nearby Olive Street.

"In the little church behind the Akard Building we are going to put a new restaurant concept," Karns said.

The old church building is being sold along with the office. Built in 1985, the office building has four stories of parking with three levels of office space on top.

The office building and church are now owned by a partnership set up by Dallas lawfirm Waters & Kraus.

Real estate broker Newt Walker has been marketing the properties for sale.

Karns said he hopes to close the purchase in August.

Karns bought the 94-year-old El Fenix restaurant chain in 2008 from Dallas' Martinez family.

El Fenix operates 21 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Wichita Falls. MesoMaya currently has a single location on Preston Road in North Dallas.

[cowboyeagle05]

I'll make sure a link to this story goes in the Corporate Relocation thread

[Tnekster]

How much of that building is leased now?

[Tnekster]

Dallas’ Uptown district has attracted the attention of another major office tenants.

Regions Bank is looking at the 17Seventeen McKinney office tower near Woodall Rodgers Freeway for a relocation of its main Dallas office.

The Alabama-based financial firm now has operations at 1111 W. Mockingbird Lane at Stemmons Freeway in northwest Dallas.

Real estate brokers say that the bank wanted the higher profile location of an Uptown or downtown Dallas address.

The 17Seventeen McKinney tower is one of the newest office buildings in the area.

Developed by Granite Properties, the office tower has some of the few remaining empty office spaces in Uptown.

A Regions Bank lease and other pending deals would take the 19-story tower to almost full occupancy.

Other major tenants in the building include Top Golf Inc., Ackerman McQueen, Colliers International and Huitt-Zollars.

[Tucy]

Dallas’ Uptown district has attracted the attention of another major office tenants.

Regions Bank is looking at the 17Seventeen McKinney office tower near Woodall Rodgers Freeway for a relocation of its main Dallas office.

The Alabama-based financial firm now has operations at 1111 W. Mockingbird Lane at Stemmons Freeway in northwest Dallas.

Real estate brokers say that the bank wanted the higher profile location of an Uptown or downtown Dallas address.

The 17Seventeen McKinney tower is one of the newest office buildings in the area.

Developed by Granite Properties, the office tower has some of the few remaining empty office spaces in Uptown.

A Regions Bank lease and other pending deals would take the 19-story tower to almost full occupancy.

Other major tenants in the building include Top Golf Inc., Ackerman McQueen, Colliers International and Huitt-Zollars.

That seems like an odd story to publish. There is pretty much no news there. We often see stories that a business or law firm is shopping for space and in what parts of town they are looking. We see stories announcing new signed leases. But a story that a business is considering a particular building is unusual. Did Regions Bank plant this story to put negotiating pressure on their current landlord and/or other potential landlords?

[tamtagon]

That seems like an odd story to publish. There is pretty much no news there. We often see stories that a business or law firm is shopping for space and in what parts of town they are looking. We see stories announcing new signed leases. But a story that a business is considering a particular building is unusual. Did Regions Bank plant this story to put negotiating pressure on their current landlord and/or other potential landlords?

It's an odd piece of "news" but not at all unusual in today's (infuriating) advertorial blog-o-sphere.

I might have thought you would have thought it more odd that a Regions Bank lease at 17Seventeen would put the office building at almost full occupancy, wasn't 1717 one of your examples of failed office construction or something like that, where you project the future prospects of a place on it's infancy?

[Tucy]

It's an odd piece of "news" but not at all unusual in today's (infuriating) advertorial blog-o-sphere.

I might have thought you would have thought it more odd that a Regions Bank lease at 17Seventeen would put the office building at almost full occupancy, wasn't 1717 one of your examples of failed office construction or something like that, where you project the future prospects of a place on it's infancy?

I suppose you are referring to my having referred to the fact that nearly 2 years after opening, 17Seventeen had achieved a 50% occupancy rate, (responding to some cheerleaders' post proclaiming that all a developer has to do is build a building in uptown and it will fill up, seemingly instantly). I never said or implied that it was a failed project or projected its future prospects in its infancy or otherwise, and it is little dishonest of you to suggest that I routinely do so. I keep hoping forum moderators could attempt to raise the bar of discussions on this forum instead of lowering the bar.


Since you brought up my earlier reference to 17Seventeen, it is fair to point out that this latest "news" (or lack of news) rather confirms the point I was making a year ago. 17Seventeen McKinney is nearly three years old and, according to their own website, is 64% leased (remember, the Regions Bank and "other pending deals" have not actually happened).

[tamtagon]

(responding to some cheerleaders' post proclaiming that all a developer has to do is build a building in uptown and it will fill up).

...that's what happened, though. 17Seventeen was built without a lead tenant, opened during the heart of the Great Recession and is now on the verge of being full. Casting doubt on the viability of any of these big projects with a doom and gloom tone from some goes hand-in-hand with the bright-and-cheery tone of others, especially on an Internet discussion forum dedicated to monitoring a particular place. Linear tracking of a specific project discussion raises the bar tremendously when the core participants are the same.

One of the most noteworthy milestones this forum reached is the consideration of how long a project can exist before it may be considered successful. If I remember correctly, Tucy, you first made that happen in the Conv Ctr Hotel and Museum Tower discussions. Such a simple thing to consider - and very important - but one that has been absent in many of the threads on this forum.

If you think we're ready to stop jousting with pokes of juvenile remembrances and claims of stewardship inadequacies then lets give it a try. That sticky tack of conversation has always seemed something you actually enjoy and has drawn others into the consideration during a time when many other Internet discussion forums are on the decline. The resulting boosterism generates a lot of chaff, but frequently the chaff is the most nourishing part.

[Tucy]

...that's what happened, though. 17Seventeen was built without a lead tenant, opened during the heart of the Great Recession and is now on the verge of being full. Casting doubt on the viability of any of these big projects with a doom and gloom tone from some goes hand-in-hand with the bright-and-cheery tone of others, especially on an Internet discussion forum dedicated to monitoring a particular place. Linear tracking of a specific project discussion raises the bar tremendously when the core participants are the same.

One of the most noteworthy milestones this forum reached is the consideration of how long a project can exist before it may be considered successful. If I remember correctly, Tucy, you first made that happen in the Conv Ctr Hotel and Museum Tower discussions. Such a simple thing to consider - and very important - but one that has been absent in many of the threads on this forum.

If you think we're ready to stop jousting with pokes of juvenile remembrances and claims of stewardship inadequacies then lets give it a try. That sticky tack of conversation has always seemed something you actually enjoy and has drawn others into the consideration during a time when many other Internet discussion forums are on the decline. The resulting boosterism generates a lot of chaff, but frequently the chaff is the most nourishing part.

That is not what happened. As of today, three years in, the building is only 64% occupied. Three years in and IF RegionsBank signs a lease and IF several other pending leases are all signed, the building will be "almost to full occupancy" (whatever that means to our head cheerleader). ;-) Hardly a sign of the booming market short on space that many of the board cheerleaders have been pretending exists in Uptown. I never predicted gloom and doom for 17Seventeen; I think it is a beautiful building that will surely fill up, eventually. Even I am surprised at the weakness of the Uptown market suggested by the slowness of 17Seventeen to lease up. I merely pointed out that it did not in fact fill up instantly or even particularly quickly. (And yes, i am aware the cheerleader to whom I was responding did not use the word "instantly" or "quickly" but read in context it could mean little else.)

Regarding the convention center hotel, I have consistently said it is far too early to make a final judgment on the success of the building (and you have repeatedly accused me of trying to judge it too early.) Museum Tower is the only building I can recall on which I may have made a projection of outright failure and I stand by that projection.

[NThomas]

That is not what happened. As of today, three years in, the building is only 64% occupied...

I'm curious to hear what you think ~360k sqft of spec office space should be leased at in a 36-months. Collectively, DTD only has a 73% occupancy rate.

[tamtagon]

(whatever that means to our head cheerleader). ;-)

Well, I grew up in the middle-of-nowhere and in small town/small city Texas and like many others with a similar background, I was faced early on with a choice of either Dallas or Houston as my preferred Big City in Texas. Of course I'm a cheerleader! that's part of being a good Texan. And when I have something about Dallas to sing praise, it feels good and I try to do a good job of it. I can understand how easily some would assume I'm only about what's good....if you'll look again and maybe a little closer, you'll see that I have contributed some of the most 'anti-Dallas' commentary to this forum.

17Seventeen opened three years ago, during the heart of the Great Recession, without a lead tenant, and in direct competition to millions of square footage from other new office buildings with a couple years of marketing and ramp-up. Some would say 67% occupancy is astonishing.

Forum boosters are not leading the claim that Uptown is a booming office district, the experts being reported in the media are calling it a boom, it's the region's highest rent calling it a boom. In the last five years, is there (are there?) any other similar geographic areas in North Texas to have experience as much new office space building as Uptown?

Basing the performance of one speculative build to say the Uptown market is weak is dubious at best. How many of the other buildings that opened within the last five years are struggling at 67% occupancy? None of them, right? All the new buildings are filling up during the lull, and 1717 will be the last one before the next round.

You concede that the convention center hotel must operate for years before the effectiveness may be judged as a footnote to data pulls presented to indicate under performance. Just like conclusions that Uptown is weak marketplace ("Even I am surprised at the weakness of the Uptown market suggested by the slowness of 17Seventeen") based on critically limited parameters, many of what would be good observations and excellent tracking points regarding the downtown hotel market are clouded.

If you would go so far as to grant 17Seventeen a two year Great Recession reprieve, would you consider 67% occupancy on a spec office building after one year good? bad? somewhere in between?

[Tucy]

Well, I grew up in the middle-of-nowhere and in small town/small city Texas and like many others with a similar background, I was faced early on with a choice of either Dallas or Houston as my preferred Big City in Texas. Of course I'm a cheerleader! that's part of being a good Texan. And when I have something about Dallas to sing praise, it feels good and I try to do a good job of it. I can understand how easily some would assume I'm only about what's good....if you'll look again and maybe a little closer, you'll see that I have contributed some of the most 'anti-Dallas' commentary to this forum.

The lady doth protest too much. ;-) The head cheerleader I was referring to was Steve Brown.

17Seventeen opened three years ago, during the heart of the Great Recession, without a lead tenant, and in direct competition to millions of square footage from other new office buildings with a couple years of marketing and ramp-up. Some would say 67% occupancy is astonishing.

That recession comes in handy, doesn't it? Meanwhile, this forum has many posts extolling the so-called boom in Uptown Dallas (including your very next paragraph. You can't have it both ways. No, in the booming market that you and other posters represent Uptown to be, 64% after 3 years is not astonishing. Again, my only comment regarding 17Seventeen was and is, that, contrary to the cheerleader post to which I was responding, it did not (and has not) filled up instantly, or particularly quickly, or, for that matter, at all...

Forum boosters are not leading the claim that Uptown is a booming office district, the experts being reported in the media are calling it a boom, it's the region's highest rent calling it a boom. In the last five years, is there (are there?) any other similar geographic areas in North Texas to have experience as much new office space building as Uptown?

Any chance you can provide links to the experts proclaiming this booming market (other than Steve Brown)? And Uptown does not have the region's highest rents. That title goes to the Preston Center submarket. I don't know the answer to your five years question. But I know that the office space absorption in the Dallas suburban areas FAR exceeds what has occurred in uptown. For example, Uptown was the no. 2 submarket for office space absorption in 2012, behind North Dallas Tollway. Uptown was No. 3 in 2011, behind Upper Tollway/West Plano and Richardson. Uptown was about 27th in 2010, behind just about all other submarkets (other than downtown Dallas). in 2009, Uptown had the 12th highest office space absorption. Oh, and it's worth noting that uptown Dallas now has the 15th lowest office vacancy rate in the metroplex. ;-)

Basing the performance of one speculative build to say the Uptown market is weak is dubious at best. How many of the other buildings that opened within the last five years are struggling at 67% occupancy? None of them, right? All the new buildings are filling up during the lull, and 1717 will be the last one before the next round.

Again with the strawmen. I did not say the Uptown market is weak. And no one ever suggested anything about other new buildings. Since they are all older than 17Seventeen, one would guess (and hope) they have gotten past the 64%-leased stage. Yes, all the new buildings are filling up... fairly slowly, but, yes, they are filling up, more or less (the older among the newest buildings are at or approaching full occupancy (95%+). Again, my point all along was only that they are in fact filling up fairly slowly, not immediately.

You concede that the convention center hotel must operate for years before the effectiveness may be judged as a footnote to data pulls presented to indicate under performance. Just like conclusions that Uptown is weak marketplace ("Even I am surprised at the weakness of the Uptown market suggested by the slowness of 17Seventeen") based on critically limited parameters, many of what would be good observations and excellent tracking points regarding the downtown hotel market are clouded.

Very crafty (not to say dishonest) of you to say that I concede that the convention center hotel must operate for years before the effectiveness may be judged. Never mind that I have repeatedly said exactly that when discussing the Omni. Your quote regarding my surprise at the weakness of the market is similarly clever and dishonest. I nowhere concluded that the Uptown market is "weak;" saying I'm surprised at the weakness suggested by 17Seventeen's performance is quite different from concluding that the market is weak (and my surprise clearly suggests I do not think of the Uptown market as being "weak." As a moderator, shouldn't you try to refrain from attacking peoples' motives? Why do you thank me for posting the hotel statistics and then repeatedly attack my motives for doing so? Again, the lady doth protest too much. Apparently, to you, the data are so bad that I could have only one motive for posting them. As I have repeatedly said, I think it's far too early to make a final judgment (and you should note that I have consistently posted the numbers in both good and less good periods.) If you cannot engage in an honest and civil conversation, may I respectfully request that you surrender your status as a forum moderator?

If you would go so far as to grant 17Seventeen a two year Great Recession reprieve, would you consider 67% occupancy on a spec office building after one year good? bad? somewhere in between?

Ahh, the Great Recession again. Again, the Great Recession had occurred a year ago when the cheerleader to whom I was responding told us that any office buildings built in Uptown would fill up [instantly]. I merely demonstrated that was not in fact the case. (And why are you talking about a speculative office building at 67% occupancy after one year?... That of course is not what we have here. FWIW, I would think 67% after one year would be pretty darned good. What we have here, however, is 64% after three years... I am not an expert, but just looking around at a few other buildings that have been built in urban areas in recent years, 64% after three years looks fairly mediocre.

[rantanamo]

[cowboyeagle05]

The office space in Uptown is getting really tight these days. When will the banks grant loans to developers who are desperate to get their office projects vertical...
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/20...-harwood.html/

New office lease in Uptown for Harwood

Kansas City-based Commerce Bank has just inked an off lease in Uptown’s Harwood office project.

With the latest transaction the development along McKinnon Street is 98 percent leased, according to developer Harwood International.

The bank leased 3,504 square feet at 2828 N. Harwood for its commercial basking operation.

Jihane A. Boury of Harwood International, negotiated the lease with Howard Watkins and Randy Garrett of Transwestern.

[Tucy]

The office space in Uptown is getting really tight these days. When will the banks grant loans to developers who are desperate to get their office projects vertical...
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/20...-harwood.html/

When one of them gets enough leases signed to make the project feasible. Uptown's vacancy rate is still 11%.

[Tnekster]

I'm surprised one of them hasn't broken out. As long as it takes to get a project built and vacancy rates dropping it would seem like its about time.

[cowboyeagle05]

When one of them gets enough leases signed to make the project feasible. Uptown's vacancy rate is still 11%.

That's not a high vacancy rate and a lot of the tenants shopping around want larger chunks of office space currently not so available any more in existing stock. We are near the edge on this office space drought as far as Uptown goes. Even Downtown which has a high vacancy rate is is need of new office space because tenants are less interested in the outdated empty buildings we have. Which is why it's great that HKS is making such a great model for redevelopment with the IM Pei tower on the DART line.