JohnMcKee

I just received a notification from the city of Dallas, Shafer Uptown Plaza has been sold and the new owner is asking for the whole tract of land including Uptown Plaza to be rezoned and a height increase from 240' to 295' for a mixed use development.

It looks like we might see the bulldozers removing that hideous eyesore pretty soon.

Tnekster

That would certainly be interesting to see and probably the fastest develop, tear down and redevelopment ever seen. Unless they are just wanting to add a tower to the existing site.

clipper

They have obtained the site behind the shopping center where Zaza planned a midrise condo building.

JohnMcKee

The rezoning request that I received specifically included the property that Uptown Plaza sits on for the rezoning and height variance.

Kelley USA

If true, I just hope they bring back Pei Wei and Potbelly for the new development... I just can't see this happening though!

AeroD

Why? Cos' Preservation Dallas won't let it happen? :rasta:

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vman

I passed the shopping center this week and noticed a zoning change sign out front, and this was in Steve Brown's column today:
Uptown Plaza

When developers built the Uptown Plaza shopping center at McKinney Avenue and Pearl Street, everyone wondered how you could put a single-story retail strip on such a prime corner.

Maybe they were right.

AmREIT, the Houston-based investor that now owns Uptown Plaza, is asking the city of Dallas to increase the allowed building height for the entire site.

That includes a vacant tract behind the center on Routh Street that once was planned for luxury condos.

Could this mean a redesign for this mess?

texas_fortune

I hope that this is the case. Still unreal to me that this lot was wasted, and it doesn't look like it was ever fully leased.

JohnMcKee

Wow, Steve Brown is really on the ball considering I posted about the notice the city sent out in the mail nearly 4 months ago about the proposed rezoning and that I posted at the top of this page.

Milkman Dan

This height variance would be for the rear tract. No chance they will touch the center itself. At least, I can't come up with any circumstance that would necessitate that.

JohnMcKee

The variance request I received in the mail specifically states that that the height variance includes the existing center. I know it sounds crazy given the center is largely leased and new construction but it really looks like they plan on tearing it down. If I was one of the tenants I would be very pissed but maybe they have figured out a way to appropriately compensate them and a larger building on that tract just makes too much sense for them not to build it, even after compensating the existing tenants.

Mballar

^The tenants may not need compensation if their leases are set to expire. Maybe they want the variance in place so that when leases expire they can go ahead and move forward without delay.

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audiguy86

I have no problem with this place being torn down -- I don't think it's right for the area, and again, there needs to be some mixed-use development on such a prime piece of Uptown land. What they need to do is figure out something for parking -- I went to Firefly at Zaza for dinner one night and parked in the parking lot of that restaurant at the corner of Shafer Plaza.

About an hour later, I go out and my cars' been towed. Uptown needs to work on affordable parking alternatives -- not everyone wants to blow $10 to $20 on valet. Perhaps this new mixed-use development could implement a parking garage.

Kelley USA

If you're going to go eat at a nice place, you should just factor in the price of the valet for the night... It's part of the wholoe package! But I do hope this center bites the dust!

JohnMcKee

Dragonfly is hardly an economical meal and last time I went there, admittedly a year ago, valet was complementarily, even at $15 I bet it was barely a percentage of your meal. If you parked on Uptown's Centers property without patronizing their lessees they were fully within their right to tow you.

I agree though that parking is an issue in Uptown, here is the problem, there are people like me fighting property developers for more parking or at very least for the current parking requirements not to be scaled back and then there are a lot developers and forum members here that don't live in the area shouting "Screw parking, we need density, parking takes up too much space, they can take the trolly or walk" while completely ignoring the reality of the situation that cars are sometimes a necessity in Dallas and sometimes it's not practical for even residents of Uptown like myself to walk or take the trolly to go about our daily tasks.

audiguy86

Well, I am still a college kid! But I guess if you're going to go out in Uptown, you need to have money to spend. Between drinks, dinner, clubs, and after that experience, valet, I spent over $300 in one night!

Honestly, I don't know how people do it. Even if I did make $100k, it would be really hard to budget in Uptown.

JohnMcKee

That is craziness. I live on McKinney Ave, eat out or get takeaway from almost every single meal and go out at least twice a week and don't spend anywhere close to $300 a week on that kind of stuff. There are plenty of affordable ways to have a night out in Uptown, sucking down $15 martinis at Dragonfly and $40 meals at Dragonfly isn't the way to do it though.

tamtagon

Chalk it up to the adolescence of Dallas' 'big city living' culture. It only took a lifestyle gap spanning two or three generations to wipe out a majority of the urban household's mundane retail, dining, and entertainment needs. People who live in "the city" rather than the suburbs require a different level of service from their neighborhood shops, and a combination of slim pickins with a rusty ability to recognize street-smart purchases resutled in the infamous 30Kmillionaire.

JohnMcKee

I just think it is so crazy when people complain about how expensive it is to go out in Uptown and how they can't afford it and when you ask them where they went and they say "Well, Dragonfly, and then Rattlesnake bar, and then Idle Rich and then we ended up at Lotus for the rest of the night".

Well, did you just walk right past Jake's, Village Burger, The Loon, etc, etc and think they weren't good enough for you? Because they are fine, reasonably priced establishments that the locals love. There really isn't any shame in going to Tom Toms for dollar sushi night instead of Nobu if you really can't afford Nobu or even just don't want to spend the money even if you have it to spend.

DallasMan

Honestly, this strip is decently successful as is (although the design is terrible), but it is not w/o vacancies. The Tempest Tea spot has been vacant for a while, and of course, the Grotto left a huge whole here.

I think few would argue that this property location is stellar, and that at SOME point, this will end up being re-developed b/c the current development was just so far below what could be on this site. This land is just too valuable. Hope they re-do the whole thing, personally. Yuck.

NThomas

With all the mergers and buyouts, looks like Century Bank is gone and Wells Fargo is in.

It's been awhile since I've been by here, when did this change over occur?

palchik

Theres also a new cupcake store two doors down...should be open in a week or two.

30kmillionaire

What about the Grotto space? I thought Morton's was relocating there.

dmorg12345

I think they should level the whole place.

aygriffith

Century 7 was acquired by Wells Fargo due to their attractive locations in and around N Dallas... They were a Texarkana based bank held by a Dallas holding company. The buyout happened late last summer, the store fronts switched since January.

OrangeMike

Wells Fargo now has two branches about a half mile apart (this one and one at Cedar Springs and Routh), with a Wells Fargo-owned Wachovia in between (at Cedar Springs and Fairmount)!

Uptown72

I think the cupcake place is open now. I heard that the economy killed the Morton's deal and that they walked the lease. Owners discussing with a bunch of other restaurants now.

Kelley USA

Morton's The Steakhouse is set to take over the former Grotto space:

http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dalla..._eat_steak.html
http://www.amreit.com/fw/main/Uptow...tml?LayoutID=72

So on this corner we'll have Morton's, Sambuca, Fearing's and Perry's...

vman

Wonder if this means the end of the West End location? The two locations will be awfully close together.

lakewoodhobo

Not to mention Truluck's! I personally am not a fan of that shopping center but I always felt like it wouldn't feel like an economic recovery until a restaurant found its way into the old Grotto space.

mjblazin

And Dragonfly 1 block over.

elmstreetdallas

I think they plan on closing the West End location, which I think is a huge mistake, especially with the new convention center hotel coming online soon.

Prediction: The Shafer's Plaza Morton's will be closed within one year.

citizen

And Ocean Prime, Old Warsaw, Palomino, Marie Gabriel, etc. ..... all within about a 3 block area – awesome – I don’t know why the convention center wasn’t moved to Victory – could have saved a lot of cab fares and private devolopment would have done the hotel - it's all good though

mjblazin

Why would Morton's fail when all the other restaurants next to it look to be doing ok? That Elm street does nothing for them now and it's really not positioned to do anything pre or post convention center hotel. They likely decided to join the crowd at McKinney & Maple.

And let's not forget the convenience store with the BBQ and Krispy Kreme donuts at the heart of this restaurant district.

elmstreetdallas

Grotto?

On Elm Street, where they've been for nearly a quarter century, they only have to compete against the Palm. At the new location, they'll have tons of competition.

Morton's does not appeal to the 20-30 somthings of Uptown. It's quiet, reserved, and old-fashioned. And no way are their long-time loyal customers going to follow them to a strip shopping center. Not gonna happen.

mjblazin

If Aurora can do well in a strip center for years (until the recession just priced them out) and also La Duni, Morton's should do fine. I don't know too much about restaurants, but I don't think places at their end compete much on geographical basis. If that area's reputation grows as the go to place for upscale business travelers, they'll get their share. Do you really think the Palm managers are doing high fives saying "we beat Lombardi's, Landry's, and Morton's -now we own the West End"?

Why did Grotto close? It seems unusual the other locations look to be doing ok.

Lots of middle aged old fogies that don't care about hip,cool bottle service and velvet ropes also dine in that area. If they can find Old Warsaw and Capital Grille, I think they might have enough energy to go another 100 yards and find Morton's.

Kelley USA

I believe the plan is to keep both restaurants open...

Rangers100

Have you seen Perry's and Sambuca lately? Packed for lunches, happy hours, and dinners.

Not with "the 20-30 somethings of Uptown" as much as the 40-50 somethings of the Crescent, Rosewood, 2100 McKinney, 2000 McKinney, etc.

Morton's will do fine there as long as the offices nearby are full.

citizen

I believe that Grotto was a corporate issue, not a problem with that individual location - and yes, those that believe that Uptown is all 20-30 somethings would be shocked to see that the spectrum is much broader and embraced by all.

vman

So the doucebags have left Sambuca? After it moved, I went twice, only to find the coolness and diversity Sambuca had in Deep Ellum had been replaced with Uptown d-baggery. I never went back after that second visit. If the d-bags have moved on, I'll give it another try.

UrbanHope

I think it's based on where Morton's customers might be coming from. It's technically now at the end of the tollway, and they'll do bangup business based on being across from the Crescent and both phases of the Ritz, etc.

I would agree with y'all that the West End spot closes soon.

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DFWCRE8TIVE

Morton's to open steakhouse in Uptown Dallas
09:27 AM CDT on Thursday, August 19, 2010
By KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS / The Dallas Morning News
krobinson@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...n1.26c717e.html

Nearly two dozen years after opening in Dallas' West End district, Morton's Restaurant Group Inc. has announced plans to open a location in trendy Uptown, about a mile from its existing chop house.

The company declined to say what will happen to the Morton's, the Steakhouse at 501 Elm St., which opened downstairs in May 1987. With the "new look" steakhouse moving in so close by, some wonder how long the Elm Street spot can survive.

"If they're leaving, we're sad to see them go," said Joe Depetris, who has an accounting firm in the same building and who sometimes pops into Morton's for tuna tartare appetizers and a beer. "But it wouldn't make any sense to have two Morton's steakhouses a mile apart."

Morton's spokesman Roger Drake would say only that "we don't have any information on our existing location in Dallas." A hostess on Elm Street said the high-end eatery will close, but a manager said he was unaware of any plans to shut it down. The building management company did not return calls seeking comment.

Morton's plans to open an 8,500-square-foot restaurant early next year at McKinney Avenue and Pearl Street in Uptown Plaza, a retail development near the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Hotel ZaZa.

With seating for 244, the new Dallas Uptown Morton's will feature Morton's "new look, with a lighter, more inviting restaurant interior," the Chicago-based company said. By comparison, the West End Morton's has the old-school steakhouse feel with dark woods, exposed brick walls and no windows. It seats about 285 diners.

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