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Old Posted Sep 6, 2004, 9:27 PM
Owlhorn Owlhorn is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Projects afoot for South Lamar area:
Developer plans a retail center, upscale condos and a boutique hotel

The glowing neon sign that sits atop South Side on Lamar signals activity in a once tumbledown section of southern Dallas.

Orchestrating much of the activity is Jack H. Matthews, president of Lewisville-based Matthews Southwest. Matthews' company jump-started the revitalization of the area in 1999, when it renovated the derelict Sears Roebuck & Co.'s building into the 455-unit South Side on Lamar loft complex.

Reinvesting

In the upcoming months, Matthews and partners will invest about $20 million in property on South Lamar Street and surrounding blocks. About $3 million of that will be spent on a 36,000-square-foot retail strip and $5 million on the first phase of a 30-unit upscale condominium residence. Plans for a long-awaited boutique hotel are also gaining momentum.

About $80 million has been poured into the South Side on Lamar project, which is now 90% leased.

"The business model is to reinvest in the area," Matthews said, adding that he and investors do not expect to see a return on investment for many years.

Now, Matthews is gearing up to "in-fill" the land between South Side on Lamar and Interstate 30, which is dotted with vacant buildings and asphalt parking lots. Matthews Southwest controls 30 acres in the area.

Most of the financing for the projects will come from debt and equity from three partnerships in Europe, the United States and Canada, while the rest will come from "various sources," Matthews said.

Matthews believes the area's population can support a retail strip center at 1005 S. Lamar St. on the corner of Cadiz Street.

Plans are moving forward for the conversion of a 36,000-square-foot vacant building into a retail center complete with a canopy stretching along a 4,000-square-foot deck.

Underserved

The $1 million, 12,000-square-foot first phase of the retail project may break ground in the next nine months. However, construction also hinges on when the project can become one-third pre-leased. Pre-leasing is set to begin soon, Matthews said. The second phase will include 24,000 square feet and may include a music venue. Matthews Southwest plans to approach the city of Dallas about a tax deferral.

The area, called The Cedars, which lies across I-30 in southern Dallas, is underserved by retailers, experts say.

"There are a lot of people living in The Cedars area," said real estate broker Jack Gosnell of Dallas-based UCR, a retail brokerage firm. "There is regentrification taking place and there is a need for neighborhood services and restaurants."

Rooftops

There are about 750 new apartment units in The Cedars, according to Bennett Miller of Bennett Miller Co., who has been involved in numerous residential renovation projects south of downtown.

"Whether that is enough (to support retail and restaurants), I simply don't know," Miller said.

The retail complex will be closely followed by a new upscale condominium project that will bring more people to the area.

Matthews said that a letter of intent has been signed to develop a 200-unit upscale condo project where a parking lot now sits at 1300 Belleview St., adjacent to Dallas police headquarters. Matthews Southwest and an unnamed developer may break ground on the first 30-unit phase within the next six months.

A 70-room boutique hotel, long part of Matthews' vision for the area, is also moving forward. A 55,000-square-foot, five-story building at 1325 S. Lamar St., formerly a coffin assemblage facility, has been earmarked for a $10.5 million "four-star, artsy" boutique hotel with a "sky bar" and rooftop swimming pool.
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