DALLAS FORT WORTH | Urban + Suburban P & C

[patriotizzy]

Originally Posted by maconahey

Agreed. Much rather would have seen I-30 or I-35 done first. The bridge goes pretty much nowhere now, but there are big plans to redevelop West Dallas.

http://www.dallascityhall.com/cityde...debook-eng.pdf

Those plans are awesome. Thanks!

[TTU Arch]

Originally Posted by Trae

The first bridge is actually a lot smaller in person, IMO. Drive by it almost every day. Still don't know why they built that one first. That money could have went elsewhere (I-30 bridge?). That bridge currently is like a bridge to nowhere.

This extension of Woodall Rodgers is part of the reliever route of not only the downtown interchange but for when they start on the restructuring of the downtown freeways. This gives someone driving on Woodall an alternate route to get to 30 (instead of having to loop around onto 35 and jump over 5 lanes to get on I-30 west bound). As is it is now, you can take the Commerce bridge from downtown over to Sylvan and hop on I-30 there while by-passing all the interchange mess. The I-30 bridge and approach ramps will be a much larger project and will interupt traffic much more than the Woodall extension. Starting with the extension first allowed them to essentially build the extension with very little interruptions to traffic.

[Trae]

Originally Posted by TTU Arch

This extension of Woodall Rodgers is part of the reliever route of not only the downtown interchange but for when they start on the restructuring of the downtown freeways. This gives someone driving on Woodall an alternate route to get to 30 (instead of having to loop around onto 35 and jump over 5 lanes to get on I-30 west bound). As is it is now, you can take the Commerce bridge from downtown over to Sylvan and hop on I-30 there while by-passing all the interchange mess. The I-30 bridge and approach ramps will be a much larger project and will interupt traffic much more than the Woodall extension. Starting with the extension first allowed them to essentially build the extension with very little interruptions to traffic.

You can take the Commerce or Continental bridges, or use Riverfront BLVD. I use any one of these routes when I-30 and I-35E get backed up. The plans for West Dallas are nice (not sure on the timetable though), but I still think the bridges for I-30 or I-35E should have been built first. They feel like they're about to fall apart.

[TTU Arch]

Originally Posted by Trae

You can take the Commerce or Continental bridges, or use Riverfront BLVD. I use any one of these routes when I-30 and I-35E get backed up. The plans for West Dallas are nice (not sure on the timetable though), but I still think the bridges for I-30 or I-35E should have been built first. They feel like they're about to fall apart.

That's another alternate route, but they will be closeing the Riverfront connection for awhile when they construct the I-30 bridge. When its not closed it will be backed up. They will be rebuilding most if not all the approaches to the bridge. So the Woodall Rogers extension becomes the alternate route.

[goldcntry]

... so the Central Distress-way will have a new step-sister by the river? I shudder to think what my commute from Grand Prairie/Duncanville would be like today versus what it was 20 years ago... Lol!

[Owlhorn]

The bridges are being done in the right order. Its the failed tollway that has cause the most delay. I-30 should already be done.

anyways, probably gonna be a big construction year in Dallas. Didn't realize this tower would be so tall



http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...n-district.ece

By STEVE BROWN
Real Estate Editor
Published 19 January 2011 08:53 PM



More on this story





Developers haven’t wasted any time restarting Dallas’ stalled apartment market, and several rental projects have recently broken ground.
Now the renewed building boom has gone high-rise with the construction of a residential tower.
The 23-story apartment building is going up on Hi Line Drive in the Dallas Design District, just across the freeway from Victory Park.
Houston-based PM Realty Group is building the 314-unit high-rise, which will open in mid- to late 2012.
PM Realty is the same company that built the residential tower in Dallas’ Park Lane complex across from NorthPark Center mall.
“This will be of similar quality,” said Bryant Nail, PM Realty’s senior development officer. “We think that the timing is perfect to start this project.”
Dirt is already flying on the development.
The 1400 Hi Line project will have 27,000 square feet of retail space and a 1-acre rooftop park.
The project is being financed with a $50 million loan from U.S. Bank, according to Dallas County deed records.
The National Electric Benefit Fund, a retirement account for electrical contractors, is a partner in the deal, Nail said.
The tower was designed by Gromatzky Dupree & Associates, the same architect firm that did Victory’s Cirque apartment tower and PM Realty’s Park Lane project.
Rogers-O’Brien Construction is the general contractor.
The 1400 Hi Line tower will be the largest project yet in the redevelopment of the Dallas Design District.
Formerly a warehousing and design industry area, the neighborhood is being rebuilt with new residential buildings and shops.
Developers Wood Partners and Trammell Crow Residential have already built three rental communities in the area.
PM Realty is just one of a handful of apartment builders starting the new year with groundbreakings. JLB Partners and Gables Residential also have new rental communities getting under way.

[TTU Arch]

Great news to read especially for those of us in the building / design industry. This is also a nice addition to that area of Dallas. I had heard about them trying to get financing for this project from one of my vendors, but that was all speculative. Looks like they got the financing. I saw the dirt flying the other day on my way to work. With Gables moving forward on their uptown project, Stoneleigh about to restart, and the Museum Tower; this is a very positive sign. The mixed use / residential projects took the hardest hit (in the design world) when the recession hit. Healthcare design work is what has sustained those who are working. Its good to see signs of this project type picking back up.

[JoninATX]

Wow, all I can say is go Dallas .

[maconahey]

From PMRG's website: http://www.pmrg.com/development/proj...y/1400-hi-line

[JoninATX]

I know thats right... with so many projects breaking ground, and The Super Bowl coming in 2wks It's going to be amazing. I'm hoping that Both Downtown Fort Worth & Dallas will be busy like Super Bowl 2004 in Houston.

[maconahey]

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...f-downtown.ece

[Modifyourself]

Dont know if anyone has posted this already but I thought it was interesting. Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth are lighting their downtowns (Blue (NFC) for Dallas, Red (AFC) for Fort Worth) for the super bowl.

Link to Video:

http://www.wfaa.com/sports/football/...114622234.html

[maconahey]

I took this right before the bad ice storm last week...



Here's a proposed observation tower for Fair Park:

[canada90]

Originally Posted by maconahey

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...f-downtown.ece

when they are planning to start U/C?

[maconahey]

^It's already there. They are just going to restore it. Should start sometime soon.

Here are some updates I took today:


City Performance Hall in the Arts District:







Museum Tower:









Site of the proposed Hall Arts tower

[Romanwtc]

[skyscraperfan23]

Originally Posted by maconahey

^It's already there. They are just going to restore it. Should start sometime soon.

Here are some updates I took today:


City Performance Hall in the Arts District:







Museum Tower:









Site of the proposed Hall Arts tower

Plus the TV Show dallas is making a comeback, Dallas's gonna have a great year, let's hope it continues.

[patriotizzy]

Do those 2 towers seem like they will get built? Anyone in the know?

[skys the limit]

Originally Posted by patriotizzy

Do those 2 towers seem like they will get built? Anyone in the know?

[IMG][/IMG]

I really think there is a very great likelihood the Hall Arts Center Towers will happen, as well as other proposed new skyscrapers for Downtown Dallas.

Here is a very recent article dated 01-27-11 from the Dallas Morning News that goes into some of the dynamics concerning new office towers being seriously considered for Downtown Dallas titled "Coming Soon? New Downtown Dallas Towers in the Works":

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

And an article from "D" Magazine titled "The Rejuvenation of Downtown Dallas" from October 2010 discussing the surge in relocation activity of corporate headquarters and offices into Downtown Dallas:

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_CEO/...wn_Dallas.aspx

But specifically concerning the Hall Arts Center Towers:

First, the entire Arts District area is generating a huge amount of investment and development activity. That specific area, along with Uptown, is essentially a hot bed for Downtown Dallas development right now. The site for the Hall Arts Center Towers sits literally right smack dab in the middle of the booming Arts District.

Second, Craig Hall has received a significant incentive from the City of Dallas to build the project, $9 million dollars. He is under a deadline in order to receive the incentive - he must start the project absolutely no later than 2012 and he must receive a certificate of occupancy for the project absolutely no later than 2015 in order to get the money.

Third, there are several large corporate clients within Dallas either looking right now for a new headquarters building, or will be in the very near term. Many of these are wanting flashier and more prestigious addresses than what they currently have and the Hall Arts Center Tower project fits that bill exactly.

As an example, Dallas-based law firm Akin Gump, one of the largest in the city, is expanding and looking for 150,000 square feet "of prime office space" and have said “We want to grow immediately. We’re looking to make a splash, now.”

Akin Gump's current 90,000 square foot lease is up in 2013 and they're making their decision now so that a new tower can be built for them if need be. They've specifically stated that the first Hall Arts Center Tower is one of their major buildings of interest.

Akin Gump is one of a handful of large law firms seeking space in Dallas.

Patent litigation firm McKool Smith PC, which leases about 100,000 square feet at the Crescent, is hunting for 120,000 to 150,000 square feet. Tort specialists Baron & Budd PC, now housed in 100,000 square feet of office space at 3102 Oak Lawn Ave., is also searching for 120,000 to 150,000 square feet. All of these law firms are expanding and all of this is going on concurrently.

An article from the Dallas Business Journal dated 01-14-11 goes into detail about Akin Gump and the other law firms looking for new splashier space:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/pr...new-space.html

Beside those specific law firms, there are numerous other major corporations within Dallas whose leases are coming up that will be looking to potentially make a move to a more desirable address that will also be looking seriously at the proposed new office towers for Downtown Dallas (in addition to the 50 story Hall Arts Center Tower there is the 21 story first tower in the Spire's six building project, the 24 story Two Arts Plaza, and the 53 story Harwood International Lexi Tower).

Fourth, the residential apartment leasing market is absolutely red hot in Dallas right now.

Although the Hall project has been marketed as mixed use with office, condominiums and retail it would be very easy for Craig Hall to make one of his two towers a residential apartment tower initially and then convert to condos later if he wished.

An article from 01-05-11 in the Dallas Morning News states that demand for apartments in Dallas is at a decade high in 2010: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...ent-demand.ece

In response to that enormous demand for apartments, the recent 23 story highrise apartment project at 1400 Hi Line in the Design District of Downtown Dallas has broken ground, very quickly, taking many by complete surprise at its swiftness at starting up.

An article announcing 1400 Hi Line's breaking ground from the Dallas Morning News dated 01-19-11: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/c...n-district.ece

Fifth, the level of relocation activity into Downtown Dallas is at an all time high.

As an example, the two latest out-of-state headquarter relocations into Downtown Dallas are MoneyGram International who relocated their headquarters from Minneapolis in November 2010 (a $1.2 billion dollar company) and Primoris Services Corporation relocated their headquarters from California in January of 2011 (a $1.0 billion dollar company).

The oldest architectural firm in the State of Texas is relocating from Oak Lawn into the bottom two or three floors of the 31 story Mercantile Bank Building tower, which was renovated into primarily residential but with the bottom floors initially planned as retail but instead now is high-end office.

In summary, although Hall Financial would have to start construction on the Hall Arts Center office tower itself, a major positive is the fact that a significant underground garage with spaces for about 1,800 cars is already constructed.

That means the first tower could literally have construction cranes in the air within a very short period of time. Well within the timeframe needed by Akin Gump, or others that are also looking for splashy new Downtown Dallas skyscraper addresses, to move into.

[skyscraperfan23]

Dallas will make a huge comeback.