Real Estate

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Yesterday Was a Sad Day for Dallas – Dallas News – Unfair Park.

Construction will kick off Tuesday on an apartment development near DART’s new Irving rail line.

Trammell Crow Residential is building its Alexan Urban Center in the Las Colinas development just east of State Highway 114.

The development site on Lake Carolyn Parkway offers proximity to one of North Texas’ biggest employment centers, plus there’s a new “DART station within 300 yards of our front door,” said Crow Residential senior managing director Steve Bancroft.

“We’ll build 317 units targeting young professionals and lifestyle renters desiring a transit oriented development combined with amenities that deliver a high quality of life,” he said.

The Las Colinas project will be the first development for Crow Residential in almost three years.

Read more at Crow Residential breaking ground in Las Colinas | Dallas-Fort Worth Business News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News.

The Huse family finally got tired of all the driving. Two years ago, they packed up and moved to the 18th floor of the Mosaic Building on Akard Street in downtown Dallas. The convenience and central location sparked an idea in the family that life doesn’t have to be centered on a commute. Without the tedious 45-minute trek to work five days a week, the Huses say they have time to enjoy a fuller life. The central location allows friends to visit more often, with activities for 9-year-old Jackson and 6-year-old Sophia never more than a few minutes away. The private school they attend – Lakewood Presbyterian School – is just 10 minutes away.

These days, the Huses spend less than a quarter of the time they did in the car as when they lived in Cedar Hill.

Read more at Families moving into Downtown Dallas create urban neigborhoods | www.pegasusnews.com | Dallas/Fort Worth.

Looking ahead to the week’s doings at Dallas City Hall I espied a couple of curious to-do’s on the Thoroughfare Committee’s agenda, which also show up on the City Plan Commission’s docket. Long story short: The city’s considering narrowing two downtown streets, as in …

1. Main Street between Akard Street and Ervay Street — Reduce the right of way from 80 to 76 feet;
2. Commerce Street between Houston Street and Cesar Chavez Boulevard — Change the operational characteristic from five lanes eastbound to 4 lanes eastbound within 80 feet of right of way.

Read more at The Joule needs City Hall to shrink Commerce and Main Streets in downtown | City Hall Blog.

Dallas City Hall thinks taxpayer financing for property owners near the American Airlines Center will be a good deal—not just for those property owners, but for taxpayers and for small businesses across the Trinity River.

They’re called TIFs…Tax Increment Financing.  The AAC is one that worked. When its TIF was created in 1998, the arena and surrounding development were just a dream, but tax money put back into the area helped entice new development in what is now Victory.

With housing and hotels and restaurants a part of the landscape–and its TIF about to expire—some at city hall would like the see the arena TIF extended with a new purpose: to finance a parking garage.  “Putting a parking garage liberates more land to be developed within Victory and that generates tax increments,” said Karl Kavitkovsky, Dallas’ Economic Development Director.   To sweeten the deal, the new TIF would also drop seed money on new businesses in the Riverfront and West Dallas neighborhoods.

Read more at Dallas Boosting Development With Tax Increment Financing « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth.

Trinity Bicycles Now Open Downtown in Sundance Square.

Vibrant downtown areas are linked to greater public transit use and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from driving, according to a new report.

The peer-reviewed research report, “The Impact of Center City Economic and Cultural Vibrancy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation,” authored by Matthew J. Holian, PhD, and Matthew E. Kahn, PhD. and published by The Mineta Transportation Institute is available for free here.

“Many studies have shown that urban sprawl is associated with more driving and less public transit use,” said Dr. Holian. “However, the existing literature provides little guidance for policy makers on how to reverse sprawl and reduce vehicle emissions. Our report suggests that a vibrant urban core may plausibly affect land use and transportation patterns. So, that leaves us with a key question. Can policy makers promote green cities by fostering a vibrant center core?”

Read more at Report: Vibrant downtowns linked to greater transit use – News – METRO Magazine.

Do local and state officials tune out when you try to talk to them about bicycling? Are they unconvinced by arguments about public health, transportation options, or clean air? Do business leaders send you packing when you suggest building new bike lanes and bike parking, fearing that the loss of car parking will keep customers away?

Then show them the money.

Bikes can mean big business, and businesses are beginning to realize it. At a Bike Summit panel Wednesday on the economic boost cycling can provide cities, speakers highlighted another strong message cyclists can bring to politicians when making their case for investment in bike/ped facilities.

Far and away, the biggest reason business owners resist the addition of bike infrastructure is that they’re afraid it will limit parking. Once they realize they can get 12 bike parking spaces for each car spot, sometimes they begin to change their tune. Even better, they begin to discover that cyclists can be their best customers. “We tend to shop closer to home and shop more often,” said April Economides, a consultant who helped the city of Long Beach, California build bicycle-friendly business districts. Rather than jumping in the minivan and heading to the suburbs to go to the big shopping malls, cyclists patronize the businesses in our neighborhoods.

Read more at Why Bicyclists Are Better Customers Than Drivers for Local Business.

Fairfield Residential’s plans to build apartments on an almost three-acre parking lot in Dallas’ West End is seen as a boost for downtown’s entertainment district.

An apartment project is being planned for a vacant block in downtown Dallas’ West End district.

Construction of the rental community could be a big boost for the entertainment district in the northwest corner of downtown.

Read more at Fairfield Residential plans West End apartment project | Dallas-Fort Worth Business News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News.

A Houston-based apartment builder that constructed downtown Dallas’ largest rental housing community is working on a project in Victory Park.

Camden Property Trust is negotiating to purchase the 6-acre parking lot just north of American Airlines Center, property brokers say.

The property owner, Hillwood Investments, said last week that it will soon move the parking there to make way for the apartment construction.

Hillwood so far has not identified the apartment builder in talks to purchase the land on Houston Street northwest of downtown Dallas.

Read more at Camden Property to build Victory Park apartments | Dallas Urban Core, Downtown & Uptown Real Estate Investment, Brokerage and Tenant News.