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Dallas Development News

154K views 938 replies 94 participants last post by  dfwcre8tive 
#1 ·
discuss...
 
#2 ·
These are old photos/renderings of buildings under construction in Uptown Dallas:

The Mondrain:



The Ashton:



Cresta Bella:


Rosewood:


Ritz Carlton:


Merryvale (in the west end):


1001 Ross (in the west end):


Harwood St. Anne Court:

Metropolitan Club at Hotel ZaZa:


Gables Uptown Park:


DALLAS VICTORY (in Uptown Dallas)
Victory Renderings
Victory Dallas
W Hotel & Residences

Victory Residences


One Victory Tower


Victory Plaza



Victory Commons


The W


The West Village Master Plan

 
#3 ·
I guess I'll take care of this

Purchase of downtown site gives Hunt option for its headquarters




10:50 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 1, 2004


By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News



Hunt Consolidated Inc., one of downtown Dallas' largest energy firms, has purchased a block adjacent to the Arts District and is studying plans for a new headquarters tower.

The site Hunt Consolidated purchased is about an acre and a half at Akard and Woodall Rodgers. The property – now occupied by a small, vacant office building and parking – is adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art and about two blocks from the energy firm's currently location.

"We are dedicated to a strong and vibrant downtown Dallas, and it is our intent to carefully consider the renewal of our existing lease or relocation to a new headquarters building so that our company can remain in our city-center," Ray L. Hunt, chairman of Hunt Consolidated, said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "We have made no decision at this time, as we have several options available to us, but have asked one of our real estate affiliates, Woodbine Development, to assist us in this development analysis."

But the purchase could also be a negotiating tactic, leasing agents say. Hunt Consolidated's downtown office lease comes up for renewal in 2007. It has occupied 15 floors of the Fountain Place skyscraper at Ross Avenue and Field Street since 1990.

Regardless, real estate brokers say the company's move to secure a development site is a shrewd move. Office rents – now at a 10-year low – are expected to increase during the next couple of years.

"Buying this site gives them another option," said Jon Altschuler with Stream Realty Partners. "You can be sure they will go to all lengths to plan that building."

And regardless of whether Hunt Consolidated decides to build, the purchase confirms their commitment to downtown, Mr. Altschuler said.

Broker Joel Pustmueller with Peloton Real Estate said owning the land gives the energy firm more flexibility to keep its office costs in control.

"It would be great for downtown to have a new corporate headquarters building on the edge of the Arts District," Mr. Pustmueller said.

While downtown Dallas has one of the highest office vacancy rates in the country, the supply of top quality corporate office space for rent in the central business district is less than in most suburban markets.

Hunt Consolidated could also use the Akard Street property for future development of a hotel, or utilize the property to benefit a cultural facility because of its location next to the Arts District, property agents say.

With more than $1 billion in annual revenue, Hunt Consolidated and its affiliates have international oil and gas, real estate and investment companies with offices in the United States and abroad.

Its Woodbine Development Corp. built the Reunion complex on the southwest side of downtown and has other mixed-use projects in several states.

Hunt Consolidated bought the Akard Street property from Brook Partners, which had owned the tract since 2000. The real estate firm has renovated the former Southwestern Life Insurance complex – now Southwest Plaza – at Ross and Akard.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

Two concepts

 
#5 ·
W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences(u/c)

old rendering



2nd tower going up on Victory project
Most of the condos in the first phase sold faster than expected
10:29 PM CST on Monday, January 10, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...tory.9a36b.html

Hillwood Capital is beginning work on a second tower in its Victory project near downtown Dallas. A 15-story condominium building will be attached to the south side of the W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences, which is under construction. The next residential tower, which will be built on top of the hotel's parking garage, will have 83 one- and two-bedroom condos. Victory developer Hillwood said Monday that it has sold most of the 61 condos in the W tower. "I don't think we anticipated we would sell the units as fast as we did," said Jonas Woods, president of Hillwood Capital. The W hotel and condo building is set to open next year across the street from American Airlines Center. Mr. Woods said the second building will open "as close to simultaneously as we can make it."

Hillwood is building the project in partnership with Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital. The new Victory building will have a fitness center and retail on the ground floor. As in the first tower, residents will have access to room service, housekeeping, concierge service and the hotel spa. The condos will sell from about $400,000 to more than $1 million. Dallas architects HKS Inc. designed the building, and local designer David Cadwallader did the interiors. Residential analysts say Hillwood wanted to keep homes available for buyers.

"They have proven that there is a market there that perceives Victory as a location where they want to live," said Mike Puls of Foley & Puls. "The W hotel will attract a lot of people." With the large number of high-rise condo projects in the market, Mr. Puls said, buyers have a lot of choices. Construction also began recently on two midrise residential buildings in Victory, one with apartments and one with condos. All the buildings will stretch along Houston Street between the W and Lamar Street.

new rendering from announcement


u/c

 
#6 ·
Empty nest for the well-feathered
Affluent homeowners are target of Far North Dallas condo project
11:42 PM CST on Monday, February 21, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...ower.a8fe9.html

A high-profile Far North Dallas property is heading for high-rise construction. Developers are planning a residential tower on the 5 ½ -acre site at Arapaho Road and Prestonwood Boulevard that was first a movie theater and more recently a nightclub. Addison-based Silver Tree Partners recently closed on the property across the street from the demolished Prestonwood Town Center shopping mall. "We think it's the best development site for what we are planning to do," said Silver Tree principal Brett Williams.

"It overlooks three golf courses. And there are people who live in Preston Trails or Bent Tree and have 5,500-square-foot homes who want to downsize." Many of those affluent buyers are looking for high-rises and had to go to Dallas' Turtle Creek and Uptown neighborhoods to find new construction, he said. "Empty nesters haven't had much choice but to move south to Turtle Creek," said Silver Tree principal Paul Gardner. "But that's a big lifestyle change. "A lot of them want to stay in this area," he said.

Silver Tree Partners has received zoning approvals to construct a 15-story condo building and surrounding low-rise townhouses on the property just west of Prestonwood Country Club. "We'd hope to break ground on this project by this time next year," said Silver Tree principal Alan Moore. "The timing is so important ? we think this entire area is in the process of getting redeveloped," he said. Construction is already under way to turn part of the Prestonwood mall site into a large open-air shopping center. Several smaller surrounding shopping strips are also getting redos. And Addison is planning improvements to the nearby Belt Line Road corridor. "Many people who live inside the [LBJ Freeway] loop don't realize how strong the demographics are out here," said Mr. Gardner. "Just a few blocks north of our site, they are selling million-dollar home lots."

Other high-rise condos in the area are the Bonaventure built in 1981 on Keller Springs Road in Far North Dallas and the eight-story Aventura built in 2001 in the Addison Circle in Addison. Silver Tree Partners is a 10-year-old real estate development and investment company that has built several projects in the Dallas area. Its developments include a shopping center anchored by a Central Market grocery store at Coit Road and State Highway 190 and an office building on Preston Road ? both in Plano. The company raises funds for its developments through investment partnerships and individual investors.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com
 
#8 ·
I-30 Trinity River Bridge. The second of three Calatrava designs.

Design revealed for I-30 bridge

09:20 PM CST on Monday, November 15, 2004


By SCOTT CANTRELL / The Dallas Morning News



Four slender steel arches will carry Interstate 30 across the Trinity River if the Santiago Calatrava design displayed Monday at City Hall gets funded.


RICKY MOON/Special Contributor
Dallas council member Ed Oakley (right) answered questions at the unveiling of Santiago Calatrava's design for the new Interstate 30 bridge at City Hall on Monday morning. Mayor Laura Miller and members of the City Council unveiled a model of the proposed bridge, the second of three the acclaimed Spanish architect is designing for downtown Dallas. The design calls for 12 lanes of traffic, one being a reversible HOV lane. It also provides four "collector-distributor" lanes to be cantilevered outside the main bridge structure, but these would be added only in a later phase.

The 1,950-foot span would be entirely suspended from arches parallel to the roadway, without piers in the middle of the river. Besides giving a graceful look to a very broad bridge, the pier-less design wouldn't obstruct floodwaters. The two central arches would be longer and higher than the two on the outsides.

By contrast, Mr. Calatrava's previously unveiled design for a new Woodall Rodgers Freeway extension across the Trinity will have suspension cables torqued from a high, single arch spanning the road. Mr. Calatrava is also to design an Interstate 35E bridge.

"I tried to make each one of them fit the place and the function," Mr. Calatrava said Monday, "but also to have all three speak together, so they would become what we call a horizontal landmark."

Ms. Miller introduced Mr. Calatrava at the morning news conference, calling him "an extraordinarily hot architect at the moment." He's been particularly acclaimed for his recent addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum and his design for an underground transportation center at New York's Ground Zero. A Calatrava pedestrian bridge opened in July in Redding, Calif., but the Dallas bridges would be his first highway bridges in the United States.


Courtesy
The completion of Calatrava's vision depends on public funding. After thanking Dallas County and local philanthropist Margaret McDermott for funding the design of the I-30 bridge, Ms. Miller also urged people to contact their representatives in Congress to secure construction funds.

The I-30 bridge is one of many nationwide projects that are being delayed because the House and Senate haven't agreed on a federal transportation bill. The Senate approved a $318 billion reauthorization in February, but the House approved only $275 billion. The White House has threatened to veto any version of more than $256 billion. A lame-duck congressional session could deal with the problem as early as this week, or it could delay action until the next Congress. The Woodall Rodgers bridge is fully funded.

Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Transportation says the existing I-30 bridge, which is 50 years old and inadequate for current traffic, needs to be replaced. Rebecca Dugger, the city's Trinity River project director, said the new bridge design could be completed in early to mid-2006, with construction completed in 2010.


 
#9 ·
Woodall Rodgers extension. 1st Calatrava designed Trinity River Bridge. To begin construction fall 2005 and still on schedule. Includes 400 ft tall central arch, and 1200 ft span. The bridges are suspension so that they cross the park and lakes with minimal disturbance.


 
#10 ·
1530 Main St conversion

Staying power
Surrounded by successful redos, a downtown skyscraper will be getting new life as a grand hotel
08:02 PM CST on Thursday, December 23, 2004
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...otel.41d96.html

Love has something to do with Robert Colombo's latest venture. Why else would he tackle the daunting prospect of turning a boarded-up 78-year-old office building into a posh hotel? It's taken almost two years of preparation, but Mr. Colombo's deLuxe Hotel Group is about to begin restoring an empty office tower at 1530 Main St. into the Joule Urban Resort. "I first saw the building in 1997 or 1998, and it reminded me of a New York residential hotel," said Mr. Colombo, who spent most of his career in the hotel and restaurant business. "Maybe that's why I fell in love with it."

Location is also key. Sitting midway between Neiman Marcus and the Magnolia Building, the project is surrounded by successful redevelopments. It faces the popular Stone Street Gardens mall, with its eclectic collection of restaurants, and the Kirby Building and Wilson Building apartment communities are a few doors down. "We have an opportunity here to do something unique – an important project for the city," said Mr. Colombo, who's embarking on the project with investor Tim Headington of Headington Resources. "It will be something Dallas has not really seen before."

Modern

Looking at the gothic-inspired office tower, it's hard to believe the building was advertised as being "modern" when it debuted in the 1920s. The 17-story building was built as the headquarters for the Dallas National Bank. In later years, it housed a department store and a retail arcade. With its small floors and long, thin profile, the building was inefficient for modern office space. But that kind of layout is perfect for hotel rooms. Dallas-based ArchiTexas – an experienced renovation architect – will oversee this effort to save a piece of Main Street history.

The intricate stone exterior of the building will be restored to mint condition, but as soon as you step through the front door, you'll leave the 1920s behind. Award-winning New York designer Adam Tihany will create an ultra-contemporary theme for the lobby, rooms, restaurant, lounge and other spaces. "It will be a great juxtaposition of old vs. new," Mr. Colombo said. "There is a grand old facade and a new, contemporary interior." Mr. Tihany, whose Aleph Hotel in Rome won European design awards, is better known in the United States for his work on top nightclubs and restaurants, including Per Se in New York. "We've asked Adam to do something at the very highest end of contemporary design," Mr. Colombo said.

'Bonanza'

The hotel will have 124 rooms and suites, and developers are building an adjoining 10-story wing on the tower to house a restaurant, meeting rooms, additional guest rooms and a spa with a rooftop pool. The project will cost more than $25 million. "We've already finished all the interior demolition," said Mr. Colombo, who hopes to open the hotel in early 2006. "It couldn't happen fast enough for me," said Tom Taylor, who has renovated several restaurant and retail buildings in the same block. "It's going to be a spectacular improvement to have a five-star restaurant and a boutique hotel. "That's a bonanza for downtown." Merrill Lynch Capital is providing funding. The project is getting a boost from the Center City Tax Increment Finance board, which agreed to provide several million dollars in redevelopment incentives. "It's going to be fabulous and will have a huge impact and add activity on Main Street," said Alice Murray, president of the Central Dallas Association.

Something different

Mr. Colombo predicts his niche hotel will be popular with visitors and locals who want something different. "We will create a reason for people to come downtown on the weekend," he said. In the 1980s, Mr. Colombo was known as one of the founders of the Sfuzzi restaurant chain, which got its start on McKinney Avenue. He's also worked in management at several New York hotels, including the Plaza, Grand Hyatt and Bryant Park. "We think this project will be unique in that it will add something to the fabric of the city," Mr. Colombo said. "And to not do anything with that building would be an absolute shame."

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com


the concepts (remember, significant construction will be added to the site)

 
#13 ·
Cresta Bella(in pre-sales), which will be the 4th tower in the Mansion on Turtle Creek complex

Turtle Creek in line for another luxury high-rise
Developers plan estate-like setting for 60-unit building

11:41 PM CDT on Thursday, July 15, 2004
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News


A Turtle Creek high-rise is the latest contender in the race to provide deluxe Dallas living spaces.

The Cresta Bella condo tower will have 22 floors of luxury residences priced from about $1 million to more than $10 million each.

The classically styled building will have a three-acre park, a spa and room service from the neighboring Mansion on Turtle Creek hotel.

"We wanted to design something with the look and the feel of a grand European resort," said developer Larry Meyer. "We think we have identified the right niche."

Mr. Meyer has built two residential towers, the Plaza Turtle Creek buildings at Gillespie and Hood streets. Cresta Bella will be at Hood and Brown streets.

Cresta Bella will hold only about 60 units in a building designed by Robert Boyd Architects and Wilson Fuqua & Associates Architects. Mr. Boyd worked on The Mansion's restaurant, and Mr. Fuqua is billed as a historic preservationist and architectural historian.

Building details will include a two-story, mahogany-paneled lobby, private elevators to the residences and a lower-level health club.

The tower will have about four condo units per floor, and the penthouses will have 22-foot ceilings.

The wooded grounds surrounding the building will be landscaped to resemble a European estate, with fountains, waterfalls, gardens, swimming pools and a dog park.

These frills are a must to attract buyers moving from large homes in affluent neighborhoods, sales agents say.

And the Cresta Bella isn't shy about appealing to wealthy buyers. Advertisements for the high-rise promise that "your neighbors are few and privileged."

While the luxury condo field is crowded in Dallas, with several buildings on the drawing board, real estate analyst Mike Puls predicts that the Cresta Bella project will be a hit.

"Larry Meyer knows his market, and this should sell well," Mr. Puls said. "There are a lot of guys talking about condos, but there isn't that much really high-end on the market."

He said both the planned Ritz-Carlton and W Hotel condo projects, where starting prices are lower than at Cresta Bella, have done well in preliminary sales.

Mr. Meyer, who finances his own projects, recently began presales and is meeting with potential buyers. "It will take us 6 to 12 months to start this building and 18 to 24 months to build it," he said.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com



labelled plaza III


CRESTA BELLA’S PRE-SALES EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

Dallas’ newest high-rise succeeds in ultra luxury market niche

Dallas Morning News

Cresta Bella, Dallas’ only new luxury high-rise residence offering customized floor plans, announced today that pre-sales of homes in the planned development have passed initial expectations. Larry Meyer, chairman, Meyer Development Corporation reported that based on the current sales pace, the estimated pre-sale requirement appears to be several months ahead of schedule.

“It’s not surprising to see this level of interest in Cresta Bella,” said Mike Puls, a leading real estate market analyst. “In looking at market studies on more than 450 residential properties throughout the United States, I can say without reservation that Cresta Bella is one of the finest properties we’ve seen. In addition to its unique location and estate grounds, this development has been designed to provide the privacy, amenities and services that the most discriminating homeowner would want in high-rise living.”

Cresta Bella offers homes ranging from 2,600 square feet of living space to more than 13,000 and HOA dues are planned at less than $.40 per square foot. According to Tammy McLaine, director of sales for Cresta Bella, the average home sold to date is slightly over 5,000 feet. “Because the home size has been larger than anticipated, we are now offering less than the 60 originally planned residences. We’re accepting contracts on larger residences and requiring a wait list for smaller homes,” said McLaine.

Situated on estate acreage in the exclusive Turtle Creek neighborhood, Cresta Bella will provide homeowners the option to totally customize their floor plans. “Having the option to work with one of Cresta Bella’s architects or designers, or bring in their own is very appealing to this level of clientele,” commented Puls.

Cresta Bella will be staffed and managed by its renowned neighbor, The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Residents will have access to all of the services and amenities of the hotel including meals served in-residence under the direction of celebrity chef, Dean Fearing, 24-hour concierge services, daily housekeeping and laundry services, pet services and much more.

In addition to the privilege of having The Mansion as an extension on their home, Cresta Bella homeowners will live in a private sanctuary that will include a one-of-a kind nature preserve and dog park, a private spa and treatment center, state-of-the-art fitness centers, beautiful entertaining rooms, expansive pool areas and private-access elevators to all residences. Amenities will not be shared with hotel guests.

“While many projects tout luxury, few properties in the world offer the same level of amenities and personal services as Cresta Bella,” said Meyer. “With the focus on privacy, exclusivity, and service, Cresta Bella will be in a class all its own.”
 
#15 ·
Trinity River Park (u/c) completed 2010. Now preliminary work is going on with draining and wetlands downstream as well as boat ramps and the initial Trinity Trail loop(hike and bike trail). The scope is amazing and it will be the largest urban park in the U.S. Will include: the above bridges, plus another, conversion of historic spans to pedestrian bridges. 2 large lakes, playing fields, white water course, hike and bike trails, entry into the Great Trinity Forest preserve, equestrian park, nature center and of course adjacent development. Some of which is already beginning. Developers are clamoring for the adjacent land. Zoning will be urban, and the cbd will officially extend zoning to the edge of the river corridor. Probably only the single biggest project in the history of Dallas.

western half


eastern half


Yes, this is actually happening.
 
#16 ·
Woodall Rodgers deck park(fund raising stage). This is the trenched freeway between Uptown and Downtown. TxDOT($20 million), The City of Dallas($20 million) and the private sector($20 million) will combine to build a park over the trenched freeway that was actually built to accept a deck. It will unite Lo-Mac(Crescent, Ritz-Carlton, 1999 McKinney) with the Arts District(Meyerson Symphony Center, Nasher, Dallas Museum of Art)

2005-02-11

Imagine five years from now standing over Woodall Rogers Freeway and not seeing or hearing it, but seeing grass and trees. Well, a public-private partnership is set to round up the cash, to try and make it happen. Chris Heinbaugh reports.

WFAA Video: http://www.wfaa.com/perl/common/vid...800park_cdh.wmv

 
#17 ·
Metropolitan Club condos(Hotel ZaZa) in the Lo-Mac area.

ZaZa developer to build condos next door

Condo-hotel concept to provide residents with perks like room service
Sandra Zaragoza Staff Writer

UPTOWN — A high-end residence affiliated with Uptown's Hotel ZaZa promises to bring posh amenities like concierge assistance, housekeeping services and restaurant cuisine to a homeowner's doorstep.

Oklahoma-based Charles S. Givens Interest Inc., the developer behind Hotel ZaZa, is planning to edge into Dallas' condo-hotel niche with a five story, 33-unit condominium building adjacent to the hotel at 2403 Thomas Ave.

Condo-hotel units are sold as a condo but are managed by a hotel. Hotel ZaZa's management, Utah-based Gemstone Resorts International, will most likely oversee the ZaZa condo property, but the decision has not been finalized. The condo owners will have access to amenities enjoyed by Hotel ZaZa lodgers.

Hotel ZaZa, with its 146-rooms and 13 concept suites, is Dallas' first boutique hotel. The hotel community has closely monitored interest in the hip, urban hotel, which opened in the middle of a hotel slump last December.

Developer Charlie Givens says the hotel has performed better than predicted, but is not releasing occupancy rates.

Givens has specialized in high-end condominiums, lakeside resorts and upscale retirement communities over the last decade. This is his first Dallas project.

The condo project, which has no official name, is expected to break ground between March and July. The units will range in size from 1,280 square feet to 2,950 square feet and will sell for about $250,000 to $595,000.

The condo-hotel niche is not totally unique to ZaZa. The Plaza Turtle Creek in Dallas, a two-building complex with 165 units, is the only property of its kind managed by a five-star hotel, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, according to its management.

The Plaza's residences range in price from $400,000 to $3 million for 1,300 square feet to 7,800 square feet. Real estate agents say the Plaza continues to attract major traffic from buyers in the market.

A buyer's comfort level in hotel-run residential properties has played an integral part in the success of such projects, said Sissy Alsabrook, vice president at Briggs-Freeman Real Estate Brokerage.

"People can identify (with the hotel/condo concept), it is a known commodity. If it is an individual or group-owned complex they don't know what to expect as far as management, as opposed to knowing a chain hotel and knowing what they're getting," Alsabrook said.

Experts say that in the past few years, condos affiliated with luxury hotels have appreciated faster in value than condos that don't have that affiliation.

"A condominium that is associated with a Ritz-Carlton or Hotel ZaZa receives premium pricing, the services are viewed very positively in the marketplace," said David Brown of Metrostudy, a Houston-based residential advisory service.

At least one other developer, Fort-Worth based Crescent Real Estate Equities, is rumored to be considering a condo-hotel project in the Uptown area. The company declined comment.

Givens believes the market conditions are ripe for the ZaZa-affiliated condo.

"It is a unique product that will have a synergy with Hotel ZaZa itself, and that is something no one else will have," Givens said.

Condo owners will tap into the Hotel ZaZa lifestyle through an optional membership program called Club ZaZa. For an undisclosed membership fee owners receive many of the hotel's amenities. Among them: 24-hour room service, housekeeping services and the ZaSpa and Fitness Center.

Alsabrook believes that the condos will pique the interest of a small market. "But, it will find its niche," she said.

Ted Wilson, partner with consultant Residential Strategies Inc., says the high-rise residence market is extremely competitive, but targeting a specific niche "is exactly what they should be doing."

Givens believes the condos will have wide appeal, attracting both young professionals and empty nesters.

The condo's architecture will have the same "French character" as Hotel ZaZa, Givens said. Design will be handled by Oklahoma-based Richard R. Brown and Associates, but a builder has not yet been named.

Contact DBJ writer Sandra Zaragoza at szaragoza@bizjournals.com or (214) 706-7113.



© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.







 
#19 ·
Victory is adding apartments
Houston builder also is working on rental project near Crescent
10:52 PM CST on Tuesday, January 18, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

A Houston builder is joining the Victory building boom. Hanover Co. is planning a 28-story apartment tower, according to Ross Perot Jr., whose Hillwood Capital is a co-owner and developer of the Victory project near downtown. It will be on Houston Street near American Airlines Center. The Houston builder is already working on the Ashton, a 21-story building a few blocks away at 2215 Cedar Springs Road across from the Crescent.

"Hanover is now coming into the project to build another 28-story tower of multi-family for rent product," Mr. Perot told builders meeting in Florida this weekend. Mr. Perot said Victory will ultimately have 5,000 condos and apartments. "You are now seeing a huge urban residential redevelopment boom," he said. "It's a trend that surprised us." Hanover officials confirmed Tuesday that they're planning the Victory building. "The Hanover Co. has interest in this site and is currently in the early phase of the due diligence cycle," said Hanover's Leah MacDougal. "We are not ready to comment further."

Construction has already begun on four residential buildings at Victory. Mr. Perot's Hillwood Capital is building the 31-story W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences. Last week, Hillwood announced that it's starting work on a 15-story condo tower attached to the W. And Fairfield Development has broken ground on two residential buildings on Houston Street just north of Woodall Rodgers Freeway.
 
#22 ·
yup, apparently they will begin site prep this summer. It won't look so isolated in person as other projects will also be going up as well as new streetscaping. Its weird, but it will stand out as will the Wyly. It's probably not as bad as the rendering makes it look. Basically its one of those inside out buildings that you find in Europe.
 
#24 ·
The West End/Victory area is becoming one of the areas biggest museum districts

Natural History museum plans move
Officials hoping to finalize West End deal by end of year


11:56 PM CDT on Friday, August 20, 2004


By TOM SIME / The Dallas Morning News



The Dallas Museum of Natural History has landed a deal to move downtown from Fair Park, its home since 1936, and take on a new name, the Museum of Nature and Science.

The Dallas Museum of Natural History Association announced plans Friday to purchase land close to Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Field Street, near the Victory development and American Airlines Center and a few blocks from the Dallas Museum of Art and Dallas World Aquarium. The site now includes a parking lot and the marketing center for the W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences, which is under construction a few blocks north.

The deal should be complete by the end of the year, and an architect will be selected after that, said museum chief executive Nicole Small. "We are under contract, and ... we have full intent to close," she said. The closing will be "around the end of the year."

In early 2001, the museum announced it would hire famed California architect Frank Gehry to design a $100 million facility in the Arts District. The location has changed, but the architect may not. "Frank Gehry is a possibility," Ms. Small said. "We've been talking to him for a couple of years. ... If it's not Frank Gehry, it will be someone of the same caliber. ... Probably next year, we'll make a decision."

Mr. Gehry was traveling Friday and could not be reached for comment. His office could not confirm that he is still considering the Dallas project.

Ms. Small said the cost would probably still be around $100 million. "We're just at the beginning, so we don't have a specific number," she said. She declined to specify the price of the land.

The name change "just seems to make sense," she added. "It really is most descriptive of what our concept is."

The new museum will not replace or affect the unrelated Science Place in Fair Park.

Tim Ewing, chairman of the board of the museum association, expressed satisfaction with the West End location. "It's in a very vibrant part of the revitalization of downtown, right there at the corner of the Victory development," he said. "We have the West End within a stone's throw and two of the most visited attractions in the city of Dallas that are not shopping malls: the Dallas World Aquarium and the Sixth Floor Museum."

Mr. Ewing would not reveal who was selling the land except to describe them as among the "entities developing Victory." But he added that "we will not be part of the Victory development."


The museum "is going to be an exciting educational destination," Ms. Small said. "We're going to talk about nature, science, math, the environment. The exhibits are going to be wide-ranging, interactive, cutting-edge technology. ... We're looking at what the best models are across the country, and really across the world, because very few cities ever have an opportunity to start from scratch and build a building that really inspires minds through nature and science."
 
#25 ·
An 'entryway' for Oak Cliff
$24M+ project to turn area's tallest building into condos
Christine Perez and Sandra Zaragoza
Staff Writers
A neglected area of Oak Cliff may soon be transformed into a bustling retail and residential gateway.


Armed with $4.1 million in support from the city of Dallas, local developer Steve Everbach is renovating the historic Lake Cliff Tower at Colorado and Zang boulevards into 60 upscale condominiums.

It's the largest component of Oak Cliff Gateway, a $24.5 million mixed-use development that will also include a new shopping center and a bank on nearby parcels.

Built in 1928 as a luxury hotel, Lake Cliff Tower has been vacant for years. The 12-story, 85,000-square-foot building -- the tallest in Oak Cliff -- looks out on Founders Park and Lake Cliff Park, as well as downtown Dallas.

"It's rare that a developer gets an opportunity to go in and materially improve an area like this," Everbach said. "We're really changing the entire feel of the neighborhood for the better."

This is Everbach's first project on his own, but he has been down the condo/redevelopment road before.

Prior to launching Evergreen Partners last June, he was an executive with Dallas-based Lazarus Property Corp., which transformed an obsolete office building at 1505 Elm St. into about 65 upscale condominiums -- the first such project in downtown Dallas.

Everbach believes Lake Cliff Tower will enjoy similar success. More than 60% of the units have been presold, he said.

"Sales at the tower have far exceeded our expectations and exceeded the original pro forma," he said.

Dallas-based David Griffin & Co. is overseeing the condo sales.

The one- and two-bedroom units range in size from 900 square feet to 1,500 square feet, and in price from about $160,000 to more than $500,000. Amenities include high-speed Internet connections, a secured parking lot and a pool area overlooking Founders Park, complete with a large deck and fire pit. The property will be staffed around the clock by a doorman, porter, building engineer and manager.


Rogers, Ark.-based PB2 Architecture and Engineering is architect of record for the tower, as well as the retail components. Local designer Aida Latorre is handling the interiors. Dallas-based Precept Builders Inc. is serving as general contractor.

Plans call for restoration of the tower's exterior and a complete renovation of the interiors. Despite the fact that it was built more than 75 years ago, the building is structurally sound, said Dave Karcher, president of Precept.

"They don't build them like they used to," he said.

Karcher said renovation of Lake Cliff Tower is long overdue.

"There are some opinions that say substantive redevelopment of the Trinity Corridor is going to start in the northern part and move south," he said. "We're calling this Oak Cliff Gateway because we think it will really get the ball rolling."

Everbach is under contract with a regional financial institution to build a 10,000-square-foot, full-service bank at the corner of Colorado and Zang. He's also putting in a 32,000-square-foot retail center directly across the street from Lake Cliff Tower.

Its Mediterranean look will mirror the style of the condo tower, said Jill Tiernan, vice president with Dallas-based The Retail Connection, who is overseeing leasing of the retail center.

"It will be a great entryway into Oak Cliff," she said. "I think it will spur additional development."

Fitness guru Larry North will anchor the complex with a 10,000-square-foot Larry North Fitness Center. It will be his first Metroplex location south of the Trinity.

Lake Cliff Tower

 
#26 ·
Example of the kind of retail that Victory will house

Fashion Lift
Ort Varona’s newest store looks to score at Victory.
by Stephanie Quadri

Ort Varona may have started out with a career in counseling, but retail is his therapy. The psychology major turned entrepreneur thought Dallas lacked a store that catered to urban-chic adults, so he created Premium 93 and Octane, two of the hottest stores in the West Village. “We didn’t have a place to shop, so we created one,” Varona says.

But the 34-year-old is a little restless, so he’s expanding his arsenal of stores with the Lift Fashion Terminal in the Victory development, which will open in the spring of 2006. Located in the area around the American Airlines Center, Victory is backed by Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood and Tom Hicks’ Southwest Sports Realty and is well on its way to being one of the most significant urban developments in the country. Victory will boast a W Hotel, big-name restaurants and clubs such as Nine and Ghost Bar, extravagant residences, a public promenade, and other amenities.

Varona teamed up with investors such as Hillwood’s Jonas Woods to create a 20,000-square-foot “not-quite-boutique, not-quite-department-store” destination that will house some of the most sought-after designer merchandise in the world. Some of the names you can expect to see include Ted Baker, J.Lindeberg, Chip & Pepper, and—dare we say?—Prada. Lift will also have one of the best denim collections in town and will make custom jeans on-site. Mix that with airport design circa 1960s with German- and Japanese-influenced styles, personal appearances by designers, a cocktail lounge, and even an on-site fashion photographer, and you get a sense of Varona’s ambitions.

Could this be the next Barneys New York or LA’s Fred Segal? “It won’t be a cookie-cutter store; it’s a fresh look on retail,” he says. “Dallas is so forward and more willing to take risks than other cities, including Los Angeles or New York. We are the consumers for the next 40 years; our parents are over.”
 
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