If you believe this project will be completed under Drever's guard, you will be disappointed. In fact I'll buy a round of drinks for everyone on this thread if I'm wrong and it opens next year like they promise. But I could just as easily promise to buy everyone a new iPhone XS Max -- it really won...
At one of the open houses, they mentioned DART wanting faregates for all of the subway stations at street level to cut down on loitering below ground level. Not sure how well that will work as one need only walk to a ground level station and connect to the Orange or Green line and soon find themsel...
The only benefit of going underground was to make the vehicular traffic above, happy. Success on that part. But, the insane cost of doing so will limit numerous other transit projects in the future. D2 as it stands now, is a net-loss for transit users. Well, DART is full steam ahead on the complete...
This is far better than the alternatives. I'm glad DART actually listened because their preferred alignment was even closer to duplicating the existing Pacific Ave corridor. At least the Commerce St. alignment brings portals in the hot spots of downtown (Main Street, Discovery District, Main Street ...
Until the Sheraton's convention space is totally retooled (and expanded) to interact with Pacific Park, the brand's design strategy to emphasize community, collaboration and experiences is empty and absurd. What may be the best entertainment observation floor in the city remains empty at this hotel...
ATT should host walk-in movies with the Time-Warner collection. I do hope AT&T does something with its entertainment library. There are lots of potential projects would definitely put the discovery district on the map. A true Game of Thrones or West World themed saloon. A Sopranos italian resta...
Noticed that City Hall Bistro now has an entrance on Main St. next to Which Wich. Also, a juice place is opening next door to Bread Zeppelin. IMG_6686.jpgIMG_6687.jpg Glad to see something going in here. This block is sad. Downtown seems to have stalled. It might not be the ONLY problem but one of ...
^ I do think a JW Marriott hotel is sorely needed in Dallas but this is 100% the wrong place to put it. A hotel like that belongs downtown. Putting something like that at Northpark is the type of sprawl that created the mess we have on our freeways and the smog in the air. It is the exact opposite o...
And frankly, I think the idea that a suspending a visitor experience, executive offices & parking garage over a highway is cock-eyed and the strongest indicator that decisions making has become at least less good, and at worst tragic. Yeah, that was my take exactly. When they announced that pla...
Something interesting from DART's D2 plan I came across re: the ugly parking lot across the street. Check out slide 18. They're considering a "tree lined pedestrian connection" to cut across the current parking lot, alongside where the D2 line would enter the underground tunnel. Maybe that...
Seems like the move to Bryan Tower is pretty much a done deal, yes; also seems like that's not the final destination for these brands. Maybe the bargain shoe store and small town pharmacy/convenience grocer are headed toward the recycle bin. Very interesting, thanks for posting that article. I woul...
I'm not sure if many of you watch the markets like I do, but things haven't been so great the past few weeks. On Jim Cramer today, he made a very convincing case for oil prices plunging in the next year. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/20/cramer-charts-forecast-further-declines-for-oil-prices-and-stock...
I don't want another 2-3 year delay with this project. Do I wish this project was already done hell yeah! The trouble is when you are trying to secure financing the last thing you need to do is make a public statement that makes your business seem like it could fail. I agree. You guys are right tha...
Posting some more info that wasn't covered in the DMN article. You can read the memo to the council from the office of economic development here: https://dallascityhall.com/government/Council%20Meeting%20Documents/edh_3_developmentagreementamendmentsforthedrevertifproject_101518.pdf What jumps out t...
DMN buried the lead, but Drever officially asked the city for (at least) a third extension to 2020. Not a big surprise that they won't be able to open at the end of 2019 when they aren't actually doing any construction inside the building. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2018/10/15/d...
Thanks for confirming your misunderstanding of the full-service hotel market. ;) I have zero desire to reveal my occupation in an attempt to win a silly argument with an anonymous internet forum battle, so you're welcome to believe whatever you like :) Time will tell who is correct. Personally I th...
I think you have a misunderstanding of the full-service hotel market. Thanks, but I don't think so. I agree with everyone that it makes sense to do a business oriented hotel in Uptown . It's a very desirable part of town, and there's plenty of great places for a solo business traveler to walk to fo...
I know this isn't a convention center hotel but I thought they did have some conference room space to accommodate smaller groups. Exactly, that was my read on it as well. My whole beef is that they went out of their way to focus on the convention/conference features of the hotel. I agree with every...
I guess I have to book a full-service Marriott because I'm a business traveler"- hotels are going to fill their rooms with whoever's willing to pay the current rate. That's not at all what I'm saying. I'm a business traveler too by the way. Business hotel ==/== convention hotel. The bread and ...
I haven't seen such a spectacular smoke and mirrors show since walking through a funhouse on the Jersey shore 10 years ago. Those of us who live across the street and can easily peer through our windows know that there is zero work going on besides pumping out updates to social media pages. They've ...
Yes, this area is off to a great start. Still wish they went with a different name (I personally like "Shallow Ellum"), but East Quarter is fine. Maybe they can brand East Quarter as EQ (which means "emotional intelligence")? Something else positive I just thought about -- EQ cer...
It did seem like an odd location, but, I just assumed that the idea was to gentrify the entire area and eventually create a smooth transition between the Bishop Arts District and the Zoo. I completely agree, but we're still many years (IMHO) away from the the Bishop Arts gentrification crossing Jef...
Such a shame someone in power would abuse people's trust like that. I can't help but think about the deck park under construction by the Dallas zoo. It's conveniently in his district. I never understood what the value was in connecting two sides of i35e that clearly aren't very walkable, unless your...
Fair points about Starwood. By my math, however, the only full service (i.e., offers convention space etc.) Marriott-Starwood hotels within the CBD are Westin and Sheraton. The others are mostly boutique hotels that aren't really oriented towards the convention market. Compare that to the CBD of any...
I don't understand putting this particular hotel in Uptown instead of Downtown. The type of client that books at a full service Marriott hotel is (generally speaking) a business traveler who (presumably) is traveling for a convention. The problem is that the convention center (downtown) is not walki...
Just got this link to an update on DART projects today Buried in the description for the D2 subway is this: Although DART did not receive funding from the FTA, DART is currently reviewing potential funding sources to keep development of the D2 Subway on track. http://dartdallas.dart.org/2018/06/29/y...
From that last D Magazine article I linked: Maxwell Drever said a $150 million construction loan is expected to close as soon as June 22—but more likely on or before June 29. A spokesperson for Tiburon, California-based Drever Capital Management [...] said a press release would be issued once the fi...
And now D Magazine weighs in with some disturbing details. Yikes. https://www.dmagazine.com/business-economy/2018/06/the-drever-project-promises-financing-this-month/ The developer of the historic, $380 million redevelopment project now known as The Drever in downtown Dallas says it’s days away from...
^ I stand corrected. Yes, Kroger sold off their convenience stores, including their Tom Thumb stores, a few months ago. I'm betting we can expect a slightly smaller version of this Albertsons Express prototype: http://www.supermarketnews.com/news/albertsons-debuts-new-c-store-concept It appears that...
The article doesn't make me feel any more confident about the project. Their announcement to investors amounts to almost nothing we didn't already know, besides finally acknowledging that work has stopped on the project. "We gave final approval..." but they won't elaborate on any details. ...
I wonder if Kroger, who owns its own chain of convenience stores called "Tom Thumb" in Florida and Alabama, will try to block Safeway using the name Tom Thumb for this (and possibly other) convenience store(s).
^ Pretty much came to say this. Hopefully the message Headington gets is that the luxury retail market is oversaturated, but there's still plenty of room for moderate-mid scale retail. But nothing about the Headington organization makes me think they're interested in that segment. Mind you, they've ...
My favorite what-if for ATT Discovery District requires the acquisition of Time-Warner and puts The Cedars, South Dallas and Fair Park on HBOs list of production sites. I love that idea! Or, relocating CNN / Cartoon Network / Adult Swim from Atlanta to Downtown Dallas in the years ahead (I know the...
With most if not all of the demo & abatement completed, the building could go on the market tomorrow and it would be a steal for the next buyer. All of the hard work has likely been done. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the plan all along. The next owner would also inherit the deal with Tho...
There was some discussion of this project on the downtown residents council facebook page. It is very clear there is zero work being done inside 1401 Elm St. besides sporadic updates to the Drever facebook page, and it has been that way for several months. Their priorities should be much different ...
I checked out the Ascension Annex yesterday. The plaza at Fountain Place is really chill. Looking forward to the activity once AMLI finishes and more restaurants/retail move in. Also hoping the "nub" to the garage facing Ross gets built. Agreed, would make for a perfect 2 story CVS/Wallgr...
^^ Ah, someone's been browsing the Downtown Dallas subreddit I was hoping there would be some news on this. There's been absolutely zero visible progress besides them testing the lights so far in 2018. Broken windows remain covered in plywood. Marble remains off the building. I have no idea how the...
Not sure where I saw it (might have been the Downtown Residents Council on Facebook), but I read a rumor that they were actually trying to push some of their residents out of their leases early because it was more profitable to use their apartments as Air-BNBs and corporate housing. No idea if that...
^^ Geez, Main Street news sure has been a mixed bag the last couple of years Gains = Commissary, Bread Zeppelin, Irish Bar, Westin and its restaurants/bars Losses = Union Park, relocation of City Tavern, the cancelled Wine Bar across from Wild Salsa, and now this . Interestingly , on Facebook , they...
the building is designed it's going to be an eyesore in my mind because there is nothing even remotely close to that scale in that portion of downtown. It will look like the Cityplace Tower as an out of place lone high rise surrounded by low and mid rise buildings. Huh? It's right next to Fountain ...
But we buried the lede in the DMN story. There will also be a 12,000-square-foot food hall. To give that some context, "the Market" part of the Dallas Farmers Market is 26,000 square feet. So, this will be slightly smaller than half of the market. That's all good and fine, but what I thin...