Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

Cbdallas wrote:So is the DREAM finally DEAD?

LOL I legit totally forgot about this one.

Well it's still on the Dream Hotel website for 2021 along with Palm Springs.

Old law firm has been vacant since December 2017 when there was one week of initial hazardous material removal (“pre-demo)” was done. Zero since then. Vacant lot is back to being a dog park and empty, boarded building is just an eyesore.

In January 2019 project was “indefinitely on hold”. Once the orange barriers on the back alley side of vacant lot are removed, I would say 100% dead. This was the third iteration of a proposed hotel in the location since 2012 so fairly sure it’s never going to happen
.

Probably will end up with an apartment tower proposal with a massive above-ground garage.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:Probably will end up with an apartment tower proposal with a massive above-ground garage.

Neighbors fought very hard to ensure previous final plans - before they went to the planning commission- included only underground parking. My thought was that’s partly what made both projects too expensive (assuming cost had something to do with their demise)

I am aware but when the third round of suitors shows up to develop a distressed property city staff are likely to let things sneak pass them...

cowboyeagle05 wrote:I am aware but when the third round of suitors shows up to develop a distressed property city staff are likely to let things sneak pass them...

I hear ya.

Good thing those neighbors aren’t likely to let things sneak past them

Guess they moved on to SA....

New York company planning 217-room River Walk hotel

https://www.expressnews.com/real-estate ... 011638.php

I really like the look of their SA tower. It's much nicer than the squat building they were planning here in Dallas.

eburress wrote:I really like the look of their SA tower. It's much nicer than the squat building they were planning here in Dallas.

The concept does look good, I agree. I wonder where they are thinking or if they are that serious.

This area is feeling really like a gap on McKinney. I wish they would move forward or sell so that block can fill in with new energized development.

It would fill in if Dream would sell it and move on.

I'm OK if they have decided to move on. IMO, the hotel was always going to be a challenge in that spot on McKinney Ave because the corner lot was not available. They lost the race to be the West Village hotel, Canopy grabbed that honor. It will be a little while before another hotel is needed in the immediate vicinity. Doesn't Central Market towers include one in it's plans. Knox-Henderson on the other hand has no hotel since RH scrapped their Guesthouse concept. Just sayin'

Sell the lots to someone who will develop yet another 20-story apt building on the lots. That is probably best use for this particular block.

Also, another hotel has already been announced to go right near this site so it's not like the area is that dead of hotels if that one goes up and the Canopy is doing well and the Marriot over at Fairmount and Carlise is already mostly completed Uptown is not devoid of hotels.

I wish they’d sell and get that eyesore cleaned up or demolished once and for all. I don’t understand why Dream is still holding on to the property when they know they aren’t going to build on it.

Three years after they put up fences and barricades, did some “hazardous waste removal” in the old law office (and subsequently let the building fall into total disrepair and become an eyesore for the neighborhood), the fences and barricades have been removed!!!

I believe the Dream Hotel is DEAD.

What comes next with the dilapidated building and the empty lot is anyone’s guess.

Well, for the time being, might as well go seed bomb the hell out of that new dog park*. Oh, and put a random monolith there, too.

Actually it has been a dog park for the past 3 years. Now I’m not sure what dog owners will do since there’s no enclosure. They might have to go to Mutts

Yeah, I understand and totally joking about it being new - just different. Amazing how long all this has been going on.

It's funny to think this was one of my most anticipated projects back when it was announced. I'm pretty indifferent about this project right now, I just hate that we're now stuck with this ugly empty patch of land.

The empty lot is not a big problem to me as long as the grass is actually mowed and it’s kept clean. But that building is now such a dilapidated eyesore that has been the source of so much trouble for the neighbors. Is ugly and dangerous and really just a horrible site. And on a major block. Doesn’t reflect well for homeowners or businesses in the same area.

Neighborhood was too picky and the developer probably wasted too much money trying to redesign it, etc.

R1070 wrote:Neighborhood was too picky and the developer probably wasted too much money trying to redesign it, etc.

I don't understand NIMBY mentality. They Uptown area is vibrant, yet these groups try to block unique developments like the Dream Hotel. Now it's an ugly empty lot. Dumb.

Neighbors mostly cared about the parking being underground (did anyone learn from the Monaco parking lot debacle} and the outdoor pool/bar not creating noise problems for nearby homeowners (like that disaster on McKinney with bar at the top)

The empty lot has been there for 10+ years and isn’t a problem. But the fact that the Dream group bought and then abandoned the law firm next to it is a problem. Hopefully that gets demolished like it was supposed to be and then there’s a large space for a better development!

Just took a walk and saw a metal fence wrapped around the empty lot. That's new as of this past week. Maybe some kind of action happening of some sort. Whether it be the Dream hotel (probably unlikely now) or maybe the demo of the empty office building.

Heard from somebody that claims to be in-the-know that the process of tearing down the vacant building will be starting this Monday, September 20th. The whole process should be done by late November. Also heard the Dream Hotel is officially not gonna happen. The voters voted them down so many times and they tried to redesign it a bunch but nothing would make the voters change their minds.

So have the Dream team put the hotel site on the market then? We would all like to move on with our lives and I would expect we will get a boring apartment block here that will still piss off these so called voters.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:So have the Dream team put the hotel site on the market then? We would all like to move on with our lives and I would expect we will get a boring apartment block here that will still piss off these so called voters.

Highly doubtful to see this one gain any traction in the market with travel still suffering from COVID & re-evaluation by businesses. Unless something dramatically changes soon, this will be standing still for the foreseeable future.

“The voters voted it down”. That’s funny. The Dream team apparently has no money. And it seems like the neighborhood wants a big ole dog park for now. Time will tell but it sure isn’t going to be a hotel anytime soon.

What happened to the dual brand site close by with two hotels? Did that die too?

For what it's worth, the vacant law office building has been officially taken down completely. Still a mess on the ground to clean up but now there is two vacant lots together.

Maybe somebody will do an infill project there.

This needs to switch purpose to a residential tower.

Maybe RaceTrac will buy it to compete with QT?!

Kelley USA wrote:Maybe RaceTrac will buy it to compete with QT?!

Ha! Don't give them any ideas!

It will be interesting to see what happens here. The two lots are zoned differently ( if that matters at all). There is more than enough residential. Would be nice to see some retail in this block.

There is some action happening on these empty lots. Currently there is a non-enclosed 18 wheeler trailer parked on the two lots and what looks like some kind of construction crane. Anybody have any insight on what's going on?

The first thing to come to mind would be a QT or CVS, but I could be wrong!

According to the Dallas Appraisal District website. The owner of the two lots is still "RABINDER PAL SINGH" who if you do a quick google search is the CFO of Dream Hotel Group, LLC.

Maybe a staging site for something else nearby? Like maybe the Central Market project?

When I drove by today it looked like the items on the lot were being hauled to the top of the McKinney Tower. Looks like they are giving that tower a major rehab.

There's mention of this Uptown property still being in the works in the recent article about the Frisco hotel announcement. Dream hotels is possibly looking for an equity partner to get the project started.

Dream still owns the property but it seems extremely unlikely that anything will happen anytime soon. This has been going on since 2012 (albeit with previous brand).

McKinney Tower has been using the property for their overhaul occasionally. Dream would need to contend with them, the new owners of the old Sugar building and the pink condos. I believe 2 out of the 3 will not be in favor or easy to work with given the previous debacles

R1070 wrote:There's mention of this Uptown property still being in the works in the recent article about the Frisco hotel announcement. Dream hotels is possibly looking for an equity partner to get the project started.

To continue on the “Drag out old horse, commence beatings” theme at the DMN…

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... n-the-way/

A story about HYATT acquiring the Dream Hotel chain including two hotels “on the way” in DFW with the obligatory mention of McKinney Ave location.

Renderings of the Firefly development and Dream Hotel added to that thread:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1134&p=44393#p44393

It looks very Singaporean. Also, I don't know how Collin County can support all those massive developments. Legacy, The Star, Granite Park, Wade Park re-boot, PGA/ Firefly, Frisco Station, Monarch in Allen and any others that I may have missed.

LongonBigD wrote:

R1070 wrote:There's mention of this Uptown property still being in the works in the recent article about the Frisco hotel announcement. Dream hotels is possibly looking for an equity partner to get the project started.

To continue on the “Drag out old horse, commence beatings” theme at the DMN…

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... n-the-way/

A story about HYATT acquiring the Dream Hotel chain including two hotels “on the way” in DFW with the obligatory mention of McKinney Ave location.

What a joke.

For the last 12 years, probably last 6 regarding the Dream group, they were “going to build a hotel” on this site.

The lot has been fenced off for the past few years. The only change is an amazing mural is almost finished on the side of the old Sugar building.

This isn’t like HEB doing their focus groups and taking their time. It’s never going to happen here.

Too much time, money and energy was spent fighting with the OLC. Just like the Streetlights development at Oak Lawn and Lemmon that never happened.

R1070 wrote:Too much time, money and energy was spent fighting with the OLC. Just like the Streetlights development at Oak Lawn and Lemmon that never happened.

Didn’t the OLC approve both developments? The hotel ordinance was approved by the city council but ultimately no work ever actually started (several false starts).

MrsKravitz wrote:

R1070 wrote:Too much time, money and energy was spent fighting with the OLC. Just like the Streetlights development at Oak Lawn and Lemmon that never happened.

Didn’t the OLC approve both developments? The hotel ordinance was approved by the city council but ultimately no work ever actually started (several false starts).

Both developments had to go back to the drawing board so many times, I'm sure there efforts were exhaustive.