Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

why so fugly?

Dallas architecture is so plain vanilla. Hoping that this project and the Epic will signal to developers that the EQ and DE are the parts of downtown where architecture should be modern and provocative.

I don't think it's necessarily plain and it's not really that ugly, per se. I like the dark gray brick veneer, and it's braver than another beige box.

Yeah this building is much more interesting than all of what's been built in Uptown the last decade and I mean all. Do I think it will be a landmark for years to come? Hell no but honestly the only reason people still look at BofA Tower is because its the tallest thing we have not because its that great but I am sure someone will disagree with me on that one. Its certainly better than what we have seen in the CBD in the last decade not counting the Arts District, being performing Arts venues I am leaving them out of the competition. Pearl Tower is a tossed salad, Amli Fountain place is pleasant attempt and like a trust fund kid is living off his dads legendary status, and the Atelier is a lego brick project someone forgot to finish in Architecture school over spring break.

Hopefully the unfinished vertical band of windows will have the red accent similar to red accents on the other side. I think that should make the building pop from the highway.

I see in San Francisco 2 new buildings that use the similar variated size window treatment which looks much better in lighter color and the glass being more inset from the walls.

My only complaint is that it's not taller.

^I am with you on that one.

New Dallas apartment tower is a bright spot on the skyline
With its red-trimmed exterior and mix of incomes, the Galbraith is a standout building.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... e-skyline/

God Bless Mr. Matthews! We need more people and buildings like this downtown.

Now if he would do us a solid and develop that putrid parking lot behind Dallas Highschool.

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Now if he would do us a solid and develop that putrid parking lot behind Dallas Highschool.

The article says the building opened with the market rate apts 85% leased. I imagine that the proximity to Carpenter Park and DART were big factors. With the addition of the new park and the new construction in EQ, the site is even more attractive today then when he started this building.

willyk wrote:

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Now if he would do us a solid and develop that putrid parking lot behind Dallas Highschool.

The article says the building opened with the market rate apts 85% leased. I imagine that the proximity to Carpenter Park and DART were big factors. With the addition of the new park and the new construction in EQ, the site is even more attractive today then when he started this building.

Yep, rents are already skyrocketing on the remaining units (been watching them since the building formally opened). Not sure what's going on with the affordable units, but market is marketing, that's for sure.

The affordable units are tracked by government agencies that help people in lower income brackets get into affordable housing in better neighborhoods. As soon as leasing opens, these agencies send people to lease immediately. I live in one in Turtle Creek, and I got it by luck and knowing how the system works thanks to my time in apartment leasing plus my attention to everything the Oak Lawn committee approves. I pay less than 1,000 in rent, and because I am "poor" compared to the census tract I'm in, I qualify even though I had a stable office job with full benefits above what many would consider in special need of assistance. Mind you, I would never be able to live where I do at my pay level if not for this arrangement cause rent is soo high. I am lucky, but these affordable units go fast and more people are qualified than you think but rarely know they even exist.

undefinedprocess wrote:

willyk wrote:

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Now if he would do us a solid and develop that putrid parking lot behind Dallas Highschool.

The article says the building opened with the market rate apts 85% leased. I imagine that the proximity to Carpenter Park and DART were big factors. With the addition of the new park and the new construction in EQ, the site is even more attractive today then when he started this building.

Yep, rents are already skyrocketing on the remaining units (been watching them since the building formally opened). Not sure what's going on with the affordable units, but market is marketing, that's for sure.

Then I think size of the site and the demand could support something twice the size of the Galbraith.

No, and yes. We are talking about units that are government agreed to be reduced rent but not section 8 at all. The units have to be built to the same quality as the rest of the building but are just rented cheaper. Usually, the benefit to this affordable housing method is mixing it in multiple spread-out properties, so you don't have a giant building that's all one lower economic demographic. Surround people with poverty are more likely to remain in that lower economic class. There is debate even on that theory, but it's what the policies our municipalities are following for now. The affordable units are being paid for by the profits of market-priced units, but that doesn't mean the units would be cheaper without the affordable units. What you want is just rent to be cheaper, and that's an argument we have had many times, but the reality is there will always be a market for cheaper units no matter what the rate is unless rent is free, and then it would just be the failed government housing projects of the past. There are many arguments to be made here about this issue, but every property in Dallas with affordable units, which is most of the CBD and some in Uptown and Oak Lawn leases those units within a month of being open. They don't advertise those units and never will because they don't want full-paying residents to freak out and or know what someone else is paying, sometimes a third of what the market rates are.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:No, and yes. We are talking about units that are government agreed to be reduced rent but not section 8 at all. The units have to be built to the same quality as the rest of the building but are just rented cheaper. Usually, the benefit to this affordable housing method is mixing it in multiple spread-out properties, so you don't have a giant building that's all one lower economic demographic. Surround people with poverty are more likely to remain in that lower economic class. There is debate even on that theory, but it's what the policies our municipalities are following for now. The affordable units are being paid for by the profits of market-priced units, but that doesn't mean the units would be cheaper without the affordable units. What you want is just rent to be cheaper, and that's an argument we have had many times, but the reality is there will always be a market for cheaper units no matter what the rate is unless rent is free, and then it would just be the failed government housing projects of the past. There are many arguments to be made here about this issue, but every property in Dallas with affordable units, which is most of the CBD and some in Uptown and Oak Lawn leases those units within a month of being open. They don't advertise those units and never will because they don't want full-paying residents to freak out and or know what someone else is paying, sometimes a third of what the market rates are.

Any good resources to find out about this process?