East Quarter: ~24 Building Redevelopment

[lakewoodhobo]

I really wish the historic fire station at 2121 Main were part of this development. Even though it has that terrible 1980s glass box addition, it's probably one of the first times the city fought and won a battle to keep a historic facade. In 1982 the new owner wanted to convert the entire thing to a modern office building but the city sought a restraining order and even sent police officers to make sure it wouldn't be demolished in the middle of the night.

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[lakewoodhobo]

What is unfortunate is the smaller building at the corner there labeled 2200 Main in this screenshot will be torn down for parking. I am not sad for the historical quality of the building but because the corner will become another lot.

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Definitely not wasting any time.

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[lakewoodhobo]

More random history related to these buildings:

In 1951 when land was being assembled for the future Statler Hotel, the final holdout agreed to a swap involving 2112 Commerce, clearing the way for construction. The building had been occupied by IBM, which still had some time on its lease there.

July 21 1951.jpg

You can still see the ghost sign for "International Business Machines" on the building.

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[DPatel304]

So according to this master-list (credit goes to CTroyMathis), National Anthem and PMA will open Fall of this year. Seems a bit ambitious, but, then again, they've wasted very little time in kicking off the East Quarter development.

National Anthem is a restaurant going into the vintage triangular Magnolia Oil building in downtown Dallas from favorite chef Nick Badovinus. Fall 2018.

PMA is a drop-in spot serving coffee, doughnuts, and to-go items, going into the vintage triangular Magnolia Oil building in downtown Dallas from favorite chef Nick Badovinus. Fall 2018.

http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/resta ... -openings/

[jrd1964]

Candy weighs in.... she dishes about the East Quarter but thinks more residential should be in the mix.

https://candysdirt.com/2018/06/05/downt ... sidential/

[ContriveDallasite]

Now if only we could get past this little crux.

All the plan needs is some non-millionaire housing that’s affordable to folks who work nearby that adds the vibrancy downtown Dallas really needs.

[exelone31]

National Anthem, eh? What a strangely controversial name choice.

[exelone31]

I'll go ahead and grab the easy and obvious joke by guessing that National Anthem will be a restaurant without chairs?

[tamtagon]

^hahahaha

I agree with Jon Anderson of Candy's Dirt - The East Quarter needs people, and given the prime location between Farmers Market, Deep Ellum and the rest of the CBD, it should be developed as the most densely populated pocket in the CBD to date.

I disagree with Jon Anderson of Candy's Dirt - If I-345 is removed, 1-200,000 thru traffic trips will not divert to city streets, thru-traffic folks will find another downtown bypass.

[I45Tex]

Would someone be willing to helpfully transcribe the graphic at the top of this thread onto our pinned comprehensive projects map? I want to do it but, at least this month, I just can't justify the time while I'm applying for urban development or wider regeneration/innovation jobs (PM if you know someone who's staffing up, please!)

[willyk]

I agree with Jon Anderson of Candy's Dirt - The East Quarter needs people, and given the prime location between Farmers Market, Deep Ellum and the rest of the CBD, it should be developed as the most densely populated pocket in the CBD

Are there development sites available? It would be nice if the people running out of sites on Henderson and Bennet could redirect their attention over here. If that’s not realistic, then the larger stuff like what’s happening on Ross Ave would be great too. Does anyone know if Todd controls only the buildings, or do they own the residential sites too?

[cowboyeagle05]

I have no news but I think its time we check in on the progress of this project. I'll see if I can gather some pics today of any work that is apparent.

[Matt777]

I pass through this area on the way to work daily, and it seems like they are focusing on the Purgatory building and the triangular building. The triangular one looks about ready to be finished out as a restaurant space. Exterior work looks complete for the most part.

[lakewoodhobo]

Tech firm more than doubling its office in downtown Dallas redevelopment
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... evelopment

Digital firm OrderMyGear has rented 23,000 square feet of offices in the new East Quarter redevelopment along Commerce Street at Cesar Chavez.

The building where the company is expanding at 2211 Commerce Street was a Cadillac auto dealership back in the 1920s and 1930s.

[DPatel304]

Looks like this area is off to a good start. This is probably my most anticipated project, and, assuming the economy keeps doing well, I really expect this area to explode in the next 5 years.

[trueicon]

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 certainly helps the chances of i345 being torn down. I imagine the developer will flex his muscle because obviously a teardown would increase property values and the overall viability of this project.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I imagine the developer will flex his muscle because obviously a teardown would increase property values and the overall viability of this project.

He most certainly will. He already mentioned his position on that during the EQ ribbon ceremony.

[Tnexster]

Tech is good, if the area gets a reputation for being tech heavy this will be full in no time. Not to mention the positive impact on all of downtown.

[cowboyeagle05]

I mean this area has been popular with tech companies already. Most of these buildings have been decent office space for some time so I am anxious to see them do something about the lifelessness the area has had. Mind you making the old purgatory nightclub building an active office building will help by adding a few more employees into the pile. Mostly its been dead because they have all been office space on the first level with no restaurants or retailers to liven it up a bit. Even at lunchtime, the biggest crowd has always be the homeless passing through.

[lakewoodhobo]

I wonder if Jackson St could be narrowed or even closed here to give the district a pedestrian-oriented focal point. Build something with balconies on the other side, similar in scale to the French quarter, and connect it all with festival lights to give it some personality so walking is less of a game of Frogger. It would just be a block, but it would set the standard for what the future of this area could look like.

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I'm optimistic about the East Quarter in general, but it needs much bigger ideas than just fixing and rebranding commercial space if it's going to thrive.

[muncien]

I wonder if Jackson St could be narrowed or even closed here to give the district a pedestrian-oriented focal point. Build something with balconies on the other side, similar in scale to the French quarter, and connect it all with festival lights to give it some personality so walking is less of a game of Frogger. It would just be a block, but it would set the standard for what the future of this area could look like.

Screen Shot 2018-09-11 at 11.55.32 AM.jpg

I'm optimistic about the East Quarter in general, but it needs much bigger ideas than just fixing and rebranding commercial space if it's going to thrive.

Totally... Jackson doesn't leave the CBD on either it's west or east end, and is already getting closed at ATT campus. I've always thought it would make a good east/west pedestrian corridor to compliment Harwood as a N/S pedestrian corridor.

[exelone31]

I wonder if Jackson St could be narrowed or even closed here to give the district a pedestrian-oriented focal point. Build something with balconies on the other side, similar in scale to the French quarter, and connect it all with festival lights to give it some personality so walking is less of a game of Frogger. It would just be a block, but it would set the standard for what the future of this area could look like.

Screen Shot 2018-09-11 at 11.55.32 AM.jpg

I'm optimistic about the East Quarter in general, but it needs much bigger ideas than just fixing and rebranding commercial space if it's going to thrive.

I think that's a great idea. Something additional to consider is that this image will is a block west of where the new park is supposed to go as well (Jackson Park? that may be wrong). Hopefully that park will also bring a bit of a pedestrian vibe.

[lakewoodhobo]

I think that's a great idea. Something additional to consider is that this image will is a block west of where the new park is supposed to go as well (Jackson Park? that may be wrong). Hopefully that park will also bring a bit of a pedestrian vibe.

Good point. That section of Jackson acts more like an extension of Wood which is already going away for Harwood Park.

A pedestrian mall here would feel like a natural extension of the park. Shawn Todd(?) has said that part of the reason for purchasing these properties is the proximity to green space.

[Cbdallas]

I walked from Deep Ellum down through Farmers Market down Harwood and through East District then on through the Arts District on Sunday and I can feel how this entire part of downtown is about to merge into the feel of one cohesive area. I would even include going down to AT & T discovery area as well. This has been neglected for so long but it can have a big resurgence.

[R1070]

The area is currently too broken up by surface parking. Once these current buildings are renovated, infill will be necessary to make it actually work.

[lakewoodhobo]

Looks like Jackson St is getting a road diet from Pearl to Cesar Chavez, likely to provide better parking for National Anthem and PMA but with the added benefit of a cycle track and wider sidewalks. It'll become a one-lane westbound street with 20 angled parking spaces.

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Details on page 98 here: https://dallascityhall.com/government/m ... Docket.pdf

[Matt777]

The cycle track and wider sidewalks will be nice (and should continue along the rest of Jackson) but angled parking? Really?

[mdg109]

I hadn't realized this, but there's already angled parking for a portion of Jackson Street: https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7808243 ... 312!8i6656

[joshua.dodd]

It is really sad to think that all of those parking lots were once historic brick buildings. The city of Dallas sure is a let down.

[eburress]

It is a tragedy that it was allowed to happen. If anyone's seen those 70s era aerial photos of Houston, the destruction was even worse.

[DPatel304]

I'm really not a fan of the angled parking, but if angled parking already exists, then this diet seems like it'll be a nice improvement to the area.

[mcrdal15]

It is a tragedy that it was allowed to happen. If anyone's seen those 70s era aerial photos of Houston, the destruction was even worse.

An even bigger tragedy are those on this URBAN FORUM still advocating for that photo of 1970's Downtown Houston. That's the real tragedy here, along with City Hall swamp creatures and zoning codes stuck in that era. What is the point of a Downtown if it looks like that picture? Downtown Dallas tried that experiment and failed miserably. Why would we want keep repeating those same mistakes?

[Tnexster]

What part of downtown Houston was this? Wonder what the current day picture looks like?

[Mr. Amsterdam]

Wow. I cannot believe anyone would let parking consume a city like that, even during the height of carphoria.

[Matt777]

Wow. I cannot believe anyone would let parking consume a city like that, even during the height of carphoria.

What are you talking about? We are doing it again here in Dallas right now. Historic architecture midrises coming down for parking garages. A highrise office building on 75 was imploded for parking, big box retail, and fast food drive thrus. This was recent. Elected officials love it. They look at Frisco with salivation and want that here.

[The_Overdog]

They look at Frisco with salivation and want that here.

This is all on Dallas. Nothing in Frisco has been built with a giant surface lot until you get to nearly Prosper. The most anti-urban thing Frisco has done recently is slightly widen their main street. And the downzoning of US75 to drive-thus adjacent to a DART station is all on Dallas too. You don't want to see what the suburbs are planning along 75. It'll break your heart to compare the two.

[mcrdal15]

They look at Frisco with salivation and want that here.

This is all on Dallas. Nothing in Frisco has been built with a giant surface lot until you get to nearly Prosper. The most anti-urban thing Frisco has done recently is slightly widen their main street. And the downzoning of US75 to drive-thus adjacent to a DART station is all on Dallas too. You don't want to see what the suburbs are planning along 75. It'll break your heart to compare the two.

What is being built in Dallas that has a giant surface lot? I thought most of the ones in Downtown were there from decades past, not something new.

[tamtagon]

...the giant surface lots are simply stacked up this go'round. Garages.

[mcrdal15]

...the giant surface lots are simply stacked up this go'round. Garages.

I think I misread Matt's & Overdog's posts. Matt was referring to surface lots and drive-thrus recently being built in Dallas along 75 and near DART stations. Overdog said Frisco doesn't have many surface lots, but I find that really hard to believe. I've been through Frisco and up along 75 north of Dallas city limits hundreds of times and see no shortage of drive-thrus, giant surface parking lots, etc. I'm not sure what he's referring to. And Frisco doesn't have a single DART station! I get the criticisms of urban planning in Dallas, but somehow the suburbs are ahead when it comes to urban planning? Hard to believe.

[Tnexster]

They look at Frisco with salivation and want that here.

This is all on Dallas. Nothing in Frisco has been built with a giant surface lot until you get to nearly Prosper. The most anti-urban thing Frisco has done recently is slightly widen their main street. And the downzoning of US75 to drive-thus adjacent to a DART station is all on Dallas too. You don't want to see what the suburbs are planning along 75. It'll break your heart to compare the two.

Isn't Stonebriar in Frisco? And the last time I was was there I saw a giant surface parking lot. Same with the retail strip mall that sits to the north of Stonebriar and all of the restaurants along Preston. Hall Office Park is full of surface lots and the Star has surface parking. Not sure I get where "nothing" comes from.

[Matt777]

Yes, we are getting a massive amount of surface parking, big box, and fast food drive thrus at 75 and Haskell area if Trammell Crow gets its way. Across from West Village. Right near the only subway station in Texas. It's almost a poetic confirmation of the bad things developers in the rest of the country say about Dallas, Texas, and the sunbelt as a whole.

[DAFW]

They look at Frisco with salivation and want that here.

This is all on Dallas. Nothing in Frisco has been built with a giant surface lot until you get to nearly Prosper. The most anti-urban thing Frisco has done recently is slightly widen their main street. And the downzoning of US75 to drive-thus adjacent to a DART station is all on Dallas too. You don't want to see what the suburbs are planning along 75. It'll break your heart to compare the two.

Isn't Stonebriar in Frisco? And the last time I was was there I saw a giant surface parking lot. Same with the retail strip mall that sits to the north of Stonebriar and all of the restaurants along Preston. Hall Office Park is full of surface lots and the Star has surface parking. Not sure I get where "nothing" comes from.

I believe he was talking about major recent suburban developments, and he's still technically correct. The Star when it's fully built out will have no large surface parking. Whatever surface lots are there now already have plans to be replaced by giant office buildings and apartment towers. Legacy West has no large surface parking, Frisco station will have no large surface parking, and neither will the gate. In Hall Park, almost every existing large surface parking lot will be re-purposed for future High-rises as stated in their updated master plan. The only recent projects I've seen that are being built with large surface parking lots is Frisco North which is touching the Frisco/prosper border.

[mcrdal15]

This is all on Dallas. Nothing in Frisco has been built with a giant surface lot until you get to nearly Prosper. The most anti-urban thing Frisco has done recently is slightly widen their main street. And the downzoning of US75 to drive-thus adjacent to a DART station is all on Dallas too. You don't want to see what the suburbs are planning along 75. It'll break your heart to compare the two.

Isn't Stonebriar in Frisco? And the last time I was was there I saw a giant surface parking lot. Same with the retail strip mall that sits to the north of Stonebriar and all of the restaurants along Preston. Hall Office Park is full of surface lots and the Star has surface parking. Not sure I get where "nothing" comes from.

I believe he was talking about major recent suburban developments, and he's still technically correct. The Star when it's fully built out will have no large surface parking. Whatever surface lots are there now already have plans to be replaced by giant office buildings and apartment towers. Legacy West has no large surface parking, Frisco station will have no large surface parking, and neither will the gate. In Hall Park, almost every existing large surface parking lot will be re-purposed for future High-rises as stated in their updated master plan. The only recent projects I've seen that are being built with large surface parking lots is Frisco North which is touching the Frisco/prosper border.

I guarantee you those giant office buildings and apartment towers will have huge parking garages. Legacy West is also a place you must drive to. There's no rail transit either. They're all a bunch of islands in a sea of suburbia with no rail. Now 75 is a different story, so I'm a little more hopeful with places like Richardson and Plano (east). Now for Dallas, it's incredibly frustrating because the city is in this constant pattern of one step forward, two steps back in terms of urban planning. West Village/CityPlace = great example of a successful TOD stitched into an existing neighborhood. CityPlace East/Haskell = what the hell were they thinking? Uptown Whole Foods = incredibly pedestrian oriented solid with spacious sidewalks. Uptown CVS = F*ck you CVS and f*ck you City Hall for approving that atrocity!!

[Tnexster]

I believe he was talking about major recent suburban developments, and he's still technically correct. The Star when it's fully built out will have no large surface parking. Whatever surface lots are there now already have plans to be replaced by giant office buildings and apartment towers. Legacy West has no large surface parking, Frisco station will have no large surface parking, and neither will the gate. In Hall Park, almost every existing large surface parking lot will be re-purposed for future High-rises as stated in their updated master plan. The only recent projects I've seen that are being built with large surface parking lots is Frisco North which is touching the Frisco/prosper border.

I can look out the windows here downtown and point to any number of surface parking lots that have gone away in the past 12 months alone. It's not like the city is actively trying to replace buildings with asphalt. The sky is not falling and in fact things in Dallas continue to move in the right direction. I swear, one person cries wolf about a parking lot and it's off to the races. All the while parks are replacing parking lots, buildings are replacing parking lots, grocery stores at the base of mixed use developments are replacing parking lots and yet to read this thread one could walk away thinking the city of Dallas is turning downtown into one giant surface lot.

[Thymant]

They look at Frisco with salivation and want that here.

This is all on Dallas. Nothing in Frisco has been built with a giant surface lot until you get to nearly Prosper. The most anti-urban thing Frisco has done recently is slightly widen their main street. And the downzoning of US75 to drive-thus adjacent to a DART station is all on Dallas too. You don't want to see what the suburbs are planning along 75. It'll break your heart to compare the two.

This seems to be a twist on reality because yes the new mixed-use developments in Frisco and West Plano are walk-able and follow and urban design but Frisco and West Plano are not at all urban even by the slightest standard of the phrase. People will drive their cars to The Star/Legacy West/Frisco Station do their shopping, eating, or entertainment then get back in their car and drive home the same way they would do at a surface lot shopping center. Outside the new mixed-use developments is the same old suburban subdivision Frisco/Plano we've always known and for the most part the residential neighborhoods do not connect with them. Trammel Crow's development MAY have a poor design surface parking but residents of apartments and homes in the immediate area will still conveniently be able to walk to it and are MORE likely to do it than those near Frisco/Plano developments unless of course they live in the actual development. But how about we get back to East Quarter since that's what this thread is about!

[Roman_Patrick]

I am excited for that Rooftop area! That will have an awesome view of downtown.

[lakewoodhobo]

East Quarter Revival is Downtown Dallas’ Missing Link
https://dallas.towers.net/2018/11/09/ea ... ce=twitter

[Matt777]

Workers were FINALLY starting to pour the second part of the Cesar Chavez expansion today at Main Street. This hot mess will hopefully be completed soon. Not that it was ever needed in the first place. The absence of road construction work should make East Quarter more pleasant once things start to open.

[maconahey]

[lakewoodhobo]

Dallas' landmark Masonic Temple is the newest downtown office address

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... ce-address