Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

Restaurateur Sam Fox plans to bring yet another of his restaurant concepts to The Union Dallas near Victory Park, by opening his firm's "love letter to Italy," called North Italia, in 2018.

The Italian eatery will join The Henry — another Fox Restaurant Concepts-branded restaurant — on the ground level overlooking the central plaza within the $300 million mixed-use development, which totals about 800,000 square feet of office, residential and retail real estate near Uptown.

Our pizza is a revelation: an airy, barely chewy center embraced by a perfectly crisp crust. With the spirit of the Italian taverna, North is the place to talk shop over a cocktail or swap gossip sharing delectable chef creations. Every neighborhood would be lucky to have a place like North.

"We've increased our construction crew four times over so things are really active at the site," said Brian Krouse, vice president of construction at Phoenix-based RED Development, in a statement.

The development firm began construction on The Union Dallas in April. At completion in 2018, The Union Dallas will bring a 22-story office tower and a 23-story apartment tower to this part of Dallas.

The mixed-use development will add about 800,000 square feet of real estate at Field Street and Cedar Springs Road, with 87,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, an outdoor plaza and 10 levels of parking.

texasstar wrote:Man, I always forget about this one.

International law firm Akin Gump has confirmed its corporate office move to three floors within The Union Dallas, a mixed-use development under construction near Uptown Dallas.

The announcement on Tuesday gives confirmation to real estate sources saying Akin Gump was moving to The Union. In all, the law firm will lease about 68,000 square feet of office space.

DPatel304 wrote:

International law firm Akin Gump has confirmed its corporate office move to three floors within The Union Dallas, a mixed-use development under construction near Uptown Dallas.

The announcement on Tuesday gives confirmation to real estate sources saying Akin Gump was moving to The Union. In all, the law firm will lease about 68,000 square feet of office space.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/ ... rs-to.html

I did a quick google search, and it looks like Akin Gump is currently located Downtown, is that correct? If so, that's kinda a shame, because Downtown certainly needs jobs more than Uptown.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:By Uptown doing so, Downtown has been stepping up its game. The burbs have long been stealing companies but Uptown stealing them has made Downtown properties valuable and more competitive than ever before. Almost every dated 80's tower has been sold in the last 5 years and is or will be renovated. Some like Trammel Crow Center are building more space and creating stronger blurs between new and 80's dusty towers of granite and glass. There are almost no historical buildings left to buy and turn into residential either. New hotels are constantly going vertical in Downtown. New development is going up around the CBD helping contribute to the CBD become central again. Cedars, Southside, Deep Ellum, Design District, East Dallas/Baylor, Trinity Groves, Victory and West Dallas. I am not as worried about Downtown cause it's burning through a new energy that will continue to work alongside Uptown's pomp and high prices.

DPatel304 wrote:

cowboyeagle05 wrote:By Uptown doing so, Downtown has been stepping up its game. The burbs have long been stealing companies but Uptown stealing them has made Downtown properties valuable and more competitive than ever before. Almost every dated 80's tower has been sold in the last 5 years and is or will be renovated. Some like Trammel Crow Center are building more space and creating stronger blurs between new and 80's dusty towers of granite and glass. There are almost no historical buildings left to buy and turn into residential either. New hotels are constantly going vertical in Downtown. New development is going up around the CBD helping contribute to the CBD become central again. Cedars, Southside, Deep Ellum, Design District, East Dallas/Baylor, Trinity Groves, Victory and West Dallas. I am not as worried about Downtown cause it's burning through a new energy that will continue to work alongside Uptown's pomp and high prices.

I never thought of it like that, but you're right. In the short term, Uptown has certainly taken residents and jobs away from Downtown, but, without Uptown, I'm not sure if Downtown would be doing nearly as well as it is doing now.

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:

DPatel304 wrote:

cowboyeagle05 wrote:By Uptown doing so, Downtown has been stepping up its game. The burbs have long been stealing companies but Uptown stealing them has made Downtown properties valuable and more competitive than ever before. Almost every dated 80's tower has been sold in the last 5 years and is or will be renovated. Some like Trammel Crow Center are building more space and creating stronger blurs between new and 80's dusty towers of granite and glass. There are almost no historical buildings left to buy and turn into residential either. New hotels are constantly going vertical in Downtown. New development is going up around the CBD helping contribute to the CBD become central again. Cedars, Southside, Deep Ellum, Design District, East Dallas/Baylor, Trinity Groves, Victory and West Dallas. I am not as worried about Downtown cause it's burning through a new energy that will continue to work alongside Uptown's pomp and high prices.

I never thought of it like that, but you're right. In the short term, Uptown has certainly taken residents and jobs away from Downtown, but, without Uptown, I'm not sure if Downtown would be doing nearly as well as it is doing now.

And then you have the Design District. I expect for the design District to soon become Uptown Lite. It's proximity to Uptown / Downtown and it's relatively lacking in dense development. It's as close to a Greenfield that you're going to find near in Downtown.

Hopefully that triggers more improved Development in the CBD.

More than a year ago, Vinson & Elkins announced that it would leave the Ross Avenue skyscraper when its lease was up in 2018.
Vinson & Elkins signed a deal to lease about 80,000 square feet in The Union office development being built at Cedar Springs Road and Akard Street in Uptown.
But now the law firm - which has about 145 Dallas attorneys and support staff - has shifted gears and renewed its lease in the Trammell Crow Center, downtown leasing agents say.

The completion date of The Union project no longer met Vinson & Elkins schedule, according to brokers.
"While timing did not align with the specific needs of Vinson & Elkins, The Union remains on track for a 2018 delivery and we look forward to announcing new tenants soon," a spokesperson for the project said in an email.

dch526 wrote:Downtown law firm Vinson & Elkins won't go to Uptown after all

More than a year ago, Vinson & Elkins announced that it would leave the Ross Avenue skyscraper when its lease was up in 2018.
Vinson & Elkins signed a deal to lease about 80,000 square feet in The Union office development being built at Cedar Springs Road and Akard Street in Uptown.
But now the law firm - which has about 145 Dallas attorneys and support staff - has shifted gears and renewed its lease in the Trammell Crow Center, downtown leasing agents say.

The completion date of The Union project no longer met Vinson & Elkins schedule, according to brokers.
"While timing did not align with the specific needs of Vinson & Elkins, The Union remains on track for a 2018 delivery and we look forward to announcing new tenants soon," a spokesperson for the project said in an email.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... -go-uptown

muncien wrote:Wow... very interesting. That's a decent chunk taken out of the Union's sails. But, I suspect they'll have little trouble filling it based on current demand. Good news for downtown though...

willyk wrote:Ross Ave is starting to compete with McKinney Ave.