Downtown Dallas: Thanksgiving Tower

[Tnexster]

Thanksgiving Tower redo brings new downtown restaurant

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/real ... restaurant

Downtown Dallas' Thanksgiving Tower is getting a new restaurant as part of a $37 million makeover.

Gather Kitchen - a fast casual restaurant - will open a 2,400-square-foot ground floor restaurant in the Elm Street skyscraper early next year.

The new concept restaurant is being developed by restaurateurs Nicki Hamilton and Soraya Spencer.

The planned restaurant will include a bakery and outdoor seating and will serve recipes with seasonal produce from local farmers.

[dukemeredith]

Great catch! I've been waiting for an announcement! Great addition to Ascension Coffee. Now only the large restaurant space on the opposite side of the building is left.

According to DBJ, Gather Kitchen will be open Monday through Saturday, 7am-9pm.

[Tnexster]

Shared office provider takes big chunk of downtown's Thanksgiving Tower

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/real ... ving-tower

New York-based collaborative office firm WeWork is upping its bet on the Dallas market with a large downtown office lease.

WeWork has rented three floors in the 50-story Thanksgiving Tower on Elm Street for its second location in Big D.

This summer, the shared office firm rented a smaller space in a new Uptown building for its first North Texas location.

WeWork has facilities in more than a dozen major U.S. markets.

The firm will rent about 84,000 square feet in Thanksgiving Tower, which is getting a $37 million makeover.

[kingpin]

1/2/17
Untitled by Around My City, on Flickr
Untitled by Around My City, on Flickr

[Tnexster]

Are they changing out the glass at the ground level?

[dukemeredith]

If they're doing the same on the Elm side as the Pacific side, then they're simply replacing the old red marble façade with white metal and improving the sidewalk.

Interior spaces are starting to come together -- can't wait for the Ascension and Gather Kitchen to open up! (Don't think the larger restaurant space on the west side of the lobby has been announced yet...)

[R1070]

I wonder when the LED at the top of the building will be re-lit.

[willyk]

Are they changing out the glass at the ground level?

The renders I've seen show new glass at ground level. It makes a big difference and I hope they have not given up on that.

Second thumbnail:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2016/06/23/woods-capital-brings-management-of-thanksgiving.html#i2n

[Jbarn]

I wonder when the LED at the top of the building will be re-lit.

I wonder when they will get those spaces across elm street from this building finished. They have been working on these buildings for years now. I am curious as to whether they will ever be finished.

[Jay9398]

I wonder when the LED at the top of the building will be re-lit.

I wonder when they will get those spaces across elm street from this building finished. They have been working on these buildings for years now. I am curious as to whether they will ever be finished.

The project is called Mid Elm Lofts and used to have its own thread. I know they have hit several setbacks, but they're still working on it and it's still showing as an active project on the development company's website for whatever that's worth (can't find any official news stories less than a year old).

http://www.brytarcompanies.com/developments/

[dukemeredith]

I wonder when the LED at the top of the building will be re-lit.

I wonder when they will get those spaces across elm street from this building finished. They have been working on these buildings for years now. I am curious as to whether they will ever be finished.

The project is called Mid Elm Lofts and used to have its own thread. I know they have hit several setbacks, but they're still working on it and it's still showing as an active project on the development company's website for whatever that's worth (can't find any official news stories less than a year old).

It has certainly been slow, but I've seen some progress over the past few months. Last I read, it isn't a financial issue. But I also haven't seen any new news recently. Who knows what they ran into.

[dukemeredith]

sorry for the double post!

[R1070]

The LEDs on top are lit up tonight.

[theoryNine]

Ascension Coffee is shaping up really well at the base of the tower and now has hours up. Looks like they'll be open until 10pm Monday-Saturday and until 7pm on Sunday. Looking forward to a nighttime coffee option! The space is pretty large and has ample seating as well.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Ascension Coffee is shaping up really well at the base of the tower and now have hours up. Looks like they'll be open until 10pm Monday-Saturday and until 7pm on Sunday. Looking forward to a nighttime coffee option! The space is pretty large and has ample seating as well.

Per Ascension's Twitter .. They open Tomorrow.


Does anyone know if mudsmith will still open across the street?

Will be interesting how they compete. Hopefully they can both survive.

[theoryNine]

Ascension Coffee is shaping up really well at the base of the tower and now have hours up. Looks like they'll be open until 10pm Monday-Saturday and until 7pm on Sunday. Looking forward to a nighttime coffee option! The space is pretty large and has ample seating as well.

Per Ascension's Twitter .. They open Tomorrow.

Whoo! Thanks for the update! The space definitely looked completed when I looked in yesterday, I didn't realize the opening was so soon though.

[mdg109]

I'm not sure about Mudsmith. It would be a while before they'd be able to move in. This pic is from yesterday.

[Tnexster]

I read something about this today being a year delayed. The developer is going to the city to seek an extension on TIF funding or some such thing. Need to find the article again.

[theoryNine]

Oh really? I thought I read something similar a good while back. It seems to have started up again, the scaffolding and lifts there are new and I've finally seen people on the roof and out front working again. They had an extra lane blocked off to bring in trucks the other weekend too. I see out on the building from my window so I've really been wanting them to get those done.

[dukemeredith]

Visited Ascension this morning, and it was much larger than I expected. And I also didn't realize they had a full breakfast-lunch-dinner menu. I'm very thankful to have them here.

I noticed not much was being done on the space that was previously announced for Gather Kitchen — has that fallen through?

[PonyUp13]

Try out their paninis - pretty dang good

[Jbarn]

I'm not sure about Mudsmith. It would be a while before they'd be able to move in. This pic is from yesterday.

How odd. That is the exact same way that it looked two years ago. I am surprised they have been able to block that whole side of the street for this long with no visible progress.

[cowboyeagle05]

What my friends noticed and they are not back pocket urban planners like many of us are but the lack of visiability of the Acension.

Beyond the scarlet A's plastered on the doors you can't even tell there is retail/restaurant space here. I know the building will no doubt use it not to mention word get around but what's sad is they have all that plaza space and it still looks like a dead 80's office building. All that renovation money spent but not a dime spent on defining the scale of the ground floor for actual human beings.

One of the crimes of the 80's architecture was office buildings the shot straight up and created imposing forms that didn't interact with the street level and mostly appeared to lurk overhead like a shadowy government. Renaissance Tower when it was redone decades ago fixed some of that by adding two story decoration around the base and made the building much less imposing to the street level. They too used to be straight up with nothing to break up the vertical mass of the building. The 80's were famous for this brutal style of architecture. Not to mention putting all retail space in underground and hidden square footage.

Let's hope that at minimum once Ascension has been open longer they will add patio tables and chairs but they might not when you take into account the homeless population nearby. Not to mention without something to define a ceiling like an over hang of some sort cafe tables with umbrellas will look odd next to a building facade that is scaled for highway viewing.

[mdg109]

I was there this weekend and the finish out is awesome. This is exactly the type of place downtown needs more of. I was there for a few hours working on a project. I talked to one of the servers, and they are planning on having outdoor seating. They're just working on the type of outdoor furniture and how to secure it. I think they're in soft launch mode, because I didn't see any announcements on their website or their social media.

[cowboyeagle05]

Honestly, that's what I figured I just wish the building did more to highlight the retail space through careful modification of the architecture. They went with the cheaper solution which is just adding some external doors. Let's hope the after build work Ascension does to create some outdoor streetside space has a positive effect.

[rantanamo]

we were looking at office space here last week, and wow, completely different look. Very bright and light. Nice elevators.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I had Ascensión today. It was getting a nice bit of traffic.. I love this location and the design of the space. This location is brighter and more spacious than the Design District locale. Way better IMO.

I love the improvements that have been made at the street level here..

My question is...when will Thanksgiving Square stop being a dump (both figuratively and literally)?...

Anyone know what's the deal here?

[dfwcre8tive]

I had Ascensión today. It was getting a nice bit of traffic.. I love this location and the design of the space. This location is brighter and more spacious than the Design District locale. Way better IMO.

I love the improvements that have been made at the street level here..

My question is...when will Thanksgiving Square stop being a dump (both figuratively and literally)?...

Anyone know what's the deal here?

Speaking of Thanks-Giving Square, the new moveable chairs and tables (which will be left out 24/7 for people to use) will be installed by the end of this month. Several people from this forum and downtown residents have donated to the campaign: http://www.thanksgiving.org/support/40chairs/.

We also received some support from Downtown Dallas Inc. to add professional landscape lighting in one area, and that will make it brighter and less scary at night (also to be installed by the end of the month).

The bigger Phase I renovations (basic infrastructure and landscape) won't happen until there is funding, and the cost is about $4 million. And until that happens (or if/when a full dog ban is implemented before) certain areas will remain a challenge to maintain: http://www.thanksgiving.org/thanks-givi ... tion-plan/

[DPatel304]

Speaking of Thanks-Giving Square, the new moveable chairs and tables (which will be left out 24/7 for people to use) will be installed by the end of this month. Several people from this forum and downtown residents have donated to the campaign: http://www.thanksgiving.org/support/40chairs/.

Thanks for the reminder! I just donated and got my name on one chair, in addition to having my name on the Thanksgiving Square plaque (from a kickstarter a few months ago).

I also paid for a brick on the trinity strand trail, but honestly have no idea if it exists, or if/when it will be placed.

[dukemeredith]

$4 million doesn't seem like a whole lot. There's gotta be a philanthropist or two here in Dallas who'd be able and willing to donate to such an important site.

As vain as it may be, has the foundation considered naming rights? "The John Doe Gardens/Fountains/Plaza/etc. at Thanks-Giving Square" wouldn't be too offensive.

In any event, I'll be following the posted link and making my nominal donation.

[dukemeredith]

Ascension has been doing well, and Gather Kitchen is now scheduled to open in July.

https://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/20 ... wn-dallas/

[Tnexster]

The Beck Group's relocating to downtown Dallas' Thanksgiving Tower

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... ving-tower

[lakewoodhobo]

The Beck Group's relocating to downtown Dallas' Thanksgiving Tower

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... ving-tower

I always assumed Beck occupied all of 1807 Ross Ave, but 200 employees probably take up less than two floors of that building. Hopefully the owners won't have trouble filling that space.

[CRE_Investor]

The Beck Group's relocating to downtown Dallas' Thanksgiving Tower

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... ving-tower

I always assumed Beck occupied all of 1807 Ross Ave, but 200 employees probably take up less than two floors of that building. Hopefully the owners won't have trouble filling that space.

Beck "only" occupies the top floor, but that's still a significant percentage of the office space in that building with FIG and Corrientes 348 occupying a significant portion of the 1st and 2nd floor with non-office uses. That said, it's a really cool building with good parking and a great "arts district" location, and the owner has recently invested significant money in the common areas.

[texasstar]

I believe the owner is the big oil company next door.

[itsjrd1964]

Tower Club reopens after multimillion-dollar makeover

The Tower Club, on the 48th floor of the building, has been extensively renovated and is back open. It now has 2 dining spaces (Monarch and Kaleidoscope), Sage (a bar area), an away-from-the-office work space (Productivity Zone), and BigShots, a golf simulator featuring many different course choices.

https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news ... tions.html

[cowboyeagle05]

It's basically a Country Club for Downtown and looks like it got some badly needed improvements. I've attended events there before and it wasn't in bad shape maintenance wise just seemed dated and less attractive to the current market. Now that Downtown has lots of new blood it needed a concept refresh.

[Warrior2015]

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... ors-hotel/



The 49th & 50th floor are now hotel rooms.

[cowboyeagle05]

Interesting that they ended up with the highest floors which will cost them more but the tie in with the Tower Club makes sense. A country club without a golf course even with their recent renovations I am sure is still a hard sell. Now with a guaranteed income from hotel access partons. Notice every tower over a certain size in Downtown basicly will now have some sort of hotel offering. Bank Of Amercia Tower doesn't yet but I bet it will end up with some sort of hotel stay option in the next few years. After all they already have a spacious valet anyway.

[Warrior2015]

Interesting that they ended up with the highest floors which will cost them more but the tie in with the Tower Club makes sense. A country club without a golf course even with their recent renovations I am sure is still a hard sell. Now with a guaranteed income from hotel access partons. Notice every tower over a certain size in Downtown basicly will now have some sort of hotel offering. Bank Of Amercia Tower doesn't yet but I bet it will end up with some sort of hotel stay option in the next few years. After all they already have a spacious valet anyway.

Is having hotels in all of these buildings a good thing or is it because its hard to lease office space to tenants?

[tamtagon]

^both, probably.

Downtown still doesn't have enough hotel rooms.

[Warrior2015]

Yeah i feel it was on its way to having alot more hotel rooms, but covid changed things up for God knows how long if not indefinitely.

[itsjrd1964]

Steve Brown is using the name "Santander Tower" in the headline. Is that something he came up with, or is the building no longer Thanksgiving Tower?

[Tucy]

Steve Brown is using the name "Santander Tower" in the headline. Is that something he came up with, or is the building no longer Thanksgiving Tower?

https://santanderconsumerusa.com/blog/r ... -to-dallas

[Tnexster]

I think it makes sense if business users are coming to town to go to meetings or visit clients in that building. Much easier to commute back and forth if it's just an elevator ride up to the top plus you get some of the vest views in the city up there.