Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

New Dallas Design District apartment tower kicks off leasing
27-story Urban high-rise is seeking first tenants.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... f-leasing/

It's still very much under construction and not ready for any touring, so like the article says, they are vetting priority tours for real potential tenants. The amenities are very, very much under construction, but with properties like this, people will move in long before a pool is ready or the gym is open.

Great location and the views of Uptown and Downtown from this building will be amazing.

Urbancowboy wrote:Great location and the views of Uptown and Downtown from this building will be amazing.

Hoping to tour ASAP (for RE work). Will post photos whenever I do (been thinking about those views every since the tower was announced). Whole city in view and you hardly have to turn your head!

undefinedprocess wrote:

Urbancowboy wrote:Great location and the views of Uptown and Downtown from this building will be amazing.

Hoping to tour ASAP (for RE work). Will post photos whenever I do (been thinking about those views every since the tower was announced). Whole city in view and you hardly have to turn your head!

Sounds good.

Just inserting the data below for posterity:

So hopefully within days this one turns dirt.

Tnexster wrote:So hopefully within days this one turns dirt.

These folks from the NY/NJ metro area don't just mess around. They mean business.

Why can't local developers be as committed as out of Towners? This team has been committed since day 1. Love to see it.

We need more developers from outside of Dallas to snatch up these lots. Even Houston and Austin developers are a lot more ambitious. The Dallas developers are very conservative with their developments.

Most all of the large skyscrapers of the 80's in Dallas were the result of Canadian (mostly Toronto) developers. Campeau, Bramalea,Cadillac-Fairview and others as I recall were fearless (or foolish, as the case may be)......Anyway, I could not agree more with your comment R1070. The big local boys then as now, were Trammel Crow and Lincoln. Hines of Houston has always built larger and better designed projects in Houston, Austin and everywhere else they build. Dallas always tends to cheap out in the actual construction design once underway and worse, they get away with because the market here will accept it..... Just look at forums like ours in other major cities or Skyscraper page sites. You tube has great videos of downtown projects both under construction and planned in a host of other cities. Hell we can't even build decent looking parking garages for the most part. Anyway, we are getting some better looking buildings now, just wish we had more of them.

citygeek wrote:Most all of the large skyscrapers of the 80's in Dallas were the result of Canadian (mostly Toronto) developers. Campeau, Bramalea,Cadillac-Fairview and others as I recall were fearless (or foolish, as the case may be)......Anyway, I could not agree more with your comment R1070. The big local boys then as now, were Trammel Crow and Lincoln. Hines of Houston has always built larger and better designed projects in Houston, Austin and everywhere else they build. Dallas always tends to cheap out in the actual construction design once underway and worse, they get away with because the market here will accept it..... Just look at forums like ours in other major cities or Skyscraper page sites. You tube has great videos of downtown projects both under construction and planned in a host of other cities. Hell we can't even build decent looking parking garages for the most part. Anyway, we are getting some better looking buildings now, just wish we had more of them.

Agree! Most of our local developers (TC, Lincoln, Hillwood, Hall, Harwood, etc.) don’t seem interested in doing a world class development- even when they have the premium location for it… As for the ugly parking garages, I blame the city. Stricter and more expensive treatment requirements should have been in place years ago. No wonder developers here would rather build above ground parking garages. Case in point, the Victory Park parking garages backing up to IH-35. Yuk..

mhainli wrote:Agree! Most of our local developers (TC, Lincoln, Hillwood, Hall, Harwood, etc.) don’t seem interested in doing a world class development- even when they have the premium location for it… As for the ugly parking garages, I blame the city. Stricter and more expensive treatment requirements should have been in place years ago. No wonder developers here would rather build above ground parking garages. Case in point, the Victory Park parking garages backing up to IH-35. Yuk..

The Dallas developers are national names and got where they are by building cheaply and by building on a speculative basis and anticipating the next big thing. Dallas got started by getting convincing people that the Trinity River was navigable and by convincing the H&TC and T&P railroads to change their routes to pass through Dallas. Trammell Crow and Ross Perot are of sort of legends around these parts for their work ethic and vision so it's no wonder the holders of their legacy hold sway here. Purportedly, Trammell Crow started the first modern atrium and the first fast-tracked high-rises in America (building the foundations and first few floors before the design was completed for the upper floors).

This is an exert from the 1984 Texas Monthly article on Trammell Crow:
"At the corner of Bryan and Harwood stands a brand-new post-modern skyscraper, all granite and graceful lines, built by the Toronto developers Olympia and York. Once you walk into that building, though, it becomes cold and uninviting—the lobby is small and claustrophobic, and the granite seems menacing instead of graceful. The building was completed more than a year ago, yet almost 40 per cent of its floor space remains empty. You can’t say that about a Crow building."

Oh yeah. Forgot about Olympia and York. Jesus that's a long time ago.

I agree with most of this, and if you consider Mathews Southwest a Canadian developer then it's hard to argue that these out-of-towners don't end up doing more to transform the skyline than the local developers.

Then again it was another Canadian firm, Cadillac Fairview, that did the most damage to the downtown core back in the 70s and 80s. I don't have their list of casualties handy, but I wanna say they destroyed a couple of the Theatre Row movie houses, the 5-way intersection that became 1700 Pacific, and maybe the Volk Brothers building that added so much character to the Main Street District.

Not trying to compare historic downtown buildings with some run-down warehouse in the Design District, but I guess the point is "be careful what you wish for."

Wow. Steve Brown Circa 1980...

Audio/Visual context for that Cadillac Fairview story: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531 ... 245948/m1/

They now own a 50% stake in KDC and have set up a $800 million dollar development venture with them along with investing in Lincoln Property back in 2019. They sold their Dallas holdings along with the rest of their US holdings to JMB Realty back in 1987. They built Pacific Place, 1700 Pacific and Comerica Bank Tower. D-Magazine story back in 1982 on the Canadian Retreat: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... n-retreat/

Units now available at the Urby starting from $2200 for 1br and $3600 for 2br, available to move-in starting 8/15/22. Square footage isn't listed but my rough calculations is the smallest unit is around 450sqft. https://www.urby.com/dallas

thelivingworld wrote:Audio/Visual context for that Cadillac Fairview story: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531 ... 245948/m1/

They now own a 50% stake in KDC and have set up a $800 million dollar development venture with them along with investing in Lincoln Property back in 2019. They sold their Dallas holdings along with the rest of their US holdings to JMB Realty back in 1987. They built Pacific Place, 1700 Pacific and Comerica Bank Tower. D-Magazine story back in 1982 on the Canadian Retreat: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... n-retreat/

Units now available at the Urby starting from $2200 for 1br and $3600 for 2br, available to move-in starting 8/15/22. Square footage isn't listed but my rough calculations is the smallest unit is around 450sqft. https://www.urby.com/dallas

Great find!

DBadger wrote:Wow. Steve Brown Circa 1980...

Back when he probably liked his job.

I keep reading that they will eventually have three towers on this property, but I've only seen the renderings with two towers. Anyone know where the third tower is going to be located? I hope the second tower's construction starts soon.

Some speculation is that a third tower would be erected from above the multi level parking structure.

Now that Google Maps has updated, I thought I would share the overhead view since they keep suggesting three towers in articles about the Urby. Seems like if they were building a third tower, it would have to be on the garage, but I imagine the garage is the third tower since its height is permitted, and it's just the news badly reporting it as an additional tower since it's pretty massive just as a garage.

No not that I've seen. They just started leasing these apartments two months ago.

I saw some temp cranes over at the site of Urby II last week. maybe boring piers?

There is a lot of activity on what looks to be the second tower site.

Oh hell yeah.

RodB wrote:https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/Project/TABS2022016705

I didn't realize phase 2 was going to be 27 floors. I thought it was going to be shorter.

RodB wrote:https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/Project/TABS2022016705

The Urby folks aren't just messin' around. They mean business. Tower 2 looks very promising indeed.

From a 5G promotional email a couple of weeks ago:

"In collaboration with Amsterdam-based Concrete, 5G Studio Collaborative designed Urby Dallas for New Jersey based Urby, who also has prestigious tower residential in locations including Staten Island, Jersey City, Harrison, NJ, and Stamford, CT, and forthcoming also in Washington DC and Newark.

The first of three towers, the 27-story building encompasses 338,000 square feet of space..."

Screenshot from a leasing promo video for Dallas Urby.

Update: Construction crane for Urby II should be fully assembled by end of day

Gosh I was just wondering about that this week. Thanks

The crane for the second tower is assembled and working. As has been stated before, these folks at Urby aren't kidding around. The second tower's first floor is already out of the ground.

Where is the garage in this picture? Hidden by the first tower?

Another tower on the way in Dallas’ Design District
Developer Urby starts second high-rise near Stemmons Freeway.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... -district/

Construction has kicked off on the second building in a two-tower apartment project in Dallas’ Design District.

New Jersey-based Urby is building the 27-story high-rise on Hi Line Drive near Stemmons Freeway.

The 364-unit, $99 million residential tower was designed by architects including Amsterdam-based architect Concrete and Dallas’ 5G Studio Collaborative, according to planning documents filed with the state.

Picture1.jpg

The landscaped courtyard and pool area in the new Urby apartment tower in Dallas' Design District was done by Belgium design firm Bureau Bas Smets.

Hopefully this developer continues to build around Dallas.

Tnexster wrote:Where is the garage in this picture? Hidden by the first tower?

It's partially visible behind the first tower. I hope Urby buys some land Downtown. They don't float trial balloons. When they commit to something, they do it, unlike too many of these local Dallas-based developers.

This area is really coming together. And with the Hi-Line Connector Trail being built in the median of Hi-Line Drive, it’s gonna be even better. It’s gonna be a major asset connecting to the Katy Trail.

Here’s a short neighborhood walking video tour from 4 months ago with the completion of the Urby and a portion of the completed trail.


https://youtu.be/s9ESrAvhhOI

I feel like we need to write them a thank you letter for building buildings that are actually attractive.

I'm really not sure what to make of this section of DD. It seems like they have done a lot of things right when it comes to pedestrian infrastructure, but with all the street parking, surface parking, and valet it still feels not great as a pedestrian.

That's just a small complain though, DD is still in its early stages, so as more people start living and working there I'm sure it'll just naturally become more pedestrian friendly. Whenever I visit the area, I always am in and out with my car so I'm definitely contributing to the problem and I'm sure others are the same. I'm really excited to see this area transform though, I think the trail and the creek could be a pretty big asset to the area, especially given how successful the Katy Trail has been.

potatocoins wrote:I'm really not sure what to make of this section of DD. It seems like they have done a lot of things right when it comes to pedestrian infrastructure, but with all the street parking, surface parking, and valet it still feels not great as a pedestrian.

I would agree w this sentiment. I think the sidewalks are the big issue in DD. There's also not enough of things to walk too....not enough of street facing retail and neighborhood services.

^^^^ The Design District is largely a warehouse district. But so far, the initial improvements makes me optimistic. At least the area is headed in the right direction.

Agree. I don't think this is a bad thing really, since it is in its earlier stages of development.

The Design District is indeed convenient to access by car and a lot of the establishments know this and accommodate drivers. That's not exactly what you want from an urban neighborhood, but it is bringing people to the area, and we are seeing it grow with more people living there now.

Why all of the hand ringing about this situation in the Design District? The area is in transition and frankly, it's a good thing to see a once ugly warehouse district emerge as a vital area of the city. Wonderful restaurants, hotels, and residences are making the Design District an asset to Dallas. Let's celebrate this development and ongoing change for the better, IMO.

When is work on the Hi Line Connector happening? I was just over there last weekend and didn't se any work going on.

MC_ScattCat wrote:When is work on the Hi Line Connector happening? I was just over there last weekend and didn't se any work going on.

It’s due to this

Amid Controversy Over Hi-Line Connector Trail Project, Construction Company Sues Dallas

https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/construction-company-sues-city-over-hi-line-connector-trail-project-14434494

It’s unfortunate that this project is delayed.

If Mark Cuban has his way, the Mavs will be building a new arena across Stemmons from the AAC, plus a casino and high rise hotel/resort, which may include multiple towers of varying height. The would really change this area. Of course, this may be a pipedream by Cuban.

rono3849 wrote:If Mark Cuban has his way, the Mavs will be building a new arena across Stemmons from the AAC, plus a casino and high rise hotel/resort, which may include multiple towers of varying height. The would really change this area. Of course, this may be a pipedream by Cuban.

Did he ever say that his intention was to build it on the land where the practice center is across 35? I always assumed it would somewhere else. It doesn't look like that tract of land containing the practice center is any bigger than the current AAC footprint, and it lacks the adjoining parking garage infrastructure that the AAC has. Unless he owns more than just that parcel.

I was guessing Reunion area or "Smart District" area for a new arena complex, if they do really end up moving. Or land left over from the reconfiguration of the Convention Center. Near the current Pioneer Park portion of the CC.

Odd that they'd switch owners during construction!