willyk wrote:Ross Avenue is stuck in the '80s--- large monumental buildings occupying whole blocks, limited retail, not much residential and certainly no neighborhood services that make a walkable, livable environment.
Unless the Ross property owners can transform this area into something more appealing, they will never overcome the discount in values that comes with crossing the Park from Uptown.
The City won't pay for these things. It's up to the Ross Ave property owners to undertake these and similar projects, just like the Uptown PID has done in their neighborhood.
This is exactly what many of the property owners along Ross Avenue are doing. They see the change and they are jumping like flies on honey with investments. To give an example of a recent development, the Trammell Crow Tower is having a major redo on its first level that includes extending it out to the street with retail amenities open to pedestrian foot traffic. The Chase Building is also having a major overhaul of its Ross side plaza. There is also Phase II and Phase III of the Hall Arts Project that still has yet to come to fruition. (Phase III is possibly another 50 story plus tower that will stand next door to the Chase Tower)
However, I wish the city would invest in its 360 Plan that includes beautifying the avenue with trees and adding a trolley line to it. That would do wonders for Ross Avenue. Then again...Dallas has one of the most notorious track records in the country when it comes to road maintenance. Just look at the conditions of most roads in the city. Even in Downtown the roads are a deplorable mess. The city really needs an overhaul of upgrades to its existing infrastructure.