DFW Economy

[cowboyeagle05]

Al Biernat's a fancy sit down restaurant in Oak Lawn sent their staff to various apartment buildings in the Oak Lawn, Knox Henderson and Lemmon Ave areas to let them know they are offering free delivery and a full menu from 11:30 am till 8:30 pm. Many places are offering delivery just by sending waiters or other staff to do the delivery's to try to get some business. The pseudo good thing is the food supply is still good because with restaurants and bars shut down grocery sales are taking the bulk of food purchasing. I still havent been back to the store since Saturday morning. Every morning when I go to work the Kroger on Cedar Springs parking lot is packed with every parking spot taken.

[itsjrd1964]

I've only been to 1 store since this all started, a Walmart in Plano (Monday morning, 3-16). I didn't get a good look at general merchandise, mainly grocery. There were no paper towels, Kleenex, or toilet tissue. Much of the rest of grocery looked like the day after Christmas. Very spotty. Frozen food here and there. Lunch meat almost completely gone. Not much better in cheeses. All bottled water empty except the old-school gallon distilled water, and there wasn't much of those. At least there weren't crazy Cabbage-Patch crowds there fighting over stuff. There were more than the average amount of store employees trying to restock, but you could tell they were very tired and weary from all the grab-it-all-while-you-can's having been in the store.

Meanwhile, earlier that morning, I tried ordering from Kroger. Usually I can get stuff within a couple of hours, the same morning or afternoon. When the delivery time choices came up, the soonest they could deliver was Wednesday (3-18, as in today) afternoon. I have since gotten a text saying it will be even later this afternoon before they can get everything together and delivered. While online, I noticed that Kroger and other retailers were out of several items, while other items might be in stock at the store but they couldn't be sure--I'd have to go to the store to see about quantity myself. I don't think I've ever seen the online version of retail this wacky and wild-wild-west before, but I guess it would be kind of difficult for an IT person or those in charge of SKUs to keep on top of things when they can't keep quantity in the store for very long.

[CTroyMathis]

JRD, check this out from Marriott: https://www.facebook.com/marriottintern ... 921859006/

[itsjrd1964]

Thanks CT, I actually just got through watching it. I've been off for 2 days but had an email from the GM wanting me to do some filing when I get to work tonight, so I must still have my job. I've tried to get a hold of my landlord to see what she would do in the event I might lose my job or get furloughed, but I haven't heard back from her. I haven't spent nearly as much on groceries in the meantime, as quantities out there are so spotty. Thanks again CT for thinking of me.

[itsjrd1964]

My asst. GM told me when I got to work, that several hotels will have to close, including the Renaissance at the Market Center. The company furloughs reported this week will include property-level employees at various hotels. Again, I was assured that I still have my position for now.

[tamtagon]

I work at a food bank serving 60-70 families a day. Usually, more than half of the food we give out has been donated by several local grocery stores as they rotate meat, produce, bakery product and some dry goods. This week our deliveries have been about a third of what's typical. Hopefully the panic buying and hording is mostly over and the grocery stores product churn will be back to normal.

[itsjrd1964]

Well, I spoke too soon. My GM relieved me this morning, and gave me 2 options. Either a full temporary layoff, or a cutback to 24 hours (3 nights)/week. I've gotta call the Workforce office and see which of these is the better deal. In either case, IDK what I'll have left after rent/bills/DART (if I have enough left). If I take the full layoff, I will get a week's "disaster pay" from the company (which will come the first week of next month), besides what unemployment I'll get. The company thinks the situation might last just over a month, but my GM thinks it'll be more like 60-90 days. I'm not sure why the asst. GM wasn't on the same page with me as the GM, I'm more than a bit surprised. In either scenario, I am assured of my full-time hours and same pay, *when* things get better again. At least they haven't pulled the whole rug out from under me (I guess)....

[cowboyeagle05]

It's gonna take a while to truly restock shelves cause a friend of mine stopped by Kroger last night and still things like meat and of course toiletries are still empty shelves. Pasta sauce and pasta is come and go. If you want junk food though that seems to be in plenty at the Kroger on Cedar Springs but produce has been mostly empty as well. Keeping in mind the Cedar Springs Kroger is apparently in the top 10 of Krogers stores for sales at any normal time of year so I suspect its customer base hits hard already even without Karen's United back stocking toilet paper like they are crossing the Serengeti.

[homeworld1031tx]

Well, I spoke too soon. My GM relieved me this morning, and gave me 2 options. Either a full temporary layoff, or a cutback to 24 hours (3 nights)/week. I've gotta call the Workforce office and see which of these is the better deal. In either case, IDK what I'll have left after rent/bills/DART (if I have enough left). If I take the full layoff, I will get a week's "disaster pay" from the company (which will come the first week of next month), besides what unemployment I'll get. The company thinks the situation might last just over a month, but my GM thinks it'll be more like 60-90 days. I'm not sure why the asst. GM wasn't on the same page with me as the GM, I'm more than a bit surprised. In either scenario, I am assured of my full-time hours and same pay, *when* things get better again. At least they haven't pulled the whole rug out from under me (I guess)....

Sorry to hear that man. Hope this is all resolved soon. Stay healthy everyone.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

It's gonna take a while to truly restock shelves cause a friend of mine stopped by Kroger last night and still things like meat and of course toiletries are still empty shelves. Pasta sauce and pasta is come and go. If you want junk food though that seems to be in plenty at the Kroger on Cedar Springs but produce has been mostly empty as well. Keeping in mind the Cedar Springs Kroger is apparently in the top 10 of Krogers stores for sales at any normal time of year so I suspect its customer base hits hard already even without Karen's United back stocking toilet paper like they are crossing the Serengeti.

Tom thumb Victor park had everything. Meat , produce , poultry. As of 7 pm 3/23

[cowboyeagle05]

Yeah, some stores are finally starting to catch up even Cedar Springs Kroger had chicken breast, some bread, pasta sauce, eggs, milk, flour and sugar as of yesterday morning 3/23/20.

[muncien]

What's everyone's take on Collin county issuing a 'shelter in place' except of 'essential' workers, than saying all workers are essential? Assuming both counties stay the course for a few weeks, it'll be interesting to see how this all turns out.

[cowboyeagle05]

Yeah, some people are getting official letters from Dallas County that they can show that they are working an approved essential job and others are afraid they will get arrested and their car impounded if they don't have a letter. I am in an essential job according to my employer so I am still going to work but they haven't issued any documents to prove that. I basically work locked away all day answered emails and phone calls.

[itsjrd1964]

My employer issued us all letters. I get to work at night before any curfew gets going, but it's good to have something from my bosses to at least try to cover my arse.

The occupancy at my hotel has gotten to 20-25% and held for now. Our companion hotel next door has only had 4 or 5 guests and may have to close. Another competing property nearby is said to be closing next week; it's only a year or so old.

[quixomniac]

Looks like its starting.

Headington Companies Lays Off Hundreds of Employees Across Its Dallas Operations
In shuttering more than a dozen concepts, billionaire Tim Headington’s company reduces its staff, from fitness instructors at Vital to bartenders at Midnight Rambler.

https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2 ... perations/

In these hard COVID-19 times, closures of bars and restaurants around Dallas are coming fast and furious. But this closure has its own sad tale: Punch Bowl Social, the restaurant and game chain that opened in Deep Ellum in June 2019, has shuttered possibly not just on a temporary basis, but for good.

https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/rest ... nL34Ahb_vA

[homeworld1031tx]

Looks like its starting.

In these hard COVID-19 times, closures of bars and restaurants around Dallas are coming fast and furious. But this closure has its own sad tale: Punch Bowl Social, the restaurant and game chain that opened in Deep Ellum in June 2019, has shuttered possibly not just on a temporary basis, but for good.

https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/rest ... nL34Ahb_vA

Punch bowl was doomed regardless of COVID imo. They massively overbuilt their space in an already deeply crowded market.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Note that this closure had nothing to do with this particular location (which was usually packed). The entire chain went belly up.

[cowboyeagle05]

Yeah, the few times I was here it was very busy with parties and just casual customers in smaller groups. I personally like big spaces for going out but was never a big fan of how they arranged the space. I am a relic in that I still prefer more of a club atmosphere over that of a giant adult version of Chuckie cheese.

Both this place and Headington Co both were having massive cash flow issues at the administrative level. The Covid crisis just sealed the coffin for companies that were already riding a boat with holes and no life raft.

[Jbarn]

Yeah, the few times I was here it was very busy with parties and just casual customers in smaller groups. I personally like big spaces for going out but was never a big fan of how they arranged the space. I am a relic in that I still prefer more of a club atmosphere over that of a giant adult version of Chuckie cheese.

Both this place and Headington Co both were having massive cash flow issues at the administrative level. The Covid crisis just sealed the coffin for companies that were already riding a boat with holes and no life raft.

That will have a devastating affect on downtown if any of Headington’s establishments go under, considering he owns most of Main Street, and that corridor is probably the most vibrant part of downtown. It will definitely be a major setback for downtown. There have been rumors and stories of potential closures.

[itsjrd1964]

It won't be just downtown, or just restaurants. Any business that's been running by the seat of their pants and not planning adequately for downturns or surprises could be in trouble. It could be an interesting year or so around here.

[TNWE]

It won't be just downtown, or just restaurants. Any business that's been running by the seat of their pants and not planning adequately for downturns or surprises could be in trouble. It could be an interesting year or so around here.

I don't think any business could really be successful if they had "planned" for a global pandemic that resulted in local government effectively banning them from doing business. If every business had to maintain enough cash to pay all their expenses for weeks or months while taking in basically no revenue, no business would ever get off the ground.

I've seen a lot of semi-sarcastic posts on social media about how businesses "shouldn't have wasted their money on iPhones and avocado toast and saved for a rainy day instead," but the truth of the matter is that every dollar a business "saves" for a rainy day is one fewer dollar they have to invest in equipment, employees, or inventory. It's fundamentally different than personal budgeting, where basically everything is either essential consumption (food, shelter) or non-essential consumption (iPhones, dining out, luxury goods) and people are encouraged to give up some non-essential goods to build up a rainy day fund.

[cowboyeagle05]

^Probably the same people that say poor people should just get a better job or go to college and solve their own disparity. I wish it was that simple and some of the best-run businesses will never have months of funds for a rainy day. It's not how that industry works and even if one does there would be pressure to either reinvest in another location or spread the profits with investors. Keeping lots of revenue in a large savings account is not a smart business plan. The same people who say that restaurants should have a big savings account are the same who would demand or spend the money from said business savings account if they were a part of the accounting side. They would also be the same people who would think you are insane to think we would have anything like this worth saving money for. Tinfoil hat crazy.

[itsjrd1964]

According to an article this week in the DMN, they named:
* The Adolphus
* Hilton-Lincoln Centre
* Westin-Stonebriar

among the hotels that have closed, while the new Virgin Hotel is still trying to stay open even with upwards of 200 layoffs.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/eco ... taff-cuts/

[dallaz]

Dallas developers with new projects say they’re moving ahead through the uncertainties

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... rtainties/

[eburress]

^ That's good...I hope these projects are able to continue!

[Cbdallas]

I wonder if there will be an increased desire for an urban experience once all of these social distancing measures are lifted and restaurants open. I am hoping it will be similar to when air rushes back into a vacuum. We shall see.

[Tnexster]

With COVID-19 and the energy bust, Texas is expected to lose 1 million jobs this year

The hardest-hit sectors, such as food services, recreation and retail trade, are also among the lowest-paid.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/eco ... this-year/

[Cord1936]

Pretty impressive news concerning office absorption in 1Q20:
----------------------------------
Dallas Q1 Office Leasing Activity Could Lead to Momentum

The strong office market continued at the start of 2020 as vacancy moved down slightly, from 20.1 to 19.7%, driven by solid first quarter absorption of almost 1.2 million square feet, according to the latest office report by JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle).

By Lisa Brown | May 20, 2020 at 03:56 AM | Globe Street

DALLAS—Dallas’ office market has been one of the strongest in the country due to its diversified economy and strong growth across all sectors. This level continued at the start of 2020 as vacancy moved down slightly, from 20.1 to 19.7%, according to the latest office report by JLL.

This activity was driven by solid first quarter absorption of almost 1.2 million square feet. For context, Dallas absorbed an average of 2.8 million square feet annually during this last cycle, excluding the largest corporate campuses that delivered, says the report.

Its most popular suburban submarkets, Far North Dallas, Las Colinas and US-75, drove first-quarter absorption, accounting for 65% of demand.

The downtown area, comprised of the CBD and Uptown, also contributed almost 250,000 square feet to the first quarter totals.
....
Construction remains strong in the market, although at this juncture, there are no large corporate campuses under development. However, build-to-suits for JPMorgan Chase (540,000 square feet) and Uber (469,000 square feet in Downtown Dallas) are underway.
....
Article: https://www.globest.com/2020/05/20/dallas-q1-office-leasing-activity-could-lead-to-momentum/#

[Cord1936]

Pretty impressive that Dallas ranks as number 2 on this just released Fortune 500 list! And within only a hair's breadth of $1 trillion dollars!
------------------------------------------------
The top 15 U.S. cities in the Fortune 500 by revenue
New York, Dallas, and Chicago top the list of American metropolises with the most cumulative revenue from Fortune 500 companies.

BY NICOLAS RAPP AND BRIAN O'KEEFE, Fortune Magazine, May 18, 2020 6:00 AM CDT

For sheer scope and scale, New York City still towers above all other U.S. metropolises as a business hub. This year’s Fortune 500 features 65 companies headquartered in the greater New York area, with a cumulative total of nearly $1.8 trillion in revenue—equal to 12.5% of the 500 overall.

Second-place Dallas, meanwhile, got a major boost last year when drug distributor McKesson, No. 8 on the 500 list with $214 billion in sales, relocated its headquarters from San Francisco to tax-friendly Texas.

Article (full article behind subscription paywall): https://fortune.com/longform/fortune-50 ... s-revenue/

[I45Tex]

Of local HQs, both JCPenney and Dean Foods will conceivably disappear completely this year. AT&T and ETE were flat while Jacobs Engineering gained 2 spots in the ranking. Not only airlines but Fluor, Tenet, Pioneer Natural Resources, HollyFrontier, and Gamestop are also dropping in the rankings (Southwest did gain 1 spot based on last year's revenue).

[flyswatter]

Neat that NW Arkansas is up at #6 with only Tyson Foods, Walmart, and JB Hunt HQ'd there.

[I45Tex]

Yeah, places like SoCal with no appearance on that list/graphic have a much more robust business ecosystem than others like XNA/NWA. Wonder how many more decades until Walmart and Amazon's annual topline revenue (the thing that F500 measures) will go the way of Montgomery Ward and Kmart.

[clcrash19]

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/job ... -in-texas/

This is good news for Texas economy and dfw as well.

[Tnexster]

DFW is well positioned to make huge additional gains in the logistics/supply chain industry.

[CTroyMathis]

Local hotel outlook:

https://outline.com/6aN6pb

[itsjrd1964]

Local hotel outlook:

https://outline.com/6aN6pb

The DBJ (https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news ... -cbre.html) reports that a combined 1800 were laid off at the Ritz-Carlton and Gaylord Texan. Marriott has previously stated that furloughs/layoffs will be extended till at least October 2.

Meanwhile:
* A new Drury Plaza in Richardson which opened as the virus first came along, still has "now open" banners and no cars in their parking lot.
* A Hilton Garden on 75-Central has finally opened, but it's unclear how well they are doing.
* A SpringHill Suites on 75-Central has been closed during the virus, and remains closed. No word on when they might reopen.

[CTroyMathis]

The Ritz-Carlton plans to re-open tomorrow on a super small scale. Fearing's restaurant looks to be re-opening for just dinners Thursday-Saturday. That should include Rattlesnake Bar and the outdoor Live Oak Bar. Spa open, too. Because money.

No likely large un-furloughing expected for ages, though. Such a shame a place gets Forbes Five-Star right before the sky fell.

[CTroyMathis]

Liberty Mutual Insurance seeks to rent out a big chunk of its Plano offices
JULY 29, 2020
https://outline.com/hrZq8M

Liberty Mutual built the more than 1 million-square-foot office complex to house up to 5,000 workers. But the Boston-based insurance giant has never occupied all of the buildings and is now pitching some of its space for lease to other companies.

Commercial property firm Savills Studley is looking for businesses to occupy seven floors in the south tower of Liberty Mutual’s complex.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... o-offices/

[eburress]

I've heard CRE people contend that companies will be seeking more real estate moving forward and not less, to accommodate employee spacing/distancing and such, but I'm still not buying it.

[TNWE]

I've heard CRE people contend that companies will be seeking more real estate moving forward and not less, to accommodate employee spacing/distancing and such, but I'm still not buying it.

At some point, employers will pull their employees back into the office. The idea that white-collar managerial type work will become permanently home-based is just wishcasting by people who never wanted to go to the office, and are happy to have this excuse.

Depending on the industry, the productivity drop from WFH is tolerable for now because either A, your employer is struggling mightily and there's an "all hands on deck" culture where people are extra motivated to save their job/employer and putting in longer hours at home than they had been in the office pre-corona or B, your employer is less impacted, but has cut back on big projects to conserve cash, so workers are generally less busy than if they had a full slate of projects going on.

On top of that, there are some structural-level problems with continued WFH. Most employers don't give laptops out to all their employees, and as a result have set up workarounds and relaxed policies on personal devices/data protection to allow their workers to use their home computers for work. From a legal & compliance perspective, that is the lesser of two evils as of right now- as soon as the COVID risk passes, those policy exceptions will disappear. There's also the issue of home internet vs business internet - there was a pretty widespread Spectrum outage the other day, and most homes don't have redundant internet links beyond maybe the option to tether to a phone. Companies won't be able to put their operations on hold while the ISP's crews work to repair hundreds or thousands of residential-grade internet connections should a major storm knock down lines. Any office building will have redundant links and a higher SLA for restoring after an outage.

What *might* happen is that employers who were previously resistant to any kind of flexible work arrangement will see that their employees can be productive to some extent when not in the office, and for example allow every other day or every Friday WFH, or let people work from home as a one-off occurrence when they have Dr's appts, sick kids to take care of, etc.

[homeworld1031tx]

I've heard CRE people contend that companies will be seeking more real estate moving forward and not less, to accommodate employee spacing/distancing and such, but I'm still not buying it.

At some point, employers will pull their employees back into the office. The idea that white-collar managerial type work will become permanently home-based is just wishcasting by people who never wanted to go to the office, and are happy to have this excuse.

Depending on the industry, the productivity drop from WFH is tolerable for now because either A, your employer is struggling mightily and there's an "all hands on deck" culture where people are extra motivated to save their job/employer and putting in longer hours at home than they had been in the office pre-corona or B, your employer is less impacted, but has cut back on big projects to conserve cash, so workers are generally less busy than if they had a full slate of projects going on.

On top of that, there are some structural-level problems with continued WFH. Most employers don't give laptops out to all their employees, and as a result have set up workarounds and relaxed policies on personal devices/data protection to allow their workers to use their home computers for work. From a legal & compliance perspective, that is the lesser of two evils as of right now- as soon as the COVID risk passes, those policy exceptions will disappear. There's also the issue of home internet vs business internet - there was a pretty widespread Spectrum outage the other day, and most homes don't have redundant internet links beyond maybe the option to tether to a phone. Companies won't be able to put their operations on hold while the ISP's crews work to repair hundreds or thousands of residential-grade internet connections should a major storm knock down lines. Any office building will have redundant links and a higher SLA for restoring after an outage.

What *might* happen is that employers who were previously resistant to any kind of flexible work arrangement will see that their employees can be productive to some extent when not in the office, and for example allow every other day or every Friday WFH, or let people work from home as a one-off occurrence when they have Dr's appts, sick kids to take care of, etc.

This is a very well explained and written out summary of what my personal feelings on the current WFH environment are. Thanks for thinking for me

[dfwcre8tive]

I've heard CRE people contend that companies will be seeking more real estate moving forward and not less, to accommodate employee spacing/distancing and such, but I'm still not buying it.

At some point, employers will pull their employees back into the office. The idea that white-collar managerial type work will become permanently home-based is just wishcasting by people who never wanted to go to the office, and are happy to have this excuse.

Depending on the industry, the productivity drop from WFH is tolerable for now because either A, your employer is struggling mightily and there's an "all hands on deck" culture where people are extra motivated to save their job/employer and putting in longer hours at home than they had been in the office pre-corona or B, your employer is less impacted, but has cut back on big projects to conserve cash, so workers are generally less busy than if they had a full slate of projects going on.

On top of that, there are some structural-level problems with continued WFH. Most employers don't give laptops out to all their employees, and as a result have set up workarounds and relaxed policies on personal devices/data protection to allow their workers to use their home computers for work. From a legal & compliance perspective, that is the lesser of two evils as of right now- as soon as the COVID risk passes, those policy exceptions will disappear. There's also the issue of home internet vs business internet - there was a pretty widespread Spectrum outage the other day, and most homes don't have redundant internet links beyond maybe the option to tether to a phone. Companies won't be able to put their operations on hold while the ISP's crews work to repair hundreds or thousands of residential-grade internet connections should a major storm knock down lines. Any office building will have redundant links and a higher SLA for restoring after an outage.

What *might* happen is that employers who were previously resistant to any kind of flexible work arrangement will see that their employees can be productive to some extent when not in the office, and for example allow every other day or every Friday WFH, or let people work from home as a one-off occurrence when they have Dr's appts, sick kids to take care of, etc.

We're seeing a slight different approach in California. Offices are permanently transitioning to Customer Experience Centers, where conference/meeting space is bookable but there are no assigned desks. It is a new amenity/perk much like unlimited PTO, company-paid internet/data at home, and offices closing at noon on Fridays were before. In my household (tech + architecture) we've been told we will never have an assigned desk again, and to plan a permanent home office. Productivity and projects have taken only a slight hit during the transition. There is a white-collar exodus from the cities to rural locations; as long as an employee remains within the state / time zone, their compensation remains the same. While some essential engineers and support employees will make a return to the office, the majority of employees will expect flexible work policies. Certain activities like onboarding and collaboration will utilize physical office spaces only when necessary. Office technology must be set up to pivot without interruption during another pandemic or lockdown event.

Google's latest plan and its impact on the industry: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/success/ ... index.html

[Tnexster]

D-FW construction declines aren’t as steep as early in the pandemic
North Texas ranked second nationally for building starts in the first half of 2020.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... -pandemic/

“Construction starts activity remains significantly weaker than year-ago levels, even though it has been slowly increasing since its nadir in April,” Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, said in the latest report. “Construction starts should continue to post modest gains in the months to come as the economy continues to recover from the shortest and steepest recession in U.S. history.

[clcrash19]

Would love to see Harwood number 12 and some other uptown office projects start soon, they were very close to getting going right as the pandemic hit

[Tnexster]

Would love to see Harwood number 12 and some other uptown office projects start soon, they were very close to getting going right as the pandemic hit

Might be good that they didn't start before the pandemic hit. Now they can reassess what they have and what they market might demand as a result of the pandemic.

[Cord1936]

[Photos, clockwise from top: City of Dallas by Michael Samples, City of Fort Worth by Joseph Haubert, City of Frisco, and DFW Airport]

Recent Success Should Carry Dallas-Fort Worth Forward
Years of steady economic success and our region's brand as a great location have provided much-needed momentum for 2020, writes Mike Rosa, who leads economic development for the Dallas Regional Chamber.

by Mike Rosa, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
DALLAS REGIONAL CHAMBER, AUG 25, 2020

Dallas-Fort Worth closed out 2019 with robust economic growth and held its rankings as the top metro area in the U.S. for job growth and destination for corporate moves and expansions.

In 2019, McKesson and Core-Mark moved their Fortune 500 HQs to the Dallas region. The moves brought the region’s total to 24 Fortune 500 headquarters, and McKesson made the region home to three Fortune 10 HQs: Exxon, AT&T, and McKesson—no other place has more than one Fortune 10 HQ. Uber joined Salesforce, Microsoft, McLaren, USAA, Chase, Allstate, and others in expansions in DFW. Closing out the end of 2019, Charles Schwab announced its intention to relocate its Fortune 500 HQ from San Francisco to Westlake.

All that economic growth contributed to the creation of 128,000 new jobs for the region—more than the number of jobs created in Chicago, Austin, Denver, and Nashville combined. To put DFW’s massive job growth into perspective, the region’s 128,000 new jobs was greater than the job growth of 47 states, only less than the states of Texas, California, and Florida. DFW’s job growth has led all U.S. metro areas for each of the last three years, from 2017-2019. In the 2010s, DFW landed more than 140 corporate headquarters and created one million new jobs.

All that job creation contributed to a population growth to about 7.7 million by the end of 2019, keeping DFW firmly in place as the fourth-largest market in the U.S.
...

Today, the DRC is tracking about 80 total projects, and 30 of those started after March 13.

Projects include:
1) two significant tech firms considering a major new U.S. office to handle growth;
2) a New York financial services company considering a headquarters move;
3) two 1,500-job corporate offices (“HQ2” style) for Fortune-ranked companies;
4) and automotive, aerospace and biopharma manufacturing projects.

The DRC is still tracking pre-pandemic active projects, including:
5) a Fortune 500 headquarters relocation,
6) a California headquarters relocation,
7) significant expansions of notable technology companies, a major food company manufacturer, and large distribution and logistics centers.

And we expect many more companies to examine DFW in the second half of 2020. Dallas’ brand as a major technology hub has also elevated, with high profile announcements like Uber’s Dallas location and Facebook naming Dallas as one of three great tech talent markets where it will hire and grow.
...

Article: https://dallasinnovates.com/recent-success-should-carry-dallas-fort-worth-forward/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OavCD32DzZI

[tamtagon]

Maybe Pinterest wants to open up in Deep Ellum, next door to Uber....

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2020/08/28/pinterest-terminates-soma-lease.html?cx_testId=39&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s

[Pinterest] said it is seeking to diversify its workforce and "rethinking where future employees could be based" as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

[Cord1936]

Maybe Pinterest wants to open up in Deep Ellum, next door to Uber....

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2020/08/28/pinterest-terminates-soma-lease.html?cx_testId=39&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s

[Pinterest] said it is seeking to diversify its workforce and "rethinking where future employees could be based" as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

^^^^^^^
Pinterest paid a really hefty amount to back out of their nearly half million square foot lease in the to-be-built San Francisco building (they paid almost $90 million!).

You may be right ... given Dallas' ascent as a heavy-weight tech center with Uber and Facebook, it logically follows that other California tech giants would be looking at a Dallas option as well. Deep Ellum more closely aligns with a California big tech "urban view" as a more ideal neighborhood for their employees to live/work/play and still be in the urban core.

AT&T's investments in their Downtown campus, literally just down the street from Deep Ellum, have certainly helped Dallas' tech standing as well.

[tamtagon]

Deep Ellum as an urban amenity that attracts corporate jobs would certainly cause a tail spin among the old guard! With law firms, banks and insurance companies having been the driving force behind generations of westward expansion, the CBD really does need another corporate POV.... ATT really is in good position to fuel the hipster tech-worker job growth on the east side and Deep Ellum, and that gigantic corporation needs to be adjacent to the most creative 'workers' in the entertainment-telecom industry.

[Cord1936]

Chart: Dallas Tops US Markets Amid Covid-19 Downturn
By Alexis Maltin, Real Capital Analytics, July 29th, 2020

For the first time ever, Dallas ranked as the #1 U.S. commercial property market at the halfway mark of the year, despite a dip in investment activity. Dallas overtook Manhattan and Los Angeles (and Seattle), where sales activity fell by more than 40% compared to the first six months of 2019 as the Covid-19 crisis scuttled dealmaking and sidelined investors.
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Article: https://www.rcanalytics.com/chart-dallas-top-market-h1-2020/