Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

Trademark Property has been hired by UBS to manage the complex; the 2 firms will jointly determine what next steps to take with the property's management and further development. No specifics were included in the article.

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

I like that they see potential in connecting the Galleria to Midtown, but seems like a pretty hard task to pull off successfully.

DPatel304 wrote:I like that they see potential in connecting the Galleria to Midtown, but seems like a pretty hard task to pull off successfully.

IMO some of the parking garages will have to go. Seems as if the Galeria walled its backside off with parking garages.

DPatel304 wrote:I like that they see potential in connecting the Galleria to Midtown, but seems like a pretty hard task to pull off successfully.

Just imagine it, you could have a skybridge extending from the Macy's at the Galleria directly into the gaping mouth of Valley View mall

Joking aside, I think it would benefit both the Galleria and Midtown greatly if there was a fluid connection between the two.

Now, all that's left for the big "Midtown Dallas" masterplan redo of the consolidated properties to actually root, take hold and flourish is a name change. Everyone who tried to New Urbanist Mixed Use this stretch of LBJ over the last decade without folding the mall into the dealio was just whistling dixie.

Call it LBJ Galleria, whatever Midtown Dallas. Call it North Dallas 420, better.

"Ablon at Galleria Muse" is planned for the parking lot area north of Starbucks, The Container Store, and Z Gallerie (across Alpha from the mall). Called "Galleria North" when the original project was built several years ago, there have been many plans/changes since the original construction was completed, including a condo tower that didn't get going, and a Wyndham hotel that also didn't get past the drawing board. This current plan looks to be more walkable, with apartments, retail, and restaurants, as well as outdoor amenities like a fountain and an amphitheater. It is set for completion in 2020.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... rth-dallas

itsjrd1964 wrote:"Ablon at Galleria Muse" is planned for the parking lot area north of Starbucks, The Container Store, and Z Gallerie (across Alpha from the mall). Called "Galleria North" when the original project was built several years ago, there have been many plans/changes since the original construction was completed, including a condo tower that didn't get going, and a Wyndham hotel that also didn't get past the drawing board. This current plan looks to be more walkable, with apartments, retail, and restaurants, as well as outdoor amenities like a fountain and an amphitheater. It is set for completion in 2020.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... rth-dallas

This is somewhat interesting to me on a few fronts:
- It continues the trend of apartment development that's happening in that sliver between the Tollway and Monfort that isn't related to "Midtown"
- I wonder if it will be more vibrant than the mixed-use center across Noel, which is also sorta walkable but not really that busy
- It would be awesome if this development somehow connected (walkability-wise) to what's going on on the other side of the Tollway on the site of the old Sears Outlet. Might be a bit of a stretch to connect the two, but just a thought.

itsjrd1964 wrote:"Ablon at Galleria Muse" is planned for the parking lot area north of Starbucks, The Container Store, and Z Gallerie (across Alpha from the mall). Called "Galleria North" when the original project was built several years ago, there have been many plans/changes since the original construction was completed, including a condo tower that didn't get going, and a Wyndham hotel that also didn't get past the drawing board. This current plan looks to be more walkable, with apartments, retail, and restaurants, as well as outdoor amenities like a fountain and an amphitheater. It is set for completion in 2020.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... rth-dallas

The plans look really good, but that name is ridiculous.

Thank you! I was going to say the same! I wonder sometimes, if some of these project planners ever bounce names off of colleagues/co-workers, or they just come up with something for a name, and we/everybody will like it no matter what. It's almost like that Canadian project that didn't go anywhere at Turtle Creek/Fairmount, "Ltd Edition No. 2505". Still shaking my head at that one.

light posts have been taken down. i work directly in front of the project and i can see it from my office window.
excited for this!

vman wrote:The plans look really good, but that name is ridiculous.

Ablon is a new one on me, does this mean we will start seeing more properties with this name?

Isnt ablon a car?

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Isnt ablon a car?

No, you're thinking of the Toyota Avalon. Ablon is a poetic or literary term for Britain or England.

Tnexster wrote:

vman wrote:The plans look really good, but that name is ridiculous.

Ablon is a new one on me, does this mean we will start seeing more properties with this name?

Pegasus Ablon was heavily invested in the Design District before Dunhill bought them out. Michael Ablon is now chairman of the Trinity River LGC.

Not sure how many other properties they have in the works now, but I wouldn't mind seeing Ablon communities in Oak Cliff or West Dallas.

exelone31 wrote:

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Isnt ablon a car?

No, you're thinking of the Toyota Avalon. Ablon is a poetic or literary term for Britain or England.

I thought Ablon was a like mythical magic lion, who helps good children find their way. Probably British.

Kinda hard to believe that at last the Galleria area is really starting to evolve. Whatever will happen to Midtown ownership, but I guess everything the Plano Future shock-club is soothsaying will be happening in North Dallas, finally.

I thought Ablon was a like mythical magic lion, who helps good children find their way. Probably British.

An abalone is a sea snail. Lots of typos and perhaps spell check will turn this place aquatic.

tamtagon wrote:

exelone31 wrote:

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Isnt ablon a car?

No, you're thinking of the Toyota Avalon. Ablon is a poetic or literary term for Britain or England.

I thought Ablon was a like mythical magic lion, who helps good children find their way. Probably British.

No, you're thinking of Aslan from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Ablon is the name of the co-star in Prince's seminal 1984 film "Purple Rain".

But does Ablon know Kevin Bacon?

I am so glad to see this area finally get some new urban development. especially since the Midtown development is stuck in lawsuits. I would love to see this entire area become dense and fully developed out.

Some Observations:

1) Morphe is open in the old Tourneau space
2) True Religion is open in the old Monsoon space
3) Bullzerk is open on the 3rd floor
3) A very large space is consolidated on the first floor and said to be a huge Apple store

Good moves. Not awe inspiring or first to market, but very solid.

Apple is closing its Plano and Frisco stores and opening a new one at Galleria Dallas
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... ria-dallas

Wow, sounds like some expensive drama involving the Eastern District Court of Texas and Apple has forced them to make a tough choice here. Dallas County wins as a result. I wonder if Apple is looking at other locations in DFW to make up for the closure of Plano and Frisco. Maybe Las Colinas or Downtown Dallas?

Seems strange to abandon the northern burbs but great for Dallas and the Galleria.

Matt777 wrote:I wonder if Apple is looking at other locations in DFW to make up for the closure of Plano and Frisco. Maybe Las Colinas or Downtown Dallas?

I feel like the aesthetic of their stores and products would be a perfect fit for the Arts District. I have no idea if a location there would make the most business sense, but it would look pretty damn cool there (as long as it's not too overpowering and doesn't take away from the current beauty of the area).

DPatel304 wrote:

Matt777 wrote:I wonder if Apple is looking at other locations in DFW to make up for the closure of Plano and Frisco. Maybe Las Colinas or Downtown Dallas?

I feel like the aesthetic of their stores and products would be a perfect fit for the Arts District. I have no idea if a location there would make the most business sense, but it would look pretty damn cool there (as long as it's not too overpowering and doesn't take away from the current beauty of the area).

They are going to have to get some pedestrian traffic down there before any kind of retail will consider going down there. The Arts District is a ghost town except for the few hours when they are having events. Even then, it is just people going from their cars to the shows and back to their cars.

FWIW I agree with jbarn; I had a West Coast friend visit Dallas for the first time on a Sunday and they were shocked how automobile-oriented and empty the Arts District is. For what it's (fort) worth, the "consumer cultural vibe" Apple Store is already in space north of TCU toward the Kimbell.

When the Arts District is regarded as park with great museums and performance venues, then it'll be a place to walk around instead of drive thru. I'm surprise this has not already happened; that deck park is totally popular, bringing tons of people to the area. The obvious next step IS NOT expanding with a garage suspended over the highway, it's uniting with the public space between DMA, Nasher, Opera House, Symphony House, The Best Public High School in the country, unfinished city performance hall and the highrise performance theater.

Anyway, this is a nice high profile win for the Galleria.

They won't build another Apple store the Galleria store will be big like NorthPark. Keep in mind they just renovated the Willow Bend store so they are obviously making a hard and or public message by closing two obviously profitable stores. This tells us also why a West Legacy or Frisco Star store was never an option either.

For Downtown to get an Apple store the number of rooftops South, East, and West of Downtown would have to be a lot larger than they are today. Apple is not a company that builds stores for charity or just because. They want solid demographics and Uptown isn't enough for Apple. For Apple to build a store they need Deep Ellum, Cedars, Design District, South Side, Victory, Henderson all to be churning out residential and office workers at a steady pace. The truth is Downtown is still just a trophy but not an epicenter of Dallas commerce and living. Right now those areas have all seen marginal improvements compared to Apple's standards.

Tnexster wrote:Seems strange to abandon the northern burbs but great for Dallas and the Galleria.

Not if you know the real reason. Closing those two stores may save them hundreds of millions of dollars.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/201 ... nt-trolls/

Construction ramps up near Dallas' Galleria with high-rise hotel project



Just north of the mall on Noel Road, "Plüsh Suites" (yes, apparently with the "ü") is planned with 300 rooms, 12 stories tall, with completion seen by mid-2020. It will be on a previously-vacant lot at Noel/Southern Blvd. A PlushSuites.com web address is shown on their Facebook site, but it redirects to the Facebook site for now. One photo caption on the Facebook site describes the property as their "first" hotel. Not sure how many more "they" want to do, or who "they" are. Another know-it-when-I-see-it project, IMO, and I wonder how long it will last with this branding before someone re-flags it later on with a more familiar/established brand.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... el-project
https://www.facebook.com/plushsuites/

This site is now a 2 level deep hole in the ground.

Any idea what the construction is on the lot adjacent to Z by the Galleria is?

The AC/ Marriott combo by the Galleria turned out spectacular. Like a futuristic Mid Century building.

That IS nice!

Oh man, I REALLY like that! I rarely head up that way but I'll have to check it out if/when I do.

Galleria North, the shopping area across from the Galleria, will take on a new look by late next year. The Container Store has decided to move out and will go to a former Toys R Us spot at Alpha Parkway Plaza around the corner on Dallas Parkway--but not be a Container Store there. Custom Closets, Container Store's closet makeover brand, will be the face of the moved operation when it opens on the Tollway. The owners of Galleria North have decided that the center is now "dated" and smaller shops will result from the changed look. Other big tenants of the center (Crate & Barrel, Z Gallerie, World Market) have all moved out previously. Z Gallerie was actually a closing, while the departure of the other 2 stores were moves; Crate & Barrel to the Shops at Willow Bend, and World Market just around to the center on Dallas Parkway that includes sister brands Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby. Galleria North's owners see the redo as a blending with the upcoming apartment complex going up in the former Galleria North parking area.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... ging-times

Hmmm, I really wonder what's going to happen with this shopping center. IMO, this whole intersection is kind of weird.

On the northeast corner, you've got what I am assuming Galleria North is going to shoot for: a retail/residential mix that surrounds a strip center. To me, that area is kind of a dud.

On the southeast corner, there's the vacant furniture store. On the southwest corner, there's a small field next to the Galleria parking garage.

I'm kind of rambling at this point, but it would be great if they could coordinate and connect that whole intersection into one cohesive idea.

For those curious, the old Sears building has been essentially torn down. Now it's a matter of clearing out all the rubble.

Happy to see some progress and looking forward to the Lifetime Fitness complex starting to take shape.

This is the longest tear down.....

Tnexster wrote:This is the longest tear down.....

That's true on the Beck portion, but the Sears portion has gone pretty quickly. I think they started just 3-4 months ago.

Belk is closing their Galleria store, leaving the mall with only 2 anchors (Nordstrom and Macy's). https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... re-anchor/

Convert 2nd and 3rd floors to apartments put in rock climbing and zip lining over the ice rink. Retail is really changing and these spaces will have to be re imagined.

Belk was always an odd fit trying to establish themselves where they don have any local following already. The question is will the Galleria go the way of other malls and find something alternative to a department store, chop up space for smaller stores or be aggressive and incorporate another use. They already have office towers and a hotel. Is a residential component doable, condos? Another hotel? Even more office space?

I think there has been speculation that GAP / Banana / Old Navy will be vacating their space soon too. I went to Galleria a few weeks ago for the first time in years. It was honestly depressing. The Galleria glory has faded quite a bit! Sure, there's still some decent stores and the mall itself felt nice and clean - but it was dead for a Saturday afternoon.

It might be interesting for the Galleria to become more like that newish mall in downtown Salt Lake City. Turning the top few floors into office and residential uses and incorporating more entertainment options like movie theaters, bars, restaurants, escape rooms, a climbing gym, etc would also help draw folks back to it.

That would be a huge cost to do but I like it. Even if they did it for just have the mall. I actually like the Ice Rink at the Galleria but I also don't look at the balance sheets for something like that and I have to wonder with it not being good for sports use if it really is just a money pit. At least with some of the other ice rinks, they are designed to be good for sports teams practice or competitive ice skating rental.

The galleria needs to tear down some space. It’s just too big for the current needs. A small format Bloomingdale’s is the only thing that would make sense going on there. Otherwise, a movie theater and some other entertainment would make sense. They could really build off of the ice rink popularity.

eburress wrote:It might be interesting for the Galleria to become more like that newish mall in downtown Salt Lake City. Turning the top few floors into office and residential uses and incorporating more entertainment options like movie theaters, bars, restaurants, escape rooms, a climbing gym, etc would also help draw folks back to it.

The city itself as a whole left a lot to be desired, but it had some really nice spots like this one. It was an oasis in a sea of mediocrity.