Oak Lawn

[Tnexster]

Lots of hotels....I am not familiar with the history on the Prescott land.

[R1070]

M.O. would do really well right there.

[Dallas_Uptown]

Some 2727 Turtle Creek info:

http://www.prescottgroup.com/properties ... tle-creek/

[itsjrd1964]

The Changing Face of Maple Avenue Leads to a Question for Longtime Businesses: Stay or Sell?

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/The-C ... 68291.html

[R1070]

The old strip next to the post office was cleared. I wonder when the office supply store next to the Melrose will close for the new apt development going there.

[JDumont146]

The old strip next to the post office was cleared. I wonder when the office supply store next to the Melrose will close for the new apt development going there.

I have been wondering the same thing. I live in the neighborhood just west of that stretch of Oak Lawn...I would love to see it liven up. Anyone have any news on the Starbucks, Total Wine, or the apt development plans?

[Dallas_Uptown]

The old strip next to the post office was cleared. I wonder when the office supply store next to the Melrose will close for the new apt development going there.

Bellini's owner is still actively looking to reopen... ideally in an Oak Lawn or Design District location.

[cowboyeagle05]

That apartment project next to the Melrose still has to go through the city approval process. They have only presented to the Oak Lawn committee to get a feeling for some of their design proposals. They need some serious waivers from setbacks I believe so I wonder if they got more pushback from the committee than we realize. The huge market demand for projects like that is shrinking so this project might not make it in time for the preexisting rush it seems and Office Depot hasn't closed yet either.

[DPatel304]

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Oak Lawn is opening up on January 23rd, and we can't wait to get to know our newest Snooze community!

We're celebrating the day with more than just a delicious brunch experience. To say thank you, we're giving away 50 Klean Kanteen to the first 50 people who join us at Snooze Oak Lawn on 1/23! Doors open at 6:30am and Kanteens are given out on a first come, first serve basis to the first 50 people in line. Make sure you set those alarms!

https://www.facebook.com/events/357099881752644/

Personally I think this place is overrated. I mean, it's certainly a fine establishment, I've just never understood the insane lines and wait times.

Happy to see this one come to Oak Lawn, though.

[DPatel304]

Also, the sign for the upcoming "Union Coffee" has been missing for a few weeks now. Are they still planning on moving to Oak Lawn, or did something happen?

[DPatel304]

Homewood is currently set to debut on March 8. Stay tuned to see if that date changes again, and, in the meantime, peek at some of the ferments and cures that McCallister’s been working on below.

https://dallas.eater.com/2019/2/12/1822 ... march-2019

I still don't know much about this new restaurant, but seems to be a pretty big deal and also just around the corner as well.

[DPatel304]

UPDATE: Cedar Springs renovations should begin this spring
John Anderson, who serves on the committee that has been making recommendations for Cedar Springs improvements, said he expects groundbreaking in September at the earliest. The design should be finished by the end of February, but then it needs to go out for bid and the city council has to approve it. The winning company then has a certain number of days to start.

Jared White, a transportation manager with the city of Dallas, told the Mayor’s LGBT Task Force on Wednesday, Feb. 20, that plans are almost complete and work to “remodel” Cedar Springs Road is about to begin.

Gateway markers will be placed on Cedar Springs at Douglas and Oak Lawn avenues. Rainbow crosswalks are planned for the street at gateways as well as four crosswalks at Throckmorton and two at Knight and Reagan streets.

A new traffic light will be installed at Knight where numerous accidents, some of which involved fatalities, have occurred over the last decade. What White called “bump outs” will narrow the crossing at several intersections.

New landscaping will be installed along the entertainment corridor. One of the effects of the redesign, officials hope, is that it will slow traffic on Cedar Springs.

New sidewalks will be built with ADA curbs. At the Crossroads, there will be more room on the sidewalk for groups to set up tables, as was common during the decades when Crossroads Market occupied the space now anchored by Hunky’s. Lighting in the area will also be improved.

Task Force member John Anderson said murals are included in the beautification projects. One mural commemorating the AIDS crisis, painted by Arttitude volunteers and funded by The Red Foundation, was recently completed on the Nelson-Tebedo Clinic wall.

Across from that wall will be a mural commemorating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and the drag queens and transgender activists who rioted for LGBT rights. At 10 a.m. on March 16, designers of the wall will hold a listening session at Zephyr, 4001 Cedar Springs Road, to hear what community members would like to see on the wall.

About $1.2 million from a 2012 bond election was designated for Cedar Springs improvements. Bond money has been used to improve and enhance other entertainment districts around the city, including Deep Ellum and Greenville Avenue.

White said groundbreaking should be sometime in the spring. Construction will continue through the year.

https://www.dallasvoice.com/cedar-sprin ... is-spring/

[cowboyeagle05]

Don't expect much guys the LGBT task force has done a lot of this in secret and they were against any road diet or street reconfigurations that would have made the street safer. The number of lanes will stay the same so traffic will stay the same speedy dangerous way it always has with turn lanes that back traffic up and ultimately a road design that causes people to zig-zag through the four-lane road unsafely. The budget mentioned above doesn't leave much money for too many things other than a few more trees, plants, and some sidewalk enhancements. The crosswalks will certainly be a welcomed addition as will the traffic light at Knight but this will not be as big of a change as Lowest Greenville or Deep Ellum this will be more nip and tuck. I really wish the neighboorhood bars/business hand not fought this project so hard.

Personally, I have been upset that LGBT task force gets to make decisions for our tax money without any transparency other than a few of the members checking in on Facebook.

[lakewoodhobo]

Don't expect much guys the LGBT task force has done a lot of this in secret and they were against any road diet or street reconfigurations that would have made the street safer. The number of lanes will stay the same so traffic will stay the same speedy dangerous way it always has with turn lanes that back traffic up and ultimately a road design that causes people to zig-zag through the four-lane road unsafely. The budget mentioned above doesn't leave much money for too many things other than a few more trees, plants, and some sidewalk enhancements. The crosswalks will certainly be a welcomed addition as will the traffic light at Knight but this will not be as big of a change as Lowest Greenville or Deep Ellum this will be more nip and tuck. I really wish the neighboorhood bars/business hand not fought this project so hard.

Personally, I have been upset that LGBT task force gets to make decisions for our tax money without any transparency other than a few of the members checking in on Facebook.

I agree with most of what you're saying, especially the part about a road diet having been the best option. However, there should've been a study done that answered some questions, like 1) Would it affect the ability of Fire Station 11 to operate, and if so what are the options for relocating it; and 2) Would it affect the ability to host the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade. Even though Pride is being moved to Fair Park this year, I think most people aren't ready for that to be a permanent move. If the study concluded that a road diet would absolutely mean never again hosting the parade, there would've been even more opposition.

As for the Task Force, I have no idea who forms it and how one joins it if they want to. I'm on a committee in my neighborhood association where we're planning on spending $500,000 in bond money for street lighting. Everyone is invited to join but we never get more than 5 people to show up, so my point is in some situations people need to "show up" if they want a say in how their tax dollars are being spent.

[tamtagon]

I've always like the idea that the fire station moves, and the building becomes a discotheque or something.

[lakewoodhobo]

I've always like the idea that the fire station moves, and the building becomes a discotheque or something.

Or a stripper bar called Fire Hose where every dancer makes an entrance coming down the pole.

[DPatel304]

The crosswalks will certainly be a welcomed addition as will the traffic light at Knight but this will not be as big of a change as Lowest Greenville or Deep Ellum this will be more nip and tuck. I really wish the neighboorhood bars/business hand not fought this project so hard.

I kept my expectations pretty low after reading the article, and you've basically confirmed my skepticism. Once I found out how hard the bars were fighting this project, I kinda gave up on expecting much.

I suppose what they are doing is certianly better than nothing, but it's a real shame we aren't getting something as transformative as what Lower Greenville and Deep Ellum received.

[cowboyeagle05]

It's not the bars that were only running scared so much as the rest of the businesses on Cedar Springs that fear any transformative change will run them out of business. Many of the businesses that aren't bars on Cedar Springs don't want the emptying out like what happened to Lowest Greenville. They fear any major reconstruction will kill off customers for too long. Many remember when the Tollway bridge rebuild happened and many mention that their customers dropped significantly when pass-through traffic basically disappeared during the time the tollway bridge was closed for construction. It doesn't matter whether the bridge closure was the real reason. What matters to them is they fear that any significant change will render them and or the gay community as a whole into the history books. They also have a realistic fear of City Hall's ability to curtail that kind of damage to customer flow. Instead of learning from Lowest Greenville's mistakes and working with City Hall on solutions that try to improve access during construction while also working to transform the gay community into the future they chose to slap the 5th coat of paint on the existing wash of bad design mistakes made on Cedar Springs infrastructure and call it an improvement.

The LGBT task force is a mayor-appointed group of citizens and business owners. People on it are not bad people by any means they are people that honestly do care about the health of the neighborhood. It includes people who live on Cedar Springs and some who don't but are active voices in the community. Their hearts are in the right place but they are fearful of change and what other things it could do to the already weakened Dallas Gay neighborhood. They benefitted from a lack of involving the public in the decision making as does any part of municpal government.

[DPatel304]

Got it, thanks for that insight. I can definitely understand their fears. I wasn't aware of what happened when they rebuilt the tollway bridge, but I do remember how drastically Lower Greenville changed.

Perhaps what might eventually happen is Oak Lawn Ave. and Lemmon Ave. might actually start naturally becoming more urban and dense. Given the types of businesses and developments along these streets, I almost feel like the neighborhood would actually want to see a major face lift. Unfortunately, I feel like this is still a long ways away, but I do think that even if Cedar Springs ends up not changing at all, there is still potential for Oak Lawn to grow as a neighborhood.

[Cbdallas]

If all we end up getting is a traffic light at Knight and Cedar Springs I will consider it a success in providing more safety for local residential pedestrians to connect to that Kroger and also to slow the speed of cars on that stretch of road.

[uptown74]

Has anyone noticed how big of an eyesore the front of the Oaklawn Public Library has become?
Everytime I drive by, I cringe at all the trash strewn about, homeless camping out on the steps and the uncared-for landscaping. Ive tried reporting it on the Dallas 311 app to no avail.

[muncien]

Got it, thanks for that insight. I can definitely understand their fears. I wasn't aware of what happened when they rebuilt the tollway bridge, but I do remember how drastically Lower Greenville changed.

Perhaps what might eventually happen is Oak Lawn Ave. and Lemmon Ave. might actually start naturally becoming more urban and dense. Given the types of businesses and developments along these streets, I almost feel like the neighborhood would actually want to see a major face lift. Unfortunately, I feel like this is still a long ways away, but I do think that even if Cedar Springs ends up not changing at all, there is still potential for Oak Lawn to grow as a neighborhood.

No kidding... I'd love to see Lemmon turn into a mini version of LA's Wilshire blvd. It's so well positioned for some midrise along the street with wide sidewalks, retail down and residential up... It'll never happen of course, but damn...

[lakewoodhobo]

I think Maple Ave is the only major street in Oak Lawn that has the potential for an urban renaissance in our lifetime. Of course it all depends on what the big landowners have in mind, so I'm keeping an eye out for that big development in the works by MQ Development. I've even heard rumors of a 200-key hotel in the works there with 300,000 sqft of retail.

Another random but less credible rumor that I heard is that Four Seasons is kicking the tires at Maple Terrace.

[Jbarn]

I think Maple Ave is the only major street in Oak Lawn that has the potential for an urban renaissance in our lifetime. Of course it all depends on what the big landowners have in mind, so I'm keeping an eye out for that big development in the works by MQ Development. I've even heard rumors of a 200-key hotel in the works there with 300,000 sqft of retail.

Another random but less credible rumor that I heard is that Four Seasons is kicking the tires at Maple Terrace.

Are there any plans currently to redevelop Maple Avenue? There are blocks and blocks of emptiness now as many of the little businesses there were torn down over the last several months. It was a pretty vibrant little area. I know that some developer bought up most of the land, but hopefully they actually have a plan in place already to redevelop it rather than sit on it. It is very depressing seeing all that emptiness within very close proximity to downtown.

[flyswatter]

The airport and flight path directly over Maple and Lemmon will always be detrimental to turning them into more dense, urban neighborhoods. Those planes just fly too low and are too loud. Went through the Starbucks drive through once and the plane landing above was too loud for her to hear my order. There's a reason lower income neighborhoods tend to be under flight paths and most noise complaints submitted to Love Field come from Highland Park...

[Matt777]

Does anyone know if the rainbow crosswalks on Cedar Springs will be painted, or something more permanent like tiles? I would rather see rainbow tiles than paint which will fade and need to be repainted. I know most people fear changing Cedar Springs and the area losing its community, so a tile crosswalk should help ease those fears and send a message to developers that the community is here to stay.

[cowboyeagle05]

Key point to understand about the immediate gaybourhood is a lot of land is owned by Caven Enterprises a employee owned company that runs S4, Sue Ellen's, Jr's and TMC. They own more than just the land the bars sit on. They own parking lots and strip centers in the area. If they ever want to sell employees would have to agree to the sale as they all get stock as long as you are there for over a year. RoundUp has been on and off For Sale for years. The rest is owned by a piece meal of property owners who are so far still looking to not sell. The question is how long will all the affordable apartments behind the bars last. Every year a very old complex gets renovated and leased for prices just under new construction nearby. Every couple of weeks a new complex or Townhome complex gets built as well replacing old homes.

[Cbdallas]

Another way to energize change for this area between Lemmon to Maple and between Oak Lawn and the tollway is to enforce all parking and report violations ongoing to the city as well as get the local residents to push for one sided street parking. An argument for one sided parking is that these streets are narrow in this area and it is difficult for fire trucks ambulances and police to move quickly on a busy night or weekends in this area. Another way is to report all property violations to the city for some of the aging properties in this area. The reality is this location is one of the last area between the tollway and 75 and south of Highland Park going towards downtown for development. You can already see this new investment on Maple and I think it will continue to squeeze going north towards Lemmon. Both Cedar Springs and Lemmon ave. are ripe for up-scaling development due to location proximity in the city. It is supremely located with a tollway entrance and access to I 35 and yet very near downtown which makes it a great place to live work and play. Would love to see Knight street made into a walk-able friendly connection to the Market Center DART station as I use this many times in nice weather to connect on the train. The future is coming to this location whether anyone wants it or not due to all of the above reasons.

[tamtagon]

I've always wanted Throckmorton from Lemmon to Maple to be the 'big change' to the neighborhood. Complete Street is what we call today, but essentially make that street pedestrian oriented, zoned for retail as well as residential.

And the elementary school needs to move! Maybe to Lucas@Maple, Maria Luna Park can become a real play ground, maybe even absorb some of the public housing complex --- maybe even turn the whole public housing complex into a free adult learning complex where English Language fluency is taught.

[Matt777]

Key point to understand about the immediate gaybourhood is a lot of land is owned by Caven Enterprises a employee owned company that runs S4, Sue Ellen's, Jr's and TMC. They own more than just the land the bars sit on. They own parking lots and strip centers in the area. If they ever want to sell employees would have to agree to the sale as they all get stock as long as you are there for over a year. RoundUp has been on and off For Sale for years. The rest is owned by a piece meal of property owners who are so far still looking to not sell. The question is how long will all the affordable apartments behind the bars last. Every year a very old complex gets renovated and leased for prices just under new construction nearby. Every couple of weeks a new complex or Townhome complex gets built as well replacing old homes.

I'm not as worried about the new residential, it can be done in a way that benefits the community (gays like new apartments too). I just think there needs to be a permanent sign that this is the gayborhood, like the rainbow tile crosswalks. Come and open a business, come and build new housing, but a permanent sign that they have to be a part of the community if they enter the community (not that they have to be gay, just understand the community they are a part of now). Not to come in and socially "change" the neighborhood to fit their business or development target market. They can operate their business or build an apartment tower, but it's going to have a big ol' permanent rainbow crosswalk in front of it.

[DPatel304]

I'm not as worried about the new residential, it can be done in a way that benefits the community (gays like new apartments too). I just think there needs to be a permanent sign that this is the gayborhood, like the rainbow tile crosswalks. Come and open a business, come and build new housing, but a permanent sign that they have to be a part of the community if they enter the community (not that they have to be gay, just understand the community they are a part of now). Not to come in and socially "change" the neighborhood to fit their business or development target market. They can operate their business or build an apartment tower, but it's going to have a big ol' permanent rainbow crosswalk in front of it.

I would really love to see this type of permanence in the area as well. The bare minimum we should have permanent rainbow crosswalks, but I would certainly love it if we could get creative and take it a step further.

Texas doesn't exactly have a reputation for being very open minded, so a full-on touristy looking gayborhood would immediately dispel any doubts people might have when they come to visit.

[soco]

As of now the rainbow crossings are proposed to be implemented with striping and not pavers, tiles, stamped concrete etc. While not 'permanent' they should make for a dramatic enhancement to the strip.

[Cbdallas]

Caven should pay to make that crosswalk in permanent pavers it is enhancing their bottom line anyway.

[DPatel304]

Here is the Dallas Observer article on the subject:
https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dal ... r-11580154

[DPatel304]

They are building some sort of extension for this building here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8084292 ... 384!8i8192

I know there were plans to bring Union coffee here. I'm still not entirely sure how this new Union coffee location is supposed to work, but perhaps that's what they are building here? Or perhaps the plan fell through and they are building something entirely unrelated (and likely unimportant).

[lakewoodhobo]

High-rise with retail will join Eatzi's store in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... ighborhood

Developers hope to elevate the corner with a new apartment high-rise and retail that includes the flagship Eatzi's store.

"We want to turn that into a mixed-use project and expand the walkability," Coutant said. "We want to keep the Eatzi's store open and develop the surface parking lot behind it — that's our vision."

The 21-story, 297-unit apartment tower would have 8,000 square feet of retail space on the Oak Lawn and Lemmon sides.

The tower would be pulled back from Oak Lawn Avenue to allow a terrace area above the retail.

Picture1.jpg

StreetLights would be doing Oak Lawn a huge disservice if they didn't name this tower The Esquire.

[DPatel304]

Fantastic! I've been waiting for a while for Oak Lawn to start seeing some serious development like this. There is some serious potential for redevelopment along Oak Lawn Ave and Lemmon Ave, and I think a project like this can really help get things going for the neighborhood.

So it sounds like Eatzi's is staying put, and this high-rise will simply be right next to it? In the article, they do mention 'considering' locating Eatzis into the new retail, but, to me, it sounds like Eatzi's is staying put and isn't really part of this development at all.

[Matt777]

Great looking project as long as Eatzi's is left alone. Hopefully this will spur more quality urban developments along Oak Lawn Ave and Lemmon instead of the drive-thrus the Oak Lawn "Committee" keeps approving like the new Starbucks.

I can't tell from the reporting whether or not Eatzi's will move into the new retail space once construction is done. It looks like the current building will at least stay through the tower construction phase. I like the current building and it's 1990's retro feel, even though it can get a bit crowded.

[Cbdallas]

Finally some new tower action in Oak Lawn. I hope we see a lot more of these projects go up around here in the future!

[R1070]

This corner has been begging for a development. I’m glad to see Streetlights is the developer and I also hope the Esquire name is included.

Also, I saw dirt moving again at Congress and Wellborn.

It also appears that the Starbucks at Congress and Oak Lawn will have parking in the back.

[LongonBigD]

1557157358-streetlightslemmon.jpg

Another rendering from the initial online DMN story. I can’t seem to copy the image only link to it. Can Anyone fix this?

[Tnexster]

Big addition to the area, nice looking tower as well.

[lakewoodhobo]

Two more showing the tower next to Eatzi's.

[R1070]

I didn’t realize buildings could go that high on that side of Oak Lawn Ave, but I guess that lot exists because of a failed office tower development.anyone know how high current zoning allows?

[dzh]

I'm just hoping more towers get built on Oak Lawn. It's high time this street reaches its potential. There's no reason that Oak Lawn should not be the Dallas' version of Sunset Boulevard.

[eburress]

Man, what an awesome development! I'm really glad they're keeping Eatzi's too.

[itsjrd1964]

So this will take out the gas station, Pizza Hut, and Einstein Bros. spots? The artwork looks like it goes that far north.

[lakewoodhobo]

So this will take out the gas station, Pizza Hut, and Einstein Bros. spots? The artwork looks like it goes that far north.

I think the tower goes as far north as the parking lot, but doesn't include Einstein Bagels. That lot has a different owner on DCAD. This area outlined in yellow is owned by the same company.

FC3DA209-8818-4619-945A-FE6E17064C49.jpeg

Also if they can't get the original back from Las Colinas, at least they could commission a replica of the neon sign that used to be on the theater.

52064793e73a5213d51521cf74c1aa38.jpg

[ArtVandelay]

Watch out! The activists already have their stingers out for this. They want 5 stories max.

[TNWE]

Watch out! The activists already have their stingers out for this. They want 5 stories max.

The activists may have a friend in the FAA on this one. North of Oaklawn, the tallest stuff along the Lemmon corridor is 5-6 stories, and I suspect the FAA would closely scrutinize any new highrises along that approach path, particularly with Love Field being far busier than it was in the 80s & 90s when the Turtle Creek towers were built.