As we noted earlier in the week, the council's Economic Development Committee will be briefed Monday concerning plans for the old Dallas High School downtown. So too, turns out, will the Landmark Commission: The freshly posted agenda for Monday's 1 p.m. meeting reveals that developer Wynne/Jackson is looking to sink $10 million into the 105-year-old school alone and seeking in return historic tax exemptions worth around $923,000 spread over 10 years, which the city council would have to approve.
The docs filed with Landmark aren't specific about Wynne/Jackson's redevelopment plans, but there is a hint contained therein: Spaces asking about retail and office square footage are left blank, but the one concerning residential square footage is filled out: "TBD." And sources familiar with the deal say that the developers are planning on filling the property with other residential components that aren't part of the Landmark docs; after all, all Landmark's concerned with is the building itself (and the 25 feet surrounding it), not the rest of the five-acre property at Pearl and Bryan. But, again, we'll have to wait till tomorrow night to see the council briefing docs, which will contain conceptual renderings. Somebody got me a going-away present.
Karl Zavitkovsky, head of the city's Office of Economic Development, wants to wait till those docs are made public tomorrow night before commenting on what specifically Wynne/Jackson has in mind. All he'll say on the subject is this, for now: "We are very happy to consider a project on this site after so many years with a high-quality development partner."