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This time, there was no spectacle on a downtown sidewalk, no star-studded press conference in the rain, only a sunrise e-mail from Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh. Fourteen months after Mayor Tom Leppert began his crackdown on vacant downtown Dallas buildings, he has added more addresses to the to-do list -- including the old LTV Tower at 1600 Pacific Avenue, which, last we heard, was getting a makeover courtesy Leobardo Trevino.
Also on the list is 804 Pacific Avenue, a mammoth piece of property, which, as of June, was "caught in a tug of war of foreclosure and bankruptcy," according to a Dallas Business Journal piece over the summer. 1615 Main Street,
seen above, and 807 Elm and 500 S. Ervay Streets also make the list.
Last time, of course, the vacant-building list contained two historic buildings over which there continues to be much hand-wringing: the old Statler Hilton (which may or may not get a makeover) and 508 Park Avenue (which the owners would like torn down). This time, there's another piece of history on the list: 601 Elm Street, built in 1905 and once known as the Purse Building. Empty since '94, the former Dallas County Services Building was scheduled to get a makeover four years ago; alas, it never happened.
Here's an excerpt from the city's press release, which follows in full after the jump. Also after the jump, a slideshow of buildings the city went after in '08 and has identified for this so-called "phase II."
Mayor Leppert says that the City mailed the building owners and their agents notice letters this week. The property owners have 30 days to bring their property up to standard or to work out an agreement with the city's attorneys.
The City Attorney's Office says it wanted to work with the owners to give them every opportunity to come into compliance with the required code and fire regulations.
"Of course, when voluntary compliance is not possible, the City is prepared to vigorously address the violations with all available legal remedies," said Dallas City Attorney Tom Perkins.
"It's unfortunate that it takes an initiative like this to get owners to comply with the law, just as every other building owner downtown must do," said Mayor Leppert. "But we are clearly seeing progress. And that's a big plus for all of downtown."
Downtown Dallas Vacant Buildings-Results & Phase 2
Vacant Buildings Release - Phase II
