Downtown Dallas Inc.

Optimus Prime is at Main Street Garden Right Now

We could report this one out and inform you that Optimus Prime's cameo at Main Street Garden this afternoon was part of a promotion for Transformers Thirtysomething, but we'd rather just assume Downtown Dallas Inc. was rolling out the newest member of their downtown security patrol. Those pooping do ... More >>

Homegrown Festival Gets Back to its Dallas Origins

Josh Florence Talks About Homegrown Festival, Super Moons, the Night City Tavern Was On Fire

Josh Florence has a DOMA nomination or two under his belt, and was part of the team that made Homegrown Festival such a great success again this year. Further, he's an owner of prominent music spots Dada (reopened two years this January) and City Tavern. Florence tends to be an enthusiastic force fo ... More >>

Lights Now. Turkey Later.

Patriot Tower Due for a $40 Million Makeover, to Include both Apartments and Office Space

Patriot Tower, the I.M. Pei & Associates-designed skyscraper at St. Paul and Bryan Street that opened in 1979, has not been well loved of late. The property changed hands several times before it was sold at a foreclosure auction last year. There are 30 stories of office space that are only about a t ... More >>

Downtown Dallas Inc. to Host Pop-Up Beer Gardens Thursdays in August (Sans the Beer from Local Breweries)

Each Thursday in August the folks at Downtown Dallas Inc. (DDI) are hosting pop-up happy hours at different parks in downtown. Last Thursday they met at Pegasus Plaza. The idea is to bring more exposure to downtown parks and, hopefully, business to surrounding restaurants and shops. DDI reveals the ... More >>

With One Set to Expire and Another Almost Tapped Out, What's Next for Downtown's TIFs?

Since its inception in 1996, the City Center TIF has captured property taxes from that neighborhood and flowed them back into downtown projects -- nearly $59 million for projects like the Joule Hotel and Republic Tower. Its neighbor, the Downtown Connection TIF, was established in 2005 and has poure ... More >>

Developer Unveils $45 Million Plan to Turn Two Vacant Downtown Landmarks Into Condos

Back in April, the DMN, noted that John Kirtland had snapped up both the Tower Petroleum Building and Corrigan Tower downtown. There weren't many details then, just that Kirtland planned to do something with the two vacant art deco structures, but now we know exactly what. Kirtland, who in addition ... More >>

With the Benches Gone from the Downtown Library, the Homeless Wonder What's Next

Until recently, if you walked along the eastern wall of the Dallas Public Library, you would have to weave your way through a gathering of homeless people idling there. Never gave me much of a problem, but apparently something went down because, as Rudy Bush noted yesterday, Downtown Dallas, Inc. qu ... More >>

Can Homegrown Festival Thrive On An All-Texas Lineup?

Downtown Dallas Inc.'s Looking For Someone to Take Over Main Street Garden's Eat-N-Drinkery

​Had a feeling that when The Lily Pad Cafe shuttered about a month ago it wasn't going to return to its digs at Main Street Garden. The official reason for its closing: "cold weather." But when it's 80-something in February here, that seemed like a fairly specious reason. And, as it turns out, it' ... More >>

During Debate Over Supportive Housing Near Farmers Market, Suhm Reveals City Will Seek Private Operator For Market Within 10 Days

​For the last two days my inbox has been flooded -- flooded -- with emails from residents and property owners around the downtown farmers market, each one of which more or less says the same thing: Those two supportive housing projects being proposed downtown -- Larry Hamilton and John Greenan's C ... More >>

The Hopes and Dreams of Downtown Dallas In One 32-Page Annual Report (With Video)

The video you see above was made by Michael Marco on behalf of Tracy Locke on behalf of Downtown Dallas Inc., which had intended to show downtown's makeover at its annual meeting held at the Omni a couple of weeks ago. Alas, it got trimmed for time. But Marco posted the short-short this week, no dou ... More >>

At Downtown Dallas Inc.'s Annual Meeting, a Call To "Invest Yourself" (And Your Cash)

Around lunchtime at the Omni today, a crew was dismantling those enormous red Christmas balls that have been heaped up on the lawn for the past couple months, while in the Dallas Ballroom upstairs, Downtown Dallas Inc. was holding its annual meeting. It was a $100-per-head affair ($125 for non-membe ... More >>

Turk Who Was Going to Redo 1401 Elm Now Has Big Plans For the Very Big 500 S. Ervay

​This morning I called Karl Zavitkovsky, head of the city's Office of Economic Development, about something more or less related when he mentioned the "Turkish Trump." Say what now? Ah -- turns out, he thought we wrote this piece about Mike Sarimsakci, the developer who came to the city with big p ... More >>

Turns Out, It Isn't So Easy Making It Easier to Let Vendors Sell on Downtown Dallas Streets

Via.Not so fast ...​Here, as promised Friday, is the PowerPoint presented to the city council moments ago concerning efforts to make it easier for street vendors to set up shop in downtown. No surprise: For the most part the council members on the Quality of Life Committee were all for Interim Ass ... More >>

Council to Consider Easing Antiquated Restrictions on Downtown Street Vendors

Flickr: Robert TorzynskiDowntown Dallas Inc. would like downtown to look and taste a bit more like, say, midtown Manhattan.​Tomorrow morning, I expect, we'll post the PowerPoint that goes along with a simply titled but nonetheless intriguing item that appears on the council's Quality of Life Commi ... More >>

Meanwhile, Council Gives Craig Hall What He Wants: Big, Bright Signs in the Arts District

A model of the proposed Hall Arts Center was schlepped into council chambers before today's vote.​A few weeks ago we noted that developer Craig Hall finally wants to build in the Arts District -- 25 years after he first came to the city with those extraordinary renderings of that spiraling tower. ... More >>

This Year's City Lights Event to Fill Five Blocks of Downtown, Beginning in Just Two Weeks

I do not look forward to the day when the boy's too old to crawl through whatever contraption the downtown Neiman Marcus installs as its Christmas window display; the last couple of years' worth of tubes and tunnels have been particularly ... magical? Sure, why not. Absolutely. And I can confirm: Th ... More >>

Turns Out, Not Everybody Loves Continental, Lone Star Gas Building Makeovers

Photos by Anna MerlanA seemingly run-of-the-mill downtown development press conference had two surprise guests.​Over the years, the re-do of the Continental Building downtown has started to feel like a bit like Guns N' Roses's Chinese Democracy. Forest City, the developers behind turning the vaca ... More >>

Glass Kiosks, Mobile Vendors, Music, Art And Pedestrians: Your "New Look" Downtown?

Photos by Leslie MinoraRusty Taco serves up dinner in the temporary urban oasis commonly known as Browder Plaza.​Last night was a bit of a tease. Just after 5:30 p.m., Browder Plaza (outside the Dallas Power and Light Flats on Commerce Street) was packed with pedestrians mingling, snacking on ... More >>

Today, a Temporary Better Bridge. Then, On Monday, a Temporary Better Downtown.

A very vague sneak at what's in store for downtown Monday evening​In moments, till 1 this afternoon, you'll be able to laze across the Cedar Crest Bridge -- yet another temporary installation from Team Better Block, in conjunction with the city and others trying to best determine how to turn a sel ... More >>

They Paved Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot. Reverse That, You Get PARK(ing) Day Dallas.

​Not so long ago we looked at Noah Jeppson's plan to map out the downtown tunnels -- which he did get funded, with $30 to spare. But Jeppson, a designer and downtown denizen, has found yet another way to brighten up downtown -- by turning 20 metered parking parking spaces along Main Street into sh ... More >>

Is 1401 Elm, Downtown's Largest Vacant Building, About to Be Sold? Sure Looks Like It.

Photo by Justin Terveen​Late last week, in the comments to some item, a Friend of Unfair Park asked about if the Tower Petroleum Building had come off the market, since its web listing had disappeared. I called Colliers International's David Glasscock, who's repping that building and the mammoth 1 ... More >>

On July 1, See RoboCop In Front of Omni Consumer Products HQ, Dallas City Hall

Poster by Alexander Flores​Finally, a dream comes true.For far too long now we've talked about screening RoboCop somewhere in downtown, preferably outside, definitely near one of the myriad landmarks featured in the film set in "Detroit" but shot entirely in Dallas in the summer and early fall of ... More >>

The Dark Knight by Moonlight: Free Film Series Returns to Main Street Garden Next Month

​This morning I was talking to Kourtny Garrett, senior veep of marketing for the DSpotters, about something kinda-sorta related, fingers crossed, when she mentioned that Downtown Dallas Inc. is once again planning to screen movies at Main Street Garden. It's a reprise of last fall's successful ser ... More >>

Dealey Plaza Redo: Beware the Goon Squads

​Yesterday's city council committee briefing on restoring Dealey Plaza was all very well. The well-intended and the well-heeled have joined together to raise money for a well-designed refurbishing of the place where President John F. Kennedy was ... well, you know ... shot. I'm sure it will b ... More >>

Dealey Plaza Redo Will Be Public-Private Deal. And It Has To Be Done By November 2013.

Just two of the many amazing photos found in the Dealey Plaza redo PowerPoint​Schutze went to that Dealey Plaza chitchat at City Hall this afternoon. Only, the Quality of Life Committee didn't have quorum, so, per council rules, all the council got was a read-through of architect Jonathan Rollins' ... More >>

Comerica Bank Tower Needs Some Help

​This hasn't been a good week for 1717 Main Street: First, TM Advertising announced it's moving out and heading to Victory Park, which didn't faze Downtown Dallas Inc. CEO John Crawford. And then, this morning, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Metropolitan Real Estate, which bought the do ... More >>

Why Downtown Dallas Inc.'s Fine With Ad Agency Moving Its Digs to Victory Park

​I called John Crawford, president of Downtown Dallas Inc., on Monday morning, about something -- can't remember, not important. But in between my leaving a message and his calling back, I received a press release: TM Advertising, which moved from Irving into the Comerica Bank Tower at 1717 Main S ... More >>

Jason Roberts and the Better Block'ers Dare You to Build a Better Ross Avenue in Three Days

​One week after turning the front of Dallas City Hall into the Living Plaza, Jason Roberts -- who'll sleep when he's dead -- sends word of yet another project: the 72-Hour Challenge to turn a stretch of Ross Avenue downtown into a complete street. There are some details on the Better Block website ... More >>

In Front of Dallas City Hall, Grabbing a Bite on The Living Plaza. "And It Only Took 30 Years."

Council member Jerry Allen tosses a Frisbee to Trinity Trust President Gail Thomas on the City Hall Plaza today at noon.​I'd intended to spend, oh, maybe half an hour in front of Dallas City Hall today, where, decades after William H. Whyte first proposed the idea of making that expanse of concret ... More >>

Downtown Dallas's CEO on the Likely (Boutique Hotels) and the Would-Likey (Everything Else)

Patrick MichelsDowntown Dallas, Inc. CEO John Crawford​So back to my conversation with Downtown Dallas, Inc.'s John Crawford. I'd called yesterday to talk about those big empty buildings. But Crawford loves to spread the good news about downtown, so our brief chat got the extended dance remix trea ... More >>

This Season, Themed Mayoral Debates

Sam MertenNatinsky, Rawlings and Kunkle at their first "forum" way back on February 25​In the last 24 hours, press releases have piled up in the in-box announcing three very different mayoral debates featuring ex-Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle, current city council member Ron Natinsky and former ... More >>

Say, Let's Meet at the Lily Pad Today

​Tuesday evening, Mayor Dwaine's not-quite-chief-of-staff Chris Heinbaugh sent word: At 2:30 today, Caraway, council member Ron Natinsky, Grand Ricchi's Leobardo Trevino, Arts District exec director Veletta Lill and Downtown Dallas Inc.'s CEO John Crawford will gather for a press conference to dis ... More >>

Outside the Statler, a Celebration. Inside the Statler, a Sneak Peek at the Work to Be Done.

Photos by Sam MertenWho can you name in this gathering of officials the mayor pulled together for a press conference-closing group photo?​When Sam and I got to Main Street Garden around 2:15 this afternoon for the Statler-sale press conference, there weren't a lot of people around -- just a few fo ... More >>

Quick Wins, Bold Ideas, Talking Points Abound at Downtown Dallas 360 Plan Roll-Out

Photos by Patrick MichelsDowntown Dallas, Inc. President John Crawford conjures a vision of bright lights and walkable streets in the heart of Dallas.​Today, of course, as we mentioned over the weekend, marks a fair-sized milestone in the city's rich and storied tradition of urban plan unveilings, ... More >>

Downtown Dallas 360? Try Commerce St. 1930s.

chaddavonport via eBay​At long last, the city council gets its hands on the Downtown Dallas 360 plan at Wednesday's briefing -- after which Downtown Dallas Inc. will host its own meet-n-greet with MIG's Daniel Iacofano and Chris Beynon, just one part of the 2011 Annual Meeting & Luncheon & ... More >>

Cabs, Keys and Taking a Bite Out of Dog Parks: Highlights From Council's Morning Session

Shortly before recess, the council and mayor sang Dave Neumann "Happy Birthday." Adorable.​Council's already in recess -- till 1:30, said the mayor, citing a brief afternoon agenda. But the morning began with a bit of a bite -- bark too.First up, a man repping the striking cabbies said the strike' ... More >>

Not Very Super: The Weather, and Reaction To It, Has Mayor Tom Leppert Very "Disappointed"

Justin TerveenMayor Tom Leppert, with Ron Natinsky, left, and Downtown Dallas Inc. head John Crawford at Main Street Garden opening in November '09. Probably applies today too.​No doubt, in coming weeks the Dallas City Council will hold committee briefings during which officials with the Electric ... More >>

Shawn Todd to Convert Old Downtown Dallas Post Office Into "Modern Luxury Living"

Federal Judiciary CenterSome facts about the post office and court house: "Completed in 1930. Supervising Architect: James A. Wetmore."​High on the top of my list of favorite downtown buildings is the old U.S. Post Office and Courthouse at 400 N. Ervay. But the building, built in '30, has gone unu ... More >>

Brace Yourself For the Future of Downtown, Coming In Two Weeks to the Convention Center

The so-called The Bartholomew Plan of 1944, one of many such plans in Dallas's past​This arrived in the in-box mere moments ago: an invitation to The Formal Unveiling of the Downtown Dallas 360 plan, the first holiday party of the season. After all, you paid for the plan (close to a million, once ... More >>

How Affordable Is Downtown Dallas Housing? We Send Our Intern to Find Out.

Photos by Elliot Kaiser​Note from Jim: In the last week of April I asked the city to tell me how many guaranteed low-income housing units are available in downtown Dallas. There should be lots of them by now -a a couple thousand by some estimates -- because over the decades, the city has used hu ... More >>