On his blog this morning, Central Dallas Ministries CEO Larry James breaks some intriguing news: With the assistance of the Embrey Family Foundation, CDM has acquired 3.6 acres on the southeast corner of Malcolm X Boulevard and Interstate 30. I've got a call into James to get further details, but here's what he offers this morning by way of broad outline:
We have big plans for the site that include the creation of scores of new livable wage jobs, a new health and wellness center, a gigantic food distribution center, a retail grocery store, teaching kitchens and a product exchange center and production facility leased to PepsiCo, another of our development partners in the project.In other words, and considering the architects involved, this no small thing. Matter of fact, James writes, as far as he's concerned this "marks the renewal of an historic, but new, valuable, logical, strategic 'gateway' into S. Dallas." The announcement comes nine days before the official ribbon-cutting grand-opening at Citywalk@Akard, CDM's four-years-in-the-making redo of a former downtown office tower converted into 206 apartment units, 50 of which are being made available to the formerly homeless.