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Steve Brown A flaw in the numbers game Downtown vacancy rate is being recalculated to drop boarded-up shells 09:48 PM CST on Thursday, February 3, 2005 Often things aren't as bad as they appear. That turns out to be the case with the downtown Dallas office market. For years, we've heard how downtown has the highest office vacancy in the known universe

Lumber store closes Shamburger site to be redeveloped for mixed uses 12:05 AM CST on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News One of the few independent lumberyards in Dallas has closed to make way for a mixed-use development. RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT/DMN Denny Plumb helped his dad, Mark, take down one of the Shamburger buildings Monday. 'A lumberyard has been on this corner for almost 60 years,' said C.D. Shamburger. A partnership set up by Prescott Realty Group bought the Shamburger Building Center at Yale Boulevard and Greenville Avenue just east of Southern Methodist University. A lumber company has operated on the almost three-acre site since the 1940s. But with a DART rail station a block away and development picking up in the neighborhood, the days of selling building materials are over. "A lumberyard has been on this corner for almost 60 years," said C.D. Shamburger, who recently sold the property to Prescott Realty. "There used to be scads of lumberyards around Dallas. "We are not the last of the Mohicans, but there are not a lot of Mohicans left," he said. Mr. Shamburger said increased competition from big national home improvement chains and rising costs made it impractical to continue operating the business he took over from his father. The yard operated as Williford Lumber before the Shamburgers acquired it. "By the time my dad bought this lumberyard [in the 1970s] we were already a somewhat outmoded business model," said Mr. Shamburger, who began work at the yard while in high school. "Our market here is basically a five-mile radius," he said. "In that five-mile radius, we now have three Home Depots." For the last two decades, Shamburger Lumber has relied on business from remodelers fixing up houses in East Dallas. "Convenience and specialty lumber played to our strengths," Mr. Shamburger said. "And our good location certainly didn't hurt us." The location also makes it an ideal spot for redevelopment. Just east of Highland Park, the property is near the Mockingbird Station retail and residential complex and a short walk to the DART station. Prescott Realty, which bought the site, also owns the nearby 6060 North Central office tower . Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The new owners plan to temporarily use the property for parking and other uses while studying designs for new construction, said Prescott principal Jud Pankey. "At some point we'll do some residential development and maybe a little bit of commercial," Mr. Pankey said. "This is a long-term planning project, and it needs to be done right." Mr. Pankey said broad-based planning for the entire neighborhood may need public sector assistance. Despite the economics, selling the Greenville Avenue location wasn't easy, said Mr. Shamburger, whose great-grandfather started the company. "We have been in the lumber business since 1908," he said. "We will continue to have a store in Wichita Falls. "We are still going for our streak of 100 years." E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

City's inaction on downtown faulted As redevelopers express frustration, council remains divided 08:46 AM CST on Thursday, January 27, 2005 By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News It may be months before the city decides how to invigorate its downtown redevelopment efforts, despite Mayor Laura Miller's assurances that firm decisions will arrive within weeks, some Dallas City Council members say. Such talk infuriates downtown redevelopment advocates, who say that City Hall is, at best, dawdling, and at worst, telling lies. "Oh, they talk a good game," said David Biegler, chairman of the Central Dallas Association and chief executive officer of Dallas-based Estrella Energy, of the council. "They all say they're for apple pie and motherhood, but when it comes to picking apples and being a mother, they don't do it. Also Online En espa

Old Courthouse downtown http://www.oldred.org/news_room_at_old_red.htm The News Room at Old Red Today's News: Old Red Courthouse begins final phase of restoration: 1890 landmark preparing for return to public life Contact David Schulz, Executive Director 214-745-1100 david@oldred.org October 5, 2004 (Dallas)

Dallas Holocaust Museum http://www.dallasholocaustmemorialcenter.org/move.html Phase #2 Like a butterfly bursting out of its small, dark cocoon, the Dallas Holocaust Museum is breaking out into larger quarters (5,200 square feet) and, from January 2005, will be spreading to a new, impactful, multi-sensory experience in a new location. Being located in the center of Dallas

Museum Expansion News Team Leads the Drive for New Nature Museum 02:02 PM CST on Saturday, November 20, 2004 By ROBERT MILLER / The Dallas Morning News The silent phase of fund-raising for the Museum of Nature & Science is reaching a crescendo. Dallas and Houston investor and civic leader Forrest Hoglund, who will play a leading role in raising funds for the proposed $100 million-plus museum, says talks have been going on for some time with a list of donors that includes wealthy individuals, corporations and foundations. City Hall could also offer an assist. The museum won't replace the Dallas Museum of Natural History at Fair Park - it will complement it, organizers say. That museum will continue as a scientific and educational institution. Mr. Hoglund, no stranger to projects of this kind, was chairman of the Houston Museum of Natural Science in the 1990s. He headed up that museum's corporate fund-raising when it underwent a major expansion and renovation. His fund-raising prowess was also recognized by his alma mater, the University of Kansas, which named him to chair a $600 million capital campaign that's about to be wrapped up. RANDY ELI GROTHE/DMNH From left: David Corrigan, Forrest Hoglund and Nicole Small are among those heading up the fund drive for a new Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas. Mr. Hoglund says international prestige for the Dallas museum is no idle dream. "Dallas deserves to have a first-class museum of natural science," he said. "The model to follow is Houston's, and there is no reason Dallas can't have a museum as good as Houston's." That museum "is the fourth-largest-attended museum in the U.S., with over 2 million visitors a year, drawing busloads of kids from as far away as Louisiana. It has outdrawn all the other museums in Houston combined. "It is a wonderful educational opportunity featuring the world's greatest energy exhibit, the world's best display of quality minerals exhibit, a chemistry hall, a live butterfly rainforest, IMAX theater, planetarium, paleontology hall, Hall of the Americas and many other exhibits," Mr. Hoglund said. "They also attract and sponsor many outstanding traveling exhibits, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. "We are working to provide a similar museum experience to the citizens of Dallas and the surrounding area. This will be a gigantic win for Dallas and its downtown area." Close to Victory A contract for a 4.2-acre site for the Museum of Nature & Science was signed last summer. It's scheduled to close in the first quarter. The site, on the northwest corner of Field Street and Woodall Rodgers Freeway near Ross Perot Jr.'s Victory development, could vault the museum into worldwide prominence. Mr. Hoglund; David Corrigan, a longtime board member of the Dallas Museum of Natural History; and Nicole Small, executive director of the Museum of Nature & Science, say the fund drive will really begin after the site purchase is finalized. Ms. Small said "the Victory/Hillwood people have been wonderful to work with," and the money in the bank more than totals the cost of the land. Mr. Hoglund says the museum plans to incorporate the "flexible space" from the Ralph Appelbaum & Associates plans that have been in the works almost since the board raised $1 million to study the project in the late 1990s. A 'living' facility The museum will be a "living" facility that will be renovated and expanded as changes are required. "It is not a static building like a symphony hall," he said. "Once the land is finalized, I think it will take around three to five years to complete the project." The names of several world-renowned architects have been mentioned, but the facility will be designed "inside out" with the Appelbaum firm laying out the exhibit space before the architect addresses the design of the exterior. 'Bridging ability' Ms. Small says the location offers "bridging ability." It's only a few blocks from Victory and the American Airlines Center, the West End, the Arts District, the Sixth Floor Museum and the projected Calatrava Bridge from Woodall Rodgers over the Trinity River. "We have been very focused on collaboration," Ms. Small said. "In the past two years, we have forged partnerships with, but not limited to, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, UT-Dallas, Southern Methodist University, Houston Museum of Natural Science, American Museum of Natural History, KERA, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and many others." "We have just completed our most profitable year in over a decade and are continuing to grow our programs today." Get ready. It won't be long before Mr. Hoglund and his team of rainmakers come calling.

From downtowndallas.com Two new downtown destinations are now open - Dallas Fashion Incubator and Pandora Japanese Cuisine. In addition, Dallas City Council gave final approval on a program that will provide incentive dollars to entice more retail downtown. Dallas Fashion Incubator is now OPEN at 1623 Main Street, Suite 106. Drop by the European-style boutique which features up and coming Dallas-based fashion designers. Currently carrying unique women's apparel and accessories, the Incubator is sure to become one of Dallas' premier shopping destinations. Indulge at the sushi bar or robata grill at Pandora Japanese Cuisine, now open at 2208 Main Street, Suite A. Pandora is open Tues-Wed, 5 p.m. - midnight, Thurs-Sat, 5 p.m. - 2 a.m. For more information call 214-655-2800 or visit www.padoradallas.com. To spur growth of additional retail downtown, the Main Street District Retail Recruitment Initiative was proposed last summer. Last week, Dallas City Council voted on the final structure of the program, and two retailers are expected to be approved by the end of the month - an upscale women's apparel boutique and a custom wine maker and wine accessories store. The program allows for varying amounts of rent subsidies and tenant improvement allowances for traditional retailers, i.e. apparel, home furnishings, bookstores, etc. For more information, call 214-744-1270.

Redevelopment projects go from bust to boom 12:08 PM CST on Saturday, January 15, 2005 By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...lick.4389f.html There has been nothing like it in downtown Dallas for 20 years. After a period when progress on redevelopment seemed stalled, or at least invisible, the coming year will see at least 10 projects in various states of construction in the center city. Most of the projects will convert office buildings into residential and retail space. The DP&L and Interurban buildings will be ready for occupancy in the first half of the year, and city officials say they expect construction to begin or continue on the Republic Bank Tower, Gulf States Building, Fidelity Union Life Insurance building, the so-called Davis lot, the 1414 Elm St. building and the 1200 Main St. building. In addition, work will proceed on the new hotel-retail complex at 1530 Main St. and the retail building at 1217 Main St. The last time we had so much construction going on downtown at one time was six years ago, and this is much larger than that," said Alice Murray, president of the Central Dallas Association. "I think it makes a big statement." Last week's edition of Downtown This Week, published by the CDA and the Downtown Improvement District, noted that the number of housing units downtown grew 747 percent between 1995 and 2005

Developers have lofty goals for area south of downtown Project in Cedars neighborhood to blend homes, workspaces 11:21 PM CST on Monday, January 24, 2005 By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News Two business owners in the Cedars neighborhood are planning a combination workspace and residential project just south of downtown. Partners Zad Roumaya and Kevin Parma want to build about 35 of their Dream Lofts along Akard Street at Griffin. The project is a block across Interstate 30 from downtown Dallas in an area that is seeing redevelopment. The new Dallas police headquarters complex and huge Southside on Lamar loft apartment project are a few blocks away. "The workspace will be on the first floor and serve as a storefront," Mr. Roumaya said. Above that, the buildings that front Akard will have two floors of townhomes. "The location allows us to have great views of downtown," Mr. Parma said. "And the Akard Street bridge across I-30 is a direct pedestrian connection" to the central business district. Mr. Roumaya began renovating small commercial buildings in the Cedars district about seven years ago. He operates the Change Chamber Studios out of a remodeled garage on Akard. It provides facilities for design and fabrication of artwork and is used for temporary shows. "We get a lot of pride out of saving some of these old buildings," he said. Much of the neighborhood has been cleared and has caught the eye of potential developers. Development sites in the Cedars area trade for $10 per square foot or less, compared with more than $70 per square foot on the north side of downtown. The lofts, which Mr. Roumaya and Mr. Parma plan to start in the next few months, will range from about 900 square feet to 1,500 square feet and will start at around $120,000. E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

With projects getting mixed in the uptown thread, thought it would be good to have thread for posting CBD and projects outside of uptown. Uptown is where the majority of the construction is taking place currently, but there are plenty more projects and developments elsewhere in DFW. List NOT to include: - Projects pertaining to transportation such as the Texas Trans Corridor. - Projects pertaining to suburban development. This thread is intended to post the developments taking place in urban Dallas and Urban Ft. Worth.