dfwcre8tive

Yes. The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center (which sees 1,200 people per day), permanent supportive housing programs and anti-panhandling ordinances have made a difference, but it's still an issue.

Which is part of the reason for the area plan, I think. There are good older neighborhoods in this area but Valley View's decline has caused the immediate area to spiral downhill. Having a plan in place to encourage smart development and reinvestment may be one way to stabilize the area and protect the Galleria from a similar fate.

The Dallas Galleria is transitioning to more of a middle-level mall and siphoning remaining stores from Valley View Center (which, in leasable area, was a larger mall). Saks Fifth Avenue will soon be replaced with a flagship Belk, for example. Most of the high-end retailers have moved to NorthPark Center (the largest in the region) or boutiques in smaller retail centers (like Highland Park Village). The consolidation of retail over the past few years has left Valley View Center obsolete.

The City of Dallas is surrounded by other cities (suburbs) and unable to annex more land. Redeveloping underutilized areas helps keep the tax dollars in the city, and there are plenty of areas within the city limits where this can happen.

Yeah, it's unlikely the final product will look anything like the rendering. I do think the central park has a chance of being built and that would encourage SOME residential development in the area. Being surrounded by suburbs, Dallas is starting to realize the only way to grow is to add density (but creating this new North Dallas "town center" won't help downtown at all).

This is a long-term plan to redevelop the area near the Galleria at the Dallas North Tollway and IH635. The current Valley View Center has been in decline for several years and will be replaced with a mixed-use district. The new Area Plan for 400+ acres was approved a few weeks ago but will take years (if not decades) to fully implement. http://www.dallasmidtown.com/ http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/as-city-looks-to-remake-valley-view-galleria-area-check-cashers-pawn-shops-and-big-boxes-zoned-out-of-existence.html/

Some cool retailers are coming to the Joule Hotel expansion. Tim Headington is sinking a lot of money into restoring a block of buildings around the flagship Neiman Marcus and bringing several unique boutiques to Main Street. The hotel expansion and shops open in January. Here's an earlier rendering:

Belo Garden opened over the weekend. http://www.dallasnew...ic-thursday.ece

Main Street Garden (on the other end of Main Street) was designed to be an active park with children's playground, dog park, cafe, performance lawn, etc. Belo Garden was designed to be a quieter park surrounded by large office buildings. Lots of lunch/picnic furniture, shade, color gardens and a fountain. http://www.belogarden.com/

Yes, the team is now one year into the clean up and has about a year left to go. Right now 300+ apartments are being considered, but the project may ultimately contain hotel rooms. Here are some photos from my visit one year later. The team has acquired original plans for the building and are bringing it back to the 1950s appearance. The facade has been cleaned and blue LEDs will highlight the design. The recent discovery of the Jack Lubin mural has also made headlines.

Belo Garden opens in a few weeks. It's another park downtown replacing a parking lot.

Cool project; that building will have a ton of natural light when work is finished!

I'm currently working on a project to create a comprehensive map of the Dallas Pedestrian Network. The network in the past has been neglected and wayfinding is terrible, so I'm hoping this project will help improve connections and visibility of the system. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dfwcre8tive/designing-a-map-for-the-dallas-pedestrian-network? Houston's system seems to have a much better wayfinding system and naming system, but are the tunnel entrances from the streets clearly marked? In the near future there will be plans to update or repurpose the system of corridors that run through downtown Dallas. Many people want to see them abandoned, but I believe the real problem is connectivity between ground level and the pedestrian network. What are you thoughts on pedestrian networks in an urban setting?

Museum Tower is going up:

Here's a tour and some photos of the Dallas Statler Hilton. It's currently being restored; there are a lot of great Mid-Century features hidden under countless renovations. Harwood Historic District » Blog Archive » Swinging the Statler-Hilton Back to Life - Celebrating the Past and Promoting the Future of a Dallas Landmark District And photos of the old Dallas Public Library next door. Together they form the best block of 1950s architecture in Dallas. The hotel has been vacant for 10 years; the library, nearly 30. Here's a tour of the library... a time capsule of 1950s design: http://www.harwoodhistoricdistrict.com/2011/03/dallascentrallibrary/