Dallas

[Sic'EmBears]

2728 Welborn:

Approved by Oak Lawn Committee.

Now to City Council.

[Sic'EmBears]

New business park on D/FW Airport's south end is in planning stage



Project Location

Bandera Ventures has leased more than 86 acres from DFW Airport on State Highway 183.

The office and industrial builder plans to construct a 5-building, 1.4 million square foot industrial complex on the property, according to filings with the airport board.

The proposed Gateway Logistics Center buildings will be the first constructed in a new development on the south side of the airport.

North Texas has been one of the fastest growing distribution and warehouse markets in the country during the last few years.

Net leasing for industrial buildings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has totaled more than 12 million square feet so far this year.

[Sic'EmBears]

Construction kicks off on renovations to Dallas' historic Ambassador Hotel



Project Location

The landmark Ambassador Hotel just south of downtown is Dallas' oldest surviving hotel building.

Built in 1905, the 6-story building on Ervay Street is owned by a partnership headed by developer Jim Lake Jr.

"We are officially underway."

"The outside will not change," Lake said. "The public areas will not change — we will restore all those. It gets all new infrastructure."

A ground-level swimming pool, retail space on the first floor and tenant amenities including a lounge are part of the plans for the building.

"We are working with Dallas Heritage Village next door to have a connection to them," Lake said. "We are working with the city to abandon St. Paul Street behind the building."

[Sic'EmBears]

Home goods retailer shopping Dallas area for new shipping hub

You can add online retailer Wayfair to the growing list of ecommerce companies scouting the Dallas area for new warehouse operations.

The Boston-based furniture and home goods Internet retailer has been shopping the Interstate 20 corridor in south Dallas County for a new warehouse location.

Wayfair officials confirm they are looking for a spot in North Texas.

The Interstate 20 corridor is one of the country's fastest growing industrial and distribution markets, with new shipping hubs for Quaker Foods, BMW, Hyundai and other firms.

[Sic'EmBears]

Sources: Chinese-based home goods retailer readying massive project in Frisco


Auburn, NSW, AU (Signature PM)

A Chinese manufacturer of building materials, hardware and home goods is readying plans to make way for a massive retail hub along the U.S. 380 corridor in Frisco, sources say.

The real estate rumblings come after an affiliate of Lesso America Inc., a subsidiary of China Lesso Group Holdings Ltd., acquired two tracts of land totaling more than 76 acres in Frisco for a new mall development site in June 2016.

Real estate sources say Lesso America is working on plans to build a multi-story retail center that would be a hybrid between an Ikea and a Home Depot with a focus on serving the growing North Texas suburbs.

If developed, this could be one of the first Lesso Mall developments to appear in the United States.

"There's no doubt there's a growing population in this part of the region that could handle a store like this," said Reimer, who works with numerous retailers searching for land sites for storefronts along the corridor.

[Plutonic Panda]

I get excited about things going on in OKC and then I see what's happening in Dallas. Wow wow wow....

TxDOT is also upgrading SH-121 in McKinney to fully controlled 4 lane facility which will be really nice.

[OUman]

^To be honest, comparing Oklahoma City to Dallas by itself is like comparing apples to oranges. Two completely different markets. Then you look at the entire Dallas-Ft. Worth area and its 7 million+ population... yeah. And the traffic is just as bad for a reason. For Oklahoma City, what we have going right now is pretty decent in my opinion, I certainly like growth but I don't want another Dallas here. I am quite excited with what we have coming up, with new hotels and apartments being built in Bricktown, the new park, etc.

[ChrisHayes]

While I don't want us to be another Dallas I'd like to have a good 5-10 year burst of Dallas type of growth. Hopefully the park can get something going around the Core to Shore area. I still think the only thing holding us back is the state budge and maybe educational issues.

[Plutonic Panda]

^To be honest, comparing Oklahoma City to Dallas by itself is like comparing apples to oranges. Two completely different markets. Then you look at the entire Dallas-Ft. Worth area and its 7 million+ population... yeah. And the traffic is just as bad for a reason. For Oklahoma City, what we have going right now is pretty decent in my opinion, I certainly like growth but I don't want another Dallas here. I am quite excited with what we have coming up, with new hotels and apartments being built in Bricktown, the new park, etc.

To be quite honest, I've never understood what people mean when they say "I don't OKC to be another x." Reasons being, they say things like bad traffic, high cost of living, too much growth, etc. Those are all necessary evils.

So what do you mean when you say you don't want OKC to be another Dallas?

I would love OKC to be another Dallas. When I say that, I mean job growth, new infrastructure investment(new freeways and aggressive light rail construction), great trails, amazing developments, beautiful skyline, very diverse group of people(when I walk into stores around Dallas I always hear different languages being spoken and see evidence of people from all over the world, I rarely see that in OKC), corporate relocations left and right, new data centers, etc... I'm not proposing an exact clone of Dallas, I'm wanting to see OKC follow in their footsteps.

[Anonymous.]

You are exactly right PluPan. People who say the classic "don't X my Y" are usually people viewing only the negatives that come with it (for this example, primarily traffic).

Dallas is on an amazing burst of growth right now. Austin is in the same boat on a smaller scale. If OKC could have just a sliver of that type of growth, the city would be flourishing relative to now. OKC is having great growth for its size, but we are kidding ourselves if you aren't truly jealous of the [positive] growth of these mega-cities.

That graphic on the last page showing the apartment growth being just second to NYC, is astonishing.

[Sic'EmBears]

To be quite honest, I've never understood what people mean when they say "I don't OKC to be another x."

Same here.

[Sic'EmBears]

EY investing $10M in downtown Dallas cybersecurity center, to employ 300

Ernst & Young said Thursday that it’s investing $10 million to expand its Dallas footprint by 14,000 square feet, as the company goes after the crowded cybersecurity market.

The new cybersecurity center will house 300 employees, with about three-fourths of them coming via new hires, said Ben Trowbridge, EY cybersecurity managed services leader and executive director. The center will get up and running in September, and execs have a goal to complete hiring within the first 12 months.

The facility will also include a 24/7 operations center, a cyber innovation center, an executive briefing center, and a “cyber range,” where clients can replicate real-world conditions during trials.

[Sic'EmBears]

Construction begins on new Texas-style hotel in Irving's Las Colinas Urban Center


VBX

Project Location

Construction started on a new Texas-style hotel next to Irving's soon-to-be-built $113 million convention center hotel that will add nearly 150 hotel rooms in the Las Colinas Urban District.

The Texas-style hotel will bring a "very cool concept" to North Texas unlike anything the region has seen before, said Michael Scheurich, CEO of Houston-based Arch-Con Corp., which designed the boutique hotel.

"It's a concept modeled after the old motor court hotels of the 1950s, where you drive up to your room with your car," Scheurich told the Dallas Business Journal.

"They created a resort and conference area that feels like you're walking into a resort when you go to this hotel," he added.

Earlier this year, construction began on the 12-story, 350-room hotel, called the Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.

The hotel is meant to complement the five-year-old convention center, which averages 305 events per year in the city.

[Ross MacLochness]

To be quite honest, I've never understood what people mean when they say "I don't OKC to be another x." Reasons being, they say things like bad traffic, high cost of living, too much growth, etc. Those are all necessary evils.

So what do you mean when you say you don't want OKC to be another Dallas?

I would love OKC to be another Dallas. When I say that, I mean job growth, new infrastructure investment(new freeways and aggressive light rail construction), great trails, amazing developments, beautiful skyline, very diverse group of people(when I walk into stores around Dallas I always hear different languages being spoken and see evidence of people from all over the world, I rarely see that in OKC), corporate relocations left and right, new data centers, etc... I'm not proposing an exact clone of Dallas, I'm wanting to see OKC follow in their footsteps.

It's not that people don't want to experience the level of growth or prosperity that Dallas is able to achieve, it's that we think we can do a better job handling that growth. It is possible to have Dallas levels of success without having dallas levels of auto traffic. It is possiblle to have Dallas level of growth without having to take a highway to get across the street. It is possible to have a great economic boom without contributing to the degradation of farm and prairie land by continuing to sprawl. It possible for a city to have tremendous growth and do it in a way that is more productive financially for the city than Dallas.

All the things people don't like about Dallas can be mitigated to a certain extent with good planning no matter how much growth there is. Dallas has been been growing longer than we have and have done amazing things but also made plenty of mistakes.. We can look at them and see what they have been doing right and what they have been doing wrong and then try to steer this city in a direction that we want. Saying traffic and sprawl, etc. - anything that someone might not like about dallas - are just "nessecary evils" of becoming a big city, is just lazy and not true. We are early enough in our growth that we can do a better job of handling it if we plan properly - and look to cities like Dallas as case studies.

[Ross MacLochness]

You are exactly right PluPan. People who say the classic "don't X my Y" are usually people viewing only the negatives that come with it (for this example, primarily traffic).

Dallas is on an amazing burst of growth right now. Austin is in the same boat on a smaller scale. If OKC could have just a sliver of that type of growth, the city would be flourishing relative to now. OKC is having great growth for its size, but we are kidding ourselves if you aren't truly jealous of the [positive] growth of these mega-cities.

The growth in the core is amazing. Dallas is certainly doing good things. I love many things about dallas. However, I'm not jealous of it. For me, the negatives just outway the positives. It's the feeling I get when I go there. The sprawl, the concrete, the traffic - not for me. It's ok if that's what you like, but I don't. And I don't believe for a minute that the negatives are simply attributes of any successful city, rather they are attributes of abysmal planning that can be mitigated if OKC is careful about its growth.

[Plutonic Panda]

You are exactly right PluPan. People who say the classic "don't X my Y" are usually people viewing only the negatives that come with it (for this example, primarily traffic).

Dallas is on an amazing burst of growth right now. Austin is in the same boat on a smaller scale. If OKC could have just a sliver of that type of growth, the city would be flourishing relative to now. OKC is having great growth for its size, but we are kidding ourselves if you aren't truly jealous of the [positive] growth of these mega-cities.

That graphic on the last page showing the apartment growth being just second to NYC, is astonishing.

It really is. Part of me gets excited when I realize OKC is within mere hours of a city like that but another part gets depressed when seeing announcement after announcement for the DFW area wishing OKC could get just one or two of those developments. I love Dallas and am actually jealous that are getting some projects I'd like see in Los Angeles!

[Plutonic Panda]

It's not that people don't want to experience the level of growth or prosperity that Dallas is able to achieve, it's that we think we can do a better job handling that growth. It is possible to have Dallas levels of success without having dallas levels of auto traffic. It is possiblle to have Dallas level of growth without having to take a highway to get across the street. It is possible to have a great economic boom without contributing to the degradation of farm and prairie land by continuing to sprawl. It possible for a city to have tremendous growth and do it in a way that is more productive financially for the city than Dallas.

I'm not sure what you mean when you it is possible to have Dallas level of growth without having to take a highway to get across the street. There are times on Dart when you can barely move because the train is so packed. There are tons of places where can live, work, and play without having to use a car. Dallas is planning a subway system. Street after street in and around downtown are going through road diet projects.

So what is your issue with the city? You don't like the large suburban areas such as the northside? Areas like Plano where Toyota left SoCal for from an urban area to a suburban one citing an employee survey that saw a higher quality of life in? Why would Dallas be getting corporate relocation after corporate relocation and billion dollar developments if the single occupant automobile was so bad? Why would Uptown be listed as a millennial mega-hub with billions of dollars that has it's own skyline rivaling OKC's if wasn't walkable? Have you seen how expansive DART is? LBJ expansion has already seen billions of Dollars worth of projects around the corridor. I would say the way Dallas is developing is extremely financially productive and it will become even more so as the city gets even more dense.

What cities do you view as having Dallas level growth in the US but is doing a better job? I'd like to know. The ones I know of, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, etc. all of massive billion dollar highway projects in the works, have vast expansive sprawl, new freeways being built or expanded left and right, and still aren't even on Dallas's level.

Dallas is a city that is getting close to rivaling Chicago and LA. Of course you have to remember that Chicago and LA are much older and LA has the obvious advantages Dallas probably never will(minus climate change) such as the oceans, weather, etc. When you talk about a city that is on the verge of becoming an economic powerhouse for the United States, I'd say they are a great model to follow. Even cities like Chicago are seeing billion dollar freeway improvements and Chicago is about to see a slew of new freeway extensions built and new high profile widening projects. Chicago and Los Angeles are also much older than Dallas and have that advantage as well.

All the things people don't like about Dallas can be mitigated to a certain extent with good planning no matter how much growth there is. Dallas has been been growing longer than we have and have done amazing things but also made plenty of mistakes.. We can look at them and see what they have been doing right and what they have been doing wrong and then try to steer this city in a direction that we want. Saying traffic and sprawl, etc. - anything that someone might not like about dallas - are just "nessecary evils" of becoming a big city, is just lazy and not true. We are early enough in our growth that we can do a better job of handling it if we plan properly - and look to cities like Dallas as case studies.

Dallas took off in the 60's from what I understand and OKC and Dallas weren't that different. Obviously the two cities went different directions. Now I could be wrong about that as I haven't studied in depth to each city's history, but that's my understanding of it.

So say god himself comes and offers OKC a "Dallas" level boom with corporate relocations, what would you do differently? It is just the sprawl and your notion that sprawl is bad? Because the sprawl is what has made Dallas attractive. Low housing prices, low density, low traffic, etc. I mean all of those things go together. They certainly aren't relocating from California to Dallas for the weather, so why is it?

So if OKC could have Dallas's population but packed in in a non-sprawl way which would result in extreme housing prices, horrid traffic, extreme density, you think corporations would choose to relocate here from the exact same thing only with worse weather among other things? I'm not understanding what you're saying exactly. I'd like to know what you think Dallas is doing right vs. what they are doing wrong. I have an idea, but you're not being specific only point out that you think sprawl is bad and Dallas's growth is unsustainable.

[Plutonic Panda]

The growth in the core is amazing. Dallas is certainly doing good things. I love many things about dallas. However, I'm not jealous of it. For me, the negatives just outway the positives. It's the feeling I get when I go there. The sprawl, the concrete, the traffic - not for me. It's ok if that's what you like, but I don't. And I don't believe for a minute that the negatives are simply attributes of any successful city, rather they are attributes of abysmal planning that can be mitigated if OKC is careful about its growth.

What cities do you like?

[Sic'EmBears]

Bank to build $52M corporate headquarters in McKinney; to add 400 jobs


KW

Project Location

The new campus will help the $8.6 billion firm accommodate its rapidly expanding business after filing for IPO four years ago. Since filing, Independent Bank has added about 340 workers to its employee base that now totals more than 1,000 workers.

By building a bank-designed campus on a 10.4-acre tract at State Highway 121 and Grand Ranch Parkway within Craig Ranch, Independent Bank CEO David Brooks said he expects the company to continue on its upward trajectory.

"We have deep roots here and our organization has a unique opportunity to leverage the tremendous growth we've experienced since going public four years ago," Brooks said, in a statement.

From DMN:

The project is being planned to ultimately house as many as 1,200 workers in 400,000 square feet of offices. It will start with a 150,000-square-foot, six-story office building.

"We think we can be under construction this year," Brooks said. "We believe we will hire at least 400 net new jobs in the next five years."

The bank plans to relocate to the first new building in early 2019.

"We think we could add as many as another 1,000 employees over the next five to seven years," Brooks said. "We are going to have to compete with that new JPMorgan Chase campus in Legacy West where they are putting 6,000 jobs."

"This is on a fast track for us."

[OUman]

To be quite honest, I've never understood what people mean when they say "I don't OKC to be another x." Reasons being, they say things like bad traffic, high cost of living, too much growth, etc. Those are all necessary evils.

So what do you mean when you say you don't want OKC to be another Dallas?

I would love OKC to be another Dallas. When I say that, I mean job growth, new infrastructure investment(new freeways and aggressive light rail construction), great trails, amazing developments, beautiful skyline, very diverse group of people(when I walk into stores around Dallas I always hear different languages being spoken and see evidence of people from all over the world, I rarely see that in OKC), corporate relocations left and right, new data centers, etc... I'm not proposing an exact clone of Dallas, I'm wanting to see OKC follow in their footsteps.

I don't want Oklahoma City to be another out-of-control boom town. Sure, Dallas has plenty of things going for it right now, but you also have to weigh the negatives with the positives. Traffic, urban sprawl, etc all have their effects. If it's managed growth, I'm all for it. What Oklahoma City has going for it right now is pretty decent for a city our size. You don't have to be another Dallas or Austin to have good quality of life, good jobs, etc.

You are exactly right PluPan. People who say the classic "don't X my Y" are usually people viewing only the negatives that come with it (for this example, primarily traffic.

Did you even read my post carefully? I was not just dwelling on the negatives, I do like what's happening in Oklahoma City a lot. Read my reply above.



Just my opinion folks.

[Plutonic Panda]

I don't want Oklahoma City to be another out-of-control boom town. Sure, Dallas has plenty of things going for it right now, but you also have to weigh the negatives with the positives. Traffic, urban sprawl, etc all have their effects. If it's managed growth, I'm all for it. What Oklahoma City has going for it right now is pretty decent for a city our size. You don't have to be another Dallas or Austin to have good quality of life, good jobs, etc.



Did you even read my post carefully? I was not just dwelling on the negatives, I do like what's happening in Oklahoma City a lot. Read my reply above.



Just my opinion folks.

What is an out of control boom town? What criteria are you using for that definition?

[OUman]

From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Definiton of boomtown:

A town that experiences a sudden growth in business and population : a booming town

This article, although from 2011, hopefully explains it better. I mean, you don't have to believe it just because it references Forbes but then again Forbes is a respected publication.

And Austin most definitely fits the bill of a boomtown. Rapid population growth, skyrocketing prices, nightmarish traffic. What takes 30 minutes here takes well over an hour there.

That's what I meant by out-of-control. Like I said, I'm not anti-growth, I'm just anti-rapid growth. If that's a bad thing then so be it. It's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.

And I'll be happy to continue this conversation via pm, I don't want to derail the topic any further.

[Plutonic Panda]

You just dogged my question and no I'm not going to PM you. What is your definition of an out of control boomtown? What criteria are you using for that?

[OUman]

I didn't dodge your question. That's the definition I'm using, the one I listed above. I go by official definitions, and official publications like Forbes (which by the way, does have its own criteria for determining boom towns). I don't make up my "own" criteria.

[Plutonic Panda]

You gave me the definition of a boomtown, not an out of control boomtown. Out of control can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

OKC is already listed or has been included in lists as the next cities to become a boomtown. I believe some publications have listed it as such. If you don't want it to become a boomtown, then we can just disagree and go on about our business. You specially said an "out of control" boomtown when comparing it to Dallas and I wanted to know what you meant by that.