We used to hear it all the time: “Nobody lives in downtown Dallas!”
Well, that’s definitely not true anymore. In fact, Realtor.com has noticed the upswing in residential occupancy in downtown Dallas, ranking our urban core as the No. 3 fastest-growing neighborhood in America.
But what areas do Realtor.com count as “downtown Dallas”?
Realtor.com’s analysis calls the 75201 Zip code “downtown Dallas.” As you see, this area covers much more than just downtown Dallas as we normally consider the area, which is bounded by the Interstate 30 canyon on the south, Woodall Rogers on the north, Interstate 35 E on the west, and US 75 on the east. Several pockets of Uptown are also included, as well as a sliver of Deep Ellum and, interestingly enough, Fair Park. Hot areas such as the Farmers Market and Main Street area are included, as is the Dallas Arts District.
But the point is driven home by an interesting trend toward adaptive reuse of existing downtown Dallas infrastructure, which Realtor.com goofed a little bit, saying that the Dallas High School campus on Pearl and Bryan streets will be “replaced.”
As a next step, a long-vacant 108-year-old high school will be replaced by a new office and retail building, which should bring in employment and visitors.
Actually, that 108-year-old building is a huge success for both preservationists and developer Matthews Southwest, who is investing more than $50 million to convert the historic building into retail and office space. The building, which is perfectly situated right across from the Pearl Street DART rail station, was in a state of extreme disrepair. It’s poised to become the crown jewel of the downtown rail gateway.
Another cool project that is actually gaining steam is the redevelopment of the First National Bank building, recently purchased out of bankruptcy by Maxwell Drever for a cool $240 million. The George Dahl-designed building at 1401 Elm has had a long-ish list of owners with big plans for the site, but Drever is doubling down on the building’s redevelopment, even going the eponymously named route of calling the complex The Drever.
Realtor.com’s report says that it estimates the downtown Dallas will see a 14.9 percent increase in household growth over the next five years, tied with Miami. So there’s that.
With all the hubbub in our urban core, would you consider living downtown?
