Anyone live in The Villages in Dallas? (Meridian: apartments, hotel)
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Thinking about moving into the village apartments. The apartment is an older complex and wondering if anyone that lives there has any issues, specifically roaches/insects? Also wondering about the age demographics. I’m in my 30s but just wondering. Any advice about the property would be helpful. Thank you!
That is comprised of multiple complexes - some of which are quite modern and fancy and others that are much older. Seems like they are gradually remodeling all of the older complexes. The center area is very nice with the pool, shops, gym, etc. The Meridian restaurant is awesome. 30s would be totally fine.
The Village was a better community before the renovation project that went from 2017-2021. Yes, the renovation of the main community areas looks good aesthetically, but is subpar functionally. The renovation put in a bunch of unnecessary fluff. Most residents don't use most of the fluff from that project. A very good portion of residents are displeased with the renovations as a whole. Too many unneeded food/beverage concepts and a wasteful boutique hotel.
The central community gym is one of the few assets worthwhile from the renovation, but not without its flaws.
The 1970s-1980s complexes are adequate apartments but not without their issues. There are reviews of all of the older complexes across the main internet review sites and platforms. The apartments that have been re-built since 2000 are the better apartments and better dwelling experiences.
As for demographics, it is a 20s-30s crowd. This article from D Magazine in 2005, while dated, is still accurate from a demographics standpoint. I'd say the majority still fall between 26-35 as this article stated back in 2005.
The Village angered a lot of people at the onset of the renovation project in 2017 when they eliminated their USTA (United States Tennis Association) award winning tennis facility to build these unneeded food and beverage concepts.
The Meridian is NOT awesome. The Meridian is a waste. Most Village residents can't afford to eat at The Meridian, even residents in the newer complexes. There is a good chance that no one who lives in a 1970s-1980s Village era community will ever step foot into Meridian.
The Village didn't need all those new restaurants. The only food/beverage concept that made sense from the whole project was the two story Village Country Club, which separates dining downstairs from a bar and socializing upstairs. That was an upgrade over what existed prior to the renovation.
The Village could barely support one restaurant in the 2000s-2010s prior to the renovation so there was not a need to put in multiple food and beverage concepts.
The Village was a better community before the renovation project that went from 2017-2021. Yes, the renovation of the main community areas looks good aesthetically, but is subpar functionally. The renovation put in a bunch of unnecessary fluff. Most residents don't use most of the fluff from that project. A very good portion of residents are displeased with the renovations as a whole. Too many unneeded food/beverage concepts and a wasteful boutique hotel.
The central community gym is one of the few assets worthwhile from the renovation, but not without its flaws.
The 1970s-1980s complexes are adequate apartments but not without their issues. There are reviews of all of the older complexes across the main internet review sites and platforms. The apartments that have been re-built since 2000 are the better apartments and better dwelling experiences.
As for demographics, it is a 20s-30s crowd. This article from D Magazine in 2005, while dated, is still accurate from a demographics standpoint. I'd say the majority still fall between 26-35 as this article stated back in 2005.
The Village angered a lot of people at the onset of the renovation project in 2017 when they eliminated their USTA (United States Tennis Association) award winning tennis facility to build these unneeded food and beverage concepts.
The Meridian is NOT awesome. The Meridian is a waste. Most Village residents can't afford to eat at The Meridian, even residents in the newer complexes. There is a good chance that no one who lives in a 1970s-1980s Village era community will ever step foot into Meridian.
The Village didn't need all those new restaurants. The only food/beverage concept that made sense from the whole project was the two story Village Country Club, which separates dining downstairs from a bar and socializing upstairs. That was an upgrade over what existed prior to the renovation.
The Village could barely support one restaurant in the 2000s-2010s prior to the renovation so there was not a need to put in multiple food and beverage concepts.
OK, sounds like you're emotionally attached to how it used to be. It was frumpy and dated back when I lived there, which has been 14 years ago now. At the time I thought it was ridiculous there was really nothing walkable from my complex (I was on the opposite end from Old Town). The renovation is much more in line with what young people want. And as an SMU undergrad that lived in the cheapest complex available at the time, I was very much eating at nice restaurants lmao.
Wow - you do sound passionate! I assume you must live there and have personal experience.
I will say Meridian is lovely (I've eaten there many times) and showing from how hard it is to get a reservation there (and its awards) - it must be doing good business.
I will agree that its price point is high and probably folks living in the older apartments don't frequent it. That said, I once had one of the oldest apartments there and would have loved the renovations to the general area when I lived there (even if I couldn't afford the higher end restaurants on a regular basis). There is also a casual sports bar and a few other places too. The Village does seem to be targeting a higher $$ - so I can imagine that would be frustrating for many long-time residents.
An undergrad at SMU and you couldn't walk 3/4 of a mile over to the shopping center?
Ehhh... 1.2 miles from my old place to Tom Thumb per Google Maps. So almost an hour of walking round trip and there's basically nothing along the way like a coffee shop to break it up and the way the complexes are surrounded by fences there are no short cuts. It's a poorly designed 1970s auto centric development that makes walking a hassle. Good for them doing what they can to fix it.
It was frumpy and dated back when I lived there, which has been 14 years ago now.
The only thing that was frumpy and dated was the main Village Country Club. The swimming pool itself was fine, as were the tennis courts. The tennis courts have been eliminated and the swimming pool hasn't been upgraded. The new main swimming pool has less room for actually swimming laps, which is the point of a swimming pool.
The point that a renovation was needed to the main Village Country Club is a fair point. I can't imagine anyone would have argued the concept of a renovation. The problem is that the project that was proposed and eventually built was a bad project. It eliminated a great asset (tennis), weakened another (swimming pool), and added tons of food and beverage that the residents were not demanding and could not support. It makes no sense to have 5+ food concepts when one restaurant was failing in the past. The old Village Country Club was not well managed, and the frumpy and dated exterior did not help the cause.
The social media backlash against the project at the time it was announced was immense.
The gym got upgraded but that's a mere afterthought with all of the functionally useless concrete and asphalt added. That could have been achieved within the confines of a better project idea.
Adding more concrete and asphalt while reducing greenery contributes to the urban heat island effect. That's not good.
There could have been a better renovation project done without a lot of the useless stuff that isn't getting supported by residents right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by f4shionablecha0s
At the time I thought it was ridiculous there was really nothing walkable from my complex (I was on the opposite end from Old Town). The renovation is much more in line with what young people want. And as an SMU undergrad that lived in the cheapest complex available at the time, I was very much eating at nice restaurants lmao.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rabbit33
An undergrad at SMU and you couldn't walk 3/4 of a mile over to the shopping center?
The walkability argument is asinine. No one was talking about walkability in the 1970s-1990s in the Sun Belt. Despite the so-called lack of walkability from 1970s-1990s era construction, obesity rates were lower in that era. Walkability is a gigantic hoax perpetuated by people not grounded in reality.
Additionally, when The Village of 7-15 years ago is considered, there were plenty of things walkable then. If someone wanted a coffee shop, there are 2 Starbucks locations adjacent to The Village, and both have been around since the 2000s. Half Price Books is right there, across from one of the Starbucks, and Half Price Books has a coffee shop. For fast food, McDonald's, Whataburger, Taco Bueno, In N' Out Burger, Potbelly, Chipotle, Subway, Freebird's, Panda Express, and a now closed Wendy's location were all walkable. There's also been a walkable 7/11 on Skillman and Southwestern for convenience store grabs if needed. A quality Thai restaurant, Royal Thai, is walkable. Plucker's for chicken wings is walkable. IHOP and greasy spoon Oasis Cafe are walkable. There were plenty of walkable options outside The Village then. Additionally, there was that mismanaged Village Country Club bar and restaurant that wasn't drawing people well in the 2000s-2010s at that time.
The Village food/beverage options can't compete with all of those other options I mentioned that are nearby + all the other eateries within close driving distance.
All the retail I mentioned above is still there. And most of that retail is just as good as the unnecessary fluff in The Village now. The healthiest food doesn't come from restaurants but comes from a grocery store. This is why poor people complain about food deserts. Yes, the Tom Thumb on Lovers and the Central Market are walkable to a few of the Village complexes. Even the Whole Foods on Park Lane is walkable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by texstout
I will say Meridian is lovely (I've eaten there many times) and showing from how hard it is to get a reservation there (and its awards) - it must be doing good business.
I will agree that its price point is high and probably folks living in the older apartments don't frequent it. That said, I once had one of the oldest apartments there and would have loved the renovations to the general area when I lived there (even if I couldn't afford the higher end restaurants on a regular basis). There is also a casual sports bar and a few other places too. The Village does seem to be targeting a higher $$ - so I can imagine that would be frustrating for many long-time residents.
Meridian is not being used by the residents. Meridian could have been located anywhere in Dallas and gotten the hype or buzz that it's gotten. Lincoln Property Company could have bought/leased a commercial space elsewhere if they thought a fancy Brazilian restaurant was a viable concept. That didn't need to be a part of The Village.
Also, the casual sports bar point isn't that good of a point for a lot of reasons, which I'll illustrate.
1. Currently, it is not drawing a lot of business. Conceptually, I could have predicted that outcome. The old Village Country Club could have sufficed as a sports bar and it wasn't drawing well in its later years.
2. If Village residents want to go to a sports bar, there are plenty of sports bars in Dallas. The sports bar in The Village is no different than another sports bar in Dallas.
3. With multiple food concepts in The Village, the food concepts other than Meridian are cannibalizing each others' sales, including the sports bar. Meridian is doing well right now because it is being hyped in the press like no one's business and somehow drawing outsiders in. Also, Meridian is a small space, and that's why it is difficult to get into.
How is walkability a hoax? A preference sure (it's definitely a priority for where I choose to live), but I'm not sure how you are calling it a hoax?
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