Why isn't Downtown Dallas nice like Downtown Fort Worth? (Commerce: apartments, condos)

[HubbaHubba1]

Just Curious? Why can't Downtown Dallas get it together? Downtown Fort Worth is so nice, clean, cultured, pretty, well maintained, shops, apartments, Art, businesses, etc, it seems to be progressing more than Dallas? Why?

[artsyguy]

Really? So The Dallas Arts District and The West End aren't nice? Main Street Garden Park isn't nice? All of the random shopping and eateries isn't nice? Are we talking about the same Downtown Dallas here?

[DaveG99]

they are building a HUGE park in downtown Dallas thats going to be really nice. Downtown Ft Worth isnt better than Dallas really.

[artsyguy]

What is that huge park called? Have a link?

Last time I was in downtown Dallas they were making it denser by building towers and condos. It looked awesome.

Originally Posted by DaveG99

they are building a HUGE park in downtown Dallas thats going to be really nice. Downtown Ft Worth isnt better than Dallas really.

[h152cc2]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

Really? So The Dallas Arts District and The West End aren't nice? Main Street Garden Park isn't nice? All of the random shopping and eateries isn't nice? Are we talking about the same Downtown Dallas here?

No. No. No. and No.

One nice thing about sundance square in Fort Worth is it is very walkable.

[artsyguy]

Fort Worth has its cool aspects like being more walkable and village-like.

Originally Posted by cyclone8570

No. No. No. and No.

One nice thing about sundance square in Fort Worth is it is very walkable.

[HubbaHubba1]

There's big gaps everywhere. There's nothing really to do. The arts district is okay. Deep Ellum is a joke, The West End is a ghost town most nights. And right in the middle of Downtown is awful....Commerce, Main Street, etc. There's Neimans Marcus, The Iron Cactus, and few pizza joints in between and that's about it. There's no shopping anymore like back in the 80's and it's kinda scary at night. There's trash, debris, hobos, everywhere. It's sad.

[hamiltonpl]

Fort Worth's Bass family basically took over downtown and developed it. I think they've done a great job.

One thing Ft. Worth has is -- less. They don't have the intense competition that Dallas does. Here, every time someone (a company or person) wants to move to Dallas -- they have every municipality with raw land in the sticks giving them some sort of incentive to move out to a sprawling bedroom community. It discourages density. And it results in very little of a sense of place. I think it is bad for the whole region not to have a dense downtown core in Dallas. And it's one reason that I think people should at least look in the city of Dallas when relocating.

[DaveG99]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

What is that huge park called? Have a link?

Last time I was in downtown Dallas they were making it denser by building towers and condos. It looked awesome.

The Park

They are building it over that SPUR that runs from 75 to I35

[ClarenceBodiker]

There is actually a bigger variety of things to do in downtown Dallas than Fort Worth, the devil is in the details. Downtown Fort Worth has done quite a few things to draw more people than Dallas. One thing is it has provided a safe feeling envirornment. All of Fort Worth's downtown area is very well lit and has a heavy police presence, both city and private security. Dallas, on the other hand, has large sections of its downtown that feels completely deserted and dark that makes people and families uneasy late at night if you find yourself off the beaten track. Fort Worth also caters to the every man. Most of downtown feels very casual and laid back. While there are upscale things in DFTW like the Bass Hall and upscale restaurants, there's not a shortage of eateries, bars, the movie theater, and so on for people of all ages and incomes. While Dallas is getting better about this, it still seems to try to cater to higher end entertainment. Another thing is parking. All parking downtown is FREE and PLENTIFUL after business hours and on weekends. Dallas is full of valet (again, trying to be upscale again), paid parking garages and lots. That, along with huge private investments from people like the Bass Brothers for rennovation in the mid- to late-nineties, has created an environment that has done a good job attracting people and business to the area. Dallas really needs a Bass Brothers of their own, because big cities themselves seem to be incompetent (Dallas is not alone in that). Dallas needs Ross Perot, Jr. and Mark Cuban to basically buy downtown and fix it up.