What is Downtown Dallas doing to improve itself and become a regional attraction? (Houston: tornado, earthquakes)

[turf3]

Originally Posted by Dallas12

I was in Seattle this past weekend and that city is truly magnificent (and booming). Dallas may not be able to become New York, but if it changes its obsolete zoning regulations, we might become a Seattle.

I'm not sure I want to become Seattle.


It's not all golden out there.

[Dallas12]

Originally Posted by DPatel304

The urban-infill projects have all been largely successful, but it's created a bit of a scattered/disconnected urban core.

It seems like things are still moving full speed ahead in Dallas though, so it'll be interesting to see these 'gaps' filled in in the coming years.

I'm quite optimistic that Downtown Dallas will feel a lot more lively and vibrate in the coming decade. In the next year or so we'll have the following:
1) East Quarter will really start to take shape which should help connect the Farmer's Market to the Main Street area.
2) AT&T Discovery District will be complete which will finally give Downtown a central gather space which is also not too far from Main Street.
3) Pacific Park has just completed, which means the city will soon begin work on the 2nd of 4 parks which give people more places to gather and eliminate yet another ugly surface lot.

It also helps that Uber will eventually house 3,000 employees right next to I-345 which should bring a lot more demand for residential and retail.

Dallas will really come together in the new decade. The foundations have been set by adding a significant amount of residents into the core and having a stronger corporate presence.

Like I said in the beginning, I just absolutely hate the parking lots and inconsistency in Dallas' CBD. If Dallas developed HALF of them, it would make a significant impact on the girth.

[Dallas12]

Originally Posted by turf3

I'm not sure I want to become Seattle.


It's not all golden out there.

The homeless population is probably the biggest issue they are facing, but everything else seems good to me. Healthy residential population, great parks, booming with infill projects, and competitive tech scene.

[DPatel304]

Originally Posted by Dallas12

Dallas will really come together in the new decade. The foundations have been set by adding a significant amount of residents into the core and having a stronger corporate presence.

Like I said in the beginning, I just absolutely hate the parking lots and inconsistency in Dallas' CBD. If Dallas developed HALF of them, it would make a significant impact on the girth.

Yes, well said about the foundations being set, that's exactly how I feel. What people sometimes forget is that we had a lot of vacant skyscrapers to fill, so that's where a lot of the infill and growth went initially. Now that we are past that phase, I do expect more and more of these to be filled going forward, which will be extremely exciting to see!

[Dallas12]

Originally Posted by DPatel304

Yes, well said about the foundations being set, that's exactly how I feel. What people sometimes forget is that we had a lot of vacant skyscrapers to fill, so that's where a lot of the infill and growth went initially. Now that we are past that phase, I do expect more and more of these to be filled going forward, which will be extremely exciting to see!

I feel the same way too. Don't get me wrong, I love the suburbs of DFW (heck, I live in one). It's just when you look at properties being built in such a wasteful method, it's like a missed opportunity for Downtown Dallas.

I love Seattle because it's a booming city that concentrates the vast majority of its projects in downtown. It's not just tall towers there; it's very dense, bulky, and only grows upward instead of opting to spread outward.

[NTXPerson]

Seattle and Dallas have different things going for them, so I don't really can compare the two. The demographics are very different. The population is smaller, the poverty rate is half of Dallas' rate, and the racial make-up is different.

[dallasboi]

Dallas is at a pivotal time in its history...Going forward we are about to witness Dallas Grow into a Beast.

[DPatel304]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Dallas is at a pivotal time in its history...Going forward we are about to witness Dallas Grow into a Beast.

Indeed. I'm predicting we'll get at least two more medium/large corporate relocations to Downtown Dallas in the next 1-2 years, which will really kick things into overdrive in the urban core. This will also create more demand for people to live south of Downtown as well. People overlook this region, but there is a ton of opportunity for growth here, and real estate is still very cheap, so once the north sprawls too far and becomes too expensive, people might start looking to other parts of DFW to buy houses.

[Dallas12]

Originally Posted by NTXPerson

Seattle and Dallas have different things going for them, so I don't really can compare the two. The demographics are very different. The population is smaller, the poverty rate is half of Dallas' rate, and the racial make-up is different.

The natural geography of Seattle limits the city from becoming spread out and their population generally accepts a more compact style of living.

Dallas basically the polar opposite. There's limitless land, people want more space, and it's 'trendier' to live in the central part of Dallas. This is evident due to the type of restaurants and retail occupying the spaces around the core.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by turf3

I'm not sure I want to become Seattle.


It's not all golden out there.

Seattle has made some serious mistakes, but on the whole, they have done a much better job than Dallas. It's a much more livable city. Unfortunately, as usual, you pay for it.

The main issue with Seattle is the homeless problem, but it isn't as if Dallas has that figured out. Dallas manages the homeless problem terribly and would-be do-gooders in the burbs simply aggravate the issue. The reason it is worse in Seattle? Scale. Mild weather means the scale of the issue is bigger.