The future of Downtown Dallas (Arlington, Trinity: hotels, construction, restaurants)

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Is downtown Dallas on the upswing or decline? Added DART lines, the cut and cover park over WR Freeway, the Trinity River Project seem promising to boost more life into downtown.

The office space vacancy and lack of pedestrian activity compared to other cities maybe bring it down. What do you think?

[Pfhtex]

Decline.

Once they failed to place either a baseball or football stadium, or even keep games at the Cotton Bowl, or even get a lousy horse track near downtown, it's just a big concrete place.

That's all Dallas is to me anymore. A big, hot, concrete place. So boring. It's a big bar, that's all you get is restaurants and bars.

As far as downtown goes, there's just nothing there. Whatever is there, is gross. Take the Joule hotel. Charlie Palmer's - - nice place. Nice, empty place.

The sprawl, IMO, will prevent Dallas from having a burgeoning downtown. To much fun to be had up North - - they even have ballparks directly in the center of town. I know that this is not all that it takes, but it's a huge, huge step to revitalizing a downtown area.

[Dallas native]

I could not disagree more with the above post. If you compare Downtown Dallas in 2010 to the way it was in 2000 it is evident to me that it is getting better, not worse. The residential population in the CBD right now is approx. 6000. Ten years ago it was only in the hundreds. The Expansion of the Arts District, the Deck Park, the conversion of numerous large mid-century office buildings into residential, the addition of parks, the addition of more and better hotels & restaurants/bars/clubs have all created a synergy that is propelling Downtown towards a better future.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by Dallas native

I could not disagree more with the above post. If you compare Downtown Dallas in 2010 to the way it was in 2000 it is evident to me that it is getting better, not worse. The residential population in the CBD right now is approx. 6000. Ten years ago it was only in the hundreds. The Expansion of the Arts District, the Deck Park, the conversion of numerous large mid-century office buildings into residential, the addition of parks, the addition of more and better hotels & restaurants/bars/clubs have all created a synergy that is propelling Downtown towards a better future.

Very well articulated!

I have read articles and blogs on making DART a subway downtown with the added green and orange lines. Is that a reality in the near future or more in distant times?

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Very well articulated!

I have read articles and blogs on making DART a subway downtown with the added green and orange lines. Is that a reality in the near future or more in distant times?

The 2nd downtown line looks very tenuous according to what I've read recently. DART is having financial problems and it appears that this project will have to be put off for several years.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Dallas native

I could not disagree more with the above post. If you compare Downtown Dallas in 2010 to the way it was in 2000 it is evident to me that it is getting better, not worse. The residential population in the CBD right now is approx. 6000. Ten years ago it was only in the hundreds. The Expansion of the Arts District, the Deck Park, the conversion of numerous large mid-century office buildings into residential, the addition of parks, the addition of more and better hotels & restaurants/bars/clubs have all created a synergy that is propelling Downtown towards a better future.

I agree. The negative poster totally forgot about the AAC and the people that come there for events. So we don't have a baseball park right smack in the middle of downtown....... there are plenty of other cities that do not either and we can do just fine. I've been downtown on weeknights and weekends and it IS busy.

[Lakewooder]

However we are receiving funding for streetcar lines downtown..

Yes, there's something at AAC most nights of the week - many, many concerts coming up for one thing - Lady GaGa sold out two days almost immediately. And many times I go by the Arts District around 7 pm and there is usually a couple of events (city performance hall still under construction will add more) - frustrating to me because there are a lot of people driving around there who are totally lost..huge clusterfudge some nights but lots of activity!

[lawguy25]

From an outsiders point of view, I find it hard to believe that some of that explosive growth in Uptown and Turtle Creek (etc) won't cross the Woodall Rodgers Freeway (soon to be deck park) and start to really help downtown develop into more than just offices. However, I do think that it will take another building boom/ population boom in those areas to push development into downtown. Once those areas "build out" then developers could be looking to keep going, with DTD being the next closest dense area to "build out" as well. At least this is what happened in the communities across the river from D.C. ie Arlington (Rossyln and Ballston areas specifically). DTD looks to have a lot of parking lots... future towers? Only time will tell.

[dallasboi]

DTDallas is DEFINATELY getting better everyday...It dosent even feel like The DTDallas that peole used to thrash and bash...its turning into a real city center.

[lawguy25]

I wonder what course DTD, Uptown and such would have taken without the recession occurring. Is development and construction pretty much at a stand still now like almost everywhere else? Or is it sloooooowly picking up?