Read Eric Nicholson’s Dissection of the Battle For Preston Hollow’s Soul

Really, not the soul of Preston Hollow but it’s pocketbooks! I love the way he puts this:

The entire Preston Road/Northwest Highway intersection is
curiously underwhelming given the vast sea of money it floats upon, as if real estate icon Ebby Halliday had pressed a pause button when she moved her headquarters here in the mid-1960s. To the northeast, formerly grand condominiums built in the ’50s and ’60s decay behind the once-celebrated “pink wall,” which a half century of sun and car crashes has left a scarred and splotchy beige. The northwest corner is Ebby’s. The little white house that houses her real estate office is a jarring throwback to the 1920s, when developer Ira Deloache built it for his headquarters. She lives in an estate next door. The shopping center on the southeast corner is markedly fancier but still feels cut from an earlier era.

Developers have been lusting after these corners for decades, but their advances have been held at bay by various factors — zoning restrictions, the splintered ownership of Preston Center and the area behind the pink wall, probable opposition from neighbors. Recently, though, it’s been thrust into the middle of a battle for Dallas’ soul.

I love that — “as if real estate icon Ebby Halliday had pressed a pause button when she moved her headquarters here in the mid-1960s.” Of course, we know it’s the neighbors of Preston Hollow who are well-educated, sharp, and uber-connected, who have risen to fight off recent new development attempts Behind the Pink Wall and in Preston Center. Eric kind of hints that Ashley Parks may have been top general of the Transwestern fight, while Laura Miller single handed;y killed Highland House in Preston Center. Is Ashley considering a run for Dallas City Council to oust Jennifer Gates? That’s the rumor. Then Luke Crosland says his deal was shot down by two words: “Laura Miller”

Here is his detailed take on the two cases, the stuff that made up most of our blog post reporting from January 25th on until last month. One thing: wish he would have asked Laura how she and Steve can own a high rise rental in Preston Center and yet stop others from doing the same. Maybe I’ll just ask her. I’m hoping for a little holiday break before we have to start tracking Mark Cuban over there. Oi. But the truth is, the wealthier the communities, the harder they fight at City Hall. Let the games begin.