Downtown’s Critical Mass of Residents Might Attract the Likes of Central Market to 1401 Elm
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Rendering: Merriman Associates Architects
The mixed-use redevelopment of George Dahl’s 1401 Elm has been a highly anticipated project, and now it’s getting even more buzz as Olympic Property Partners sets its sights on a high-end grocer for the ground-floor retail component.
Robert Wilonsky at The Dallas Morning News took a gander at the agenda for tomorrow’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, and what did he find but a little ditty about Olympic making a slight change to their TIF agreement:
Ever since Urban Market shuttered its downtown location in the Interurban building, the neighborhood has been without a grocery store. But what if an “upscale grocer” such as Central Market, Whole Foods, or the newly profligate Fresh Market moved downtown? I know that folks who are attracted to living in downtown Dallas are very much attuned to a car-free (or at least car-lite) lifestyle, and wouldn’t it be terribly convenient to have a luxury grocer right here, right off of the Akard DART Rail station? Right in the heart of downtown?
This diagram of 1401 Elm, a 52-story, George Dahl-designed tower, shows the spatial distribution of the $175 million development, which will include both commercial and residential components, and perhaps an upscale grocery store.
Perhaps this change, which would basically allow a larger use in the commercial component of this mixed-use development, signals that downtown Dallas is at a critical mass. Goodness knows I believe it, considering the large crowd that the downtown Dallas neighborhood meeting drew, the growing number of affordable rentals in the downtown area, as well as the reported increases in occupancy as well as optimism from commercial tenants. Downtown Dallas is definitely experiencing a resurgence, and an upscale grocer would solidify its status as an attractive city for urban dwellers.
There are several other pieces of the puzzle that need to come together to really make downtown Dallas sing, and one of those is dedicated protected bike lanes and fewer one-way streets (including Elm Street, which runs the width of downtown and is a four-lane parking lot most days thanks to confusing signage). But for now, I’m heartened to hear that Olympic is in talks with several grocers for the development, for which the city of Dallas is kicking in $50 million in economic incentives toward the $175 million project.
What do you think of this proposed change to Olympic’s TIF agreement?
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Not only is it so needed, it will bring in yet more residential!
How will Central Market handle the issue of an enormously large homeless/vagrant/panhandling presence in that very exact area? From time-to-time I spot known homeless people shopping at the Lover’s Lane Central Market and each time I do see them there, they are cruising the aisles over and over and partaking of all the free samples, and gorging food off the salad bar and into their mouth without paying.
That Lover’s Lane location has a miniscular population of vagrant issues compared to the huge problem Central Market will experience at a downtown location. This proposed site is very near a CVS and that CVS mgmt tells me they see non-stop shoplifting going on under their nose all day long and they tell me there is nothing they can do about it.
Well that is why there are no large scale grocers downtown. Very interesting!
Central Market is NOT going into Downtown Dallas.
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20150216-developer-wants-a-grocery-store-downtown-but-it-won-t-be-central-market.ece
Thank you.
Well then, I wonder if it will be Fresh Market or perhaps Whole Foods?
I’m sure the main reason there’s no grocery store in the city core is the lack of residential density to make one economically viable. A grocery store can’t survive on lunch time errands alone. Yes, there will be increased shrinkage (shoplifting) to factor in, but it’s not like that’s unique to Dallas.
To Jane Mitchell. If you consider double-fisting free samples the mark of vagrancy, the only people who shop at Costco and Sam’s Club are vagrants. LOL