Dallas Police Cite Valley View Center With ‘Habitual Criminal Property’ Designation
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Some Dallasites remember the Valley View Center fondly as a place where families bought kitchen appliances at Sears, Roebuck & Co., and the area around what is now LBJ Freeway and Preston Road was made up of cotton fields.
Earlier this month, the Valley View Center caught fire. The cause is still reportedly under investigation.
On Wednesday, the site was designated by the City of Dallas as a “habitual criminal property,” officials confirmed to CandysDirt.com.
The “mall,” which once boasted an AMC movie theater and anchor stores of Sears, JC Penney, Macy’s, and Dillard’s, is now vacant and, by all accounts, “dead.”
“When I was in high school, Valley View Mall was still nice,” said Little Casa View resident John Burton. “The theater there was great. Such a shame that a great location like that is like it is now.”
The “habitual criminal property” designation, established in 2017 under a nuisance abatement ordinance, is intended to increase property owner accountability in reducing crime.
The city has the right to fine, investigate, and mandate upgrades to the property owned by Beck Ventures, according to a report from Sharon Grigsby of The Dallas Morning News.
Grigsby wrote that a Feb. 22 letter from Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia cites five cases of criminal mischief and five cases of criminal trespass at the vacant property, more than half of which occurred in the past 12 months, and more than enough to trigger the “habitual criminal property” designation.
“The nuisance abatement process begins after five documented ‘abatable’ criminal activities occur at a property during a 12-month period,” according to a 2021 Dallas Observer report. “At that point, the property goes under review. The owner or their representative is given a notice to meet with police and the Dallas City Attorney’s Office to prove they made attempts to reduce crime on their property before the preliminary designation. It’s an offense to not attend this meeting.”
We’re continuing to follow this story and will update it as more details become available.
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What ever happened to the Mid Town development that was supposed to be built?
1. Linda Koop got the Becks (major developers) to buy a significant portion of Valley View Mall and realize the Midtown concept of a luxury mixed-use development.
2. There were multiple owners of the land parcels: they fought.
3. City promised the Becks complete cooperation & infrastructure investment.
4. Lawsuits between land owners slowed everything.
5. Changes in council reps and mayor at City Hall yanked promises.
6. TIFF that was promised to the developers was pulled after the tear down took so long.
7. Developer relies on own funding for sewer lines, etc.
8. CM from District 11 (Kleinman, then his protege Shultz) go to war against the Becks, trying to force them into moving faster.
9. New CM jaynie Schultz offers to complete tear down if Becks agree to low income housing at VV
10. Becks say no, begin asbestos removal
11. Jaynie Schultz focuses city resources on “The International District”, side-steps Valley View developers
12. Feb 2023 fire breaks out at Valley View Mall an homeless are discovered sleeping there.
Thank you, Candy, for providing some insight into the mind-bogglingly slow process at the site. That helps shed some light on it, at least.
Candy, thanks for the info.
Candy’s assessment is definitely Beck friendly. The Becks are not equipped for a project of this size and have been inept throughout the last 13 years of owning the site. The mall was only partially torn down to save the AMC theatre and keep them paying rent. The City is right to apply pressure to get the eyesore torn down…it is a cesspool of criminal activity.
Multiple YouTube videos of urban explorers entering the mall illegally has made it a go place for the curious.