Jon Anderson

An award-winning columnist, Jon has earned silver and bronze awards for his columns from the National Association of Real Estate Editors in both 2016, 2017 and 2018. When he isn't in Hawaii, Jon enjoys life in the sky in Dallas.

Rawlings and the City Council Roll into Fair Park

By Jon Anderson / February 9, 2016 /

In what I expect was a piece of theater, last night, the Dallas City Council trucked over to Fair Park to meet with the people in an open-door session. The goal was for citizens to voice their opinions about the Fair Park task force’s plans. As one black community leader pointed out, a two-hour session…

New Year, Same Old Crazy: How HOA Meetings Draw Out the Battiest in the Building

By Jon Anderson / February 5, 2016 /

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a good HOA schadenfreude moment. Sensing your need for a fix (and a reader with a crazy HOA board meeting me for drinks), well, here we are. All board meetings start with the same tedium of roll calls, calling for votes on topics residents don’t understand (because residents are…

Dallas Landmark Commission Votes to Preserve Meadows Building, Delays on Victorian in The Cedars

By Jon Anderson / February 2, 2016 /

The past year has been full of firsts for me at 1500 Marilla. First there was the Planning Commission (who, as unpaid appointees, I wonder how the commissioners live) and then a full council session. Today I was last-minuted into attending a meeting of the Dallas Landmark Commission. Each new experience in the Dallas City…

Condo Developers Running out of Rich People? Build for the Middle Class

By Jon Anderson / January 29, 2016 /

In December, I spent a month writing about Hawaii real estate. Several of the articles showcased new and planned high-rises in the Kaka’ako area of Honolulu that were almost exclusively targeting foreign investment and wealthy local buyers wanting to trade their nest for a high-rise perch. You may also recall that many of these buildings…

Dallas Architecture Forum: Fair Park is a LULU

By Jon Anderson / January 27, 2016 /

Apparently in architectural parlance, “LULU” is an acronym meaning “Locally Undesirable Land Use.” That just about sums up Fair Park — a walled desert surrounded by acres of concrete that blooms once a year. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, the Dallas Architecture Forum hosted a panel discussion centered on what the city should do with Fair…