on January 4, 2013 / by Downtown Dallas Inc. / in Blog Posts, DDI News
2012 was an incredible year for Downtown Dallas and I believe the best is yet to come. Many extraordinary projects came to fruition this past year with even more on the horizon for 2013. Many of you probably saw the recent articles “Downtown Dallas begins to come of age” and “Real-life adventures of New Dallas” by Cheryl Hall in the Dallas Morning News. Each piece detailed the new energy experienced in the city’s core….from the tree lighting ceremonies at City Lights, the AT&T Performing Arts Center and Klyde Warren Park, to the everyday activities and special events at Belo Garden and Main Street Garden; there is something for everyone in Downtown 365 days a year.
As we look back on 2012, it was a year full of construction, grand openings and grand announcements. The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge became a gateway to the up-and-coming West Dallas, Belo Garden replaced a concrete parking lot as a quiet, tree-lined sanctuary, and the Dallas Arts District footprint was completed with the opening of City Performance Hall. The Statler Hilton added to the beauty of Main Street Garden with its blue LED night lights, the Omni Dallas Hotel surpassed all projections in its first year, Downtown became connected to Uptown with the new 5.1 acre Klyde Warren Park spanning across Woodall Rodgers Freeway and last but not least, we experienced the grand opening of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
Looking forward into 2013
We’ve recently heard a number that well over $2b has been invested Downtown. And we are seeing first hand that corporations are recognizing the value of a Downtown address. In fact, there are five new office buildings with potential groundbreakings in 2013 including Two Arts Plaza, The Spire, Hall Financial, KDC and Crescent.
Residential development projects in Downtown Dallas set for 2013 completion include the Continental Building and Lone Star Gas Lofts, adding more than 200 residential units each along with ground floor retail. Museum Tower will add 100 luxury high rise condominiums in the mix and several residential, hotel and mixed-use developments such as The Joule, 500 S. Ervay, Fairfield Residential – West End, 1600 Pacific, the Statler Hilton and Mill Creek have been announced or are already under construction.
We now boast 7,800 residents in the Central Business District and 38,000 throughout the greater Downtown area. We project those numbers to grow to 12,000 and 55,000 respectively over the next five years.
On behalf of the team at Downtown Dallas, Inc., please be assured how thankful we are for your goodwill and commitment to Downtown and our organization. Thanks to the personal and financial commitment and support of our Board of Directors, Member Organizations, and other stakeholders including our friends in the local media, growing residential population, and partners at the City of Dallas, what was a vision ten years ago is now a reality in way too many ways to mention. From sidewalks to skyscrapers, we are committed to building a “sense of place”, reinforcing to some, and transforming the mindset of others that Downtown Dallas is more than a location– it is a destination. Downtown is a community, a lifestyle, an evolving environment that changes the perception and reality of what that means. We have much to be proud of but excellence is the gradual result of proactively and consistently striving to do better, raising the bar and moving the ball down the field.
Please mark your calendars to attend and support the Downtown Dallas, Inc. Annual Meeting Luncheon on March 5th at the Sheraton Hotel. Sponsorships are available and Annual Meeting Sponsors receive a special discount for ad space in the Power Broker March Issue of D CEO. Please contact Downtown Dallas, Inc. at 214.744.1270 for more information.
As Goes Downtown, So Goes Dallas—the best is yet to come. Happy New Year!
John Crawford
President and CEO
Downtown Dallas, Inc.
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