I'd like to congratulate Jack Matthews, Jeff West, and Matthews Southwest for being selected to build the Dallas Convention Center Hotel.  Matthews Southwest is responsible for the South Side on Lamar Lofts as well as the soon to open Beat Condos. Dave Levinthal of the Dallas Morning News reports that The Dallas City Council Economic Development Committee unanimously directed the city staff to enter a 60-day negotiation period with Matthews Southwest to build  the hotel.

  The Allen Group Announces Build-to-Suit Project at the Dallas Logistics Hub ADESA selects site at Dallas Logistics Hub for a 175-Acre Auto Auction Center DALLAS, Texas, (June 5, 2008) - The Allen Group, developers of the Dallas Logistics Hub, a 6,000-acre multimodal logistics park in Southern Dallas County, announced today that ADESA, a full-range auction, reconditioning, logistical and other vehicle-related services company, has entered into a 20-year lease for a new state-of-the-art auto auction center at the Dallas Logistics Hub. The build-to-suit facility will be located on 175 acres within the City of Hutchins.  The property will house three buildings totaling approximately 196,000 square feet of space for an auction arena, administrative and financial offices and reconditioning facilities.  ADESA projects that the facility will require several hundred full- and part-time employees once fully operational. "We are extremely excited to welcome ADESA to The Hub, as they are a great corporate tenant for the community through the creation of jobs, tax revenue and demand for retail and hotel services," said Daniel J. McAuliffe, President of The Allen Group's Texas operation.  "ADESA has found the location at the ...

JEFF MOSIER and STEVE BROWN of the Dallas Morning News report that Arlington will have to wait for Glorypark Development near stadiums. Too that I ask, is anyone surprised? This kind of has a familiar ring to it. The Lame Duck in Washington didn't even act like he was going to develop the ballpark. After selling his share of the Rangers for a 25 fold profit (read this story to see how little Bush did to kick off his political career as a Rangers principal) he got the heck out of dodge. The Rangers have promised development around The Ballpark for nearly 20 years since voters approved the stadium in 1990. In 2001, an April article by Kelly Patterson in The Dallas Morning News seemed like progress was on the way. Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks will kick off a multimillion-dollar development at The Ballpark in Arlington this year with three buildings that will combine office, retail and residential space, Southwest Sports Group officials said Thursday. The buildings will be constructed on what are now parking lots along Randol Mill Road and Ballpark Way. In March of 2002 it was...you guessed it, terrorist attacks. ...

We've had a great new addition to Southern Dallas in recent weeks. Back in March, the first tenant of Wheatland Crossing (Target) opened their doors for business. Wheatland Crossing is a retail development just north or Interstate 20 and just west of Hampton Road. But as I drive around the "Red Bird" area, and especially Camp Wisdom Road, I wonder is Wheatland Crossing masking a significant net loss of businesses in the area. A number of tenants at Wheatland Crossing are simply packing up and moving down the street. The blame does not lie with the companies who are moving. The shopping experience at Target has been greatly enhanced since leaving the store that for years has been located at Cockrell Hill. But one has to wonder what will happen to the strip center that the store anchored - which is already only half to 2/3 occupied. The recruitment of new businesses to the area is key, but let's look at those who had invested in the area and are continuing that investment. Moving Over I remember a couple of years back when Chili's at Camp Wisdom and Highway 67 was open one day and closed ...

Land Development, Homeownership, Juvenile Justice System, Substance Abuse and the Return of New Orleanians on Summit Platform Dallas, TX – April 18, 2008 – Faith Formula Human Services is poised to keep the focus on poverty conditions in America. To this end, United States Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III, Senior Pastor of the Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas will join forces again to host the 3rd Annual Faith Summit on Poverty, April 25th and 26th , 2008 at the Friendship-West Worship and Conference Center, 2020 W. Wheatland Road; Dallas. The central theme and goal is to engage, enlighten and equip citizens to mobilize their city, state, county and federal elected officials, and community stakeholders to promote positive public policies geared to fight the War on Poverty! Opening political forum and workshops set a three fold agenda: (1) to take a microscopic look at America’s “Cradle to Prison Pipeline”; (2) to discuss openly and directly the causes of substance abuse and lack of treatment and recovery centers in the southern sector; and (3) to investigate the realities of land development in distressed communities. On Friday, a community job fair with over thirty-five employers ...

I now see why in the media world they give deadlines.  In that spirit, I'm letting you know that I plan to write a post on Thursday concerning my thoughts on the new Wheatland Town Crossing development in Southern Dallas and the Red Bird/Camp Wisdom area down the road.  Check back on Thursday, I hope to get some feed back from the community on this one.

    IRS Targeting Americans Eligible for Economic Stimulus Payment Who Are Not Required to File Income Taxes Washington, D.C. - (March 26, 2008)  Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson today encouraged residents of the Greater Metroplex to participate in Super Saturday, to be held this Saturday, March 29, across the country. On Super Saturday, the Internal Revenue Service and its partner organizations will provide tax preparation assistance to Americans in hundreds of offices nationwide, targeting those who are eligible for the upcoming economic stimulus payment, but who are not required to file an income tax return. The Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act, which Congresswoman Johnson supported, will provide tax rebates to 117 million households in the U.S., including 8.6 million Texans.  Payments will range from $300 to $600 for individuals and $600 to $1200 for joint filers, and many of those eligible will receive an additional $300 for each qualifying child.  Many Americans who are not required to file an income tax return will be eligible for the stimulus payment; however, they must file a return this year in order to receive it.  "I encourage all residents of North Texas to consider filing an income tax return this Saturday, when they ...

"We believe (the hotel) will be a huge benefit to South Dallas and will kick off a lot of development." Jack Matthews I've gotten a number of emails over the last couple of months regarding my writings on the Dallas Convention Center Hotel. Many of them we're thinking I'd pulled my thoughts on the subject out of thin air. Now there's another voice weighing in on the subject. Sheryl Jean of the Dallas Morning News writes an article regarding Matthew's plans for the property on the convention center's southern side. Here are some highlights from the article. Regardless of whether the city chooses Jack Matthews and his Matthews Southwest company in Lewisville, he'll be involved in development related to the hotel. Mr. Matthews is assembling a block of property to develop office, residential, retail and entertainment space and a potential hotel on South Lamar Street near Eddie Deen's Ranch – and possibly the Texas-themed banquet hall itself. "We do believe ... [a hotel] is the highest and best use for the site because of where it is in relation to the convention center and the DART line and the visibility from Interstate 30," Mr. Matthews said. ...

In honor of Erykah Badu's album release, I thought I would repost something I had on the site a few months back. It's a list of my five favorite Badu songs to date.  In stores today is Ms. Badu's latest, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War). It's her first album in 5 years.   It's rare that an artist comes along and totally changes the music scene the way Erykah Badu did in the late 90's. Though Mary J. Blige remains my favorite female artist, her contributions to the Black Music experience are not as significant as those made by Dallas' own E. Badu. As my college days progressed, female R&B was dominated by groups like SWV, Total, and Xscape while the aforementioned M.J.B. was just beginning to gain her footing as the queen of hip hop soul. Many of the songs when revisited today have suspect vocals and cookie cutter beats but still jam, if for no other reason than taking you back to where you were when the songs were hot. If there was a precursor to Ms. Badu's brand of "Neo Soul" it would have to be Zhane. The duo's sultry vocals backed by live instruments were unique ...

I'm glad to see more and more people weighing in on the idea of a convention center hotel. The latest are Harlan Crow (his family owns the Hilton Anatole) and Unfair Park. Unfair Park gives some of the highlights of Mr. Crow's latest letter to Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert on their website. In a previous letter to Mayor Leppert, Mr. Crow's feelings about the proposed convention center hotel are pretty straight forward. "The reason Dallas does not have a convention center hotel today is simple," Mr. Crow says, "IT IS NOT ECONOMICALLY VIABLE." When I read the letter that Mr. Crow's wrote the mayor last year, the first thing I thought about was his father, Trammell Crow. Mr. (Trammell) Crow was a real life J.R. Ewing in the 70's and early 80's, only nicer from what I can tell. I immediately went to my bookshelf and started thumbing through my copy of Trammell Crow: Master Builder, a book about how Mr. Crow basically redefined commercial real estate in the United States and the world. He is responsible for much of what we see and know as Dallas today. I turned to the chapter that talked about how the Anatole came ...