Another reason why the City Design Studio is the coolest

A few of us over here at DDI were treated to a little hint of the following project in a meeting with Brent Brown, David Whitley and the Dallas City Design Studio team earlier this week.  Now it’s official…all you City Hall Plaza haters, rejoice!

In a flash-mob-Oak-Cliff-Better-Blocks- William-Whyte-style initiative called “Living Plaza”, City Hall Plaza will be transformed with a temporary installation on April 27.  We’re all invited to take part from 11:30am – 2:00pm.  To all of you who are screaming for more streetlife, activated spaces and vibrancy Downtown, this is OUR chance to prove the urbanity of Dallas.  Surprises in store, I can assure you…

More info:  http://betterblock.org/2011/04/15/living-plaza-project-april-27th-at-dallas-city-hall-plaza/

~Kourtny

Downtown Dallas 360 officially adopted by Dallas City Council

"Open Space Activation" Pegasus Plaza Furniture (humor courtesy of Jim)

Here at the DDI World Headquarters, after 18 months of gestation, we are celebrating the birth of our golden child…

Just an hour ago the Dallas City Council adopted the Downtown Dallas 360 plan.  Councilmember Pauline Medrano expressed great support for the plan, and DDI’s efforts (if I do say so).  The motion for approval was made by Councilmember Angela Hunt, who praised the collaborative process of the plan’s creation, and challenged DDI to ensure this would not be (say it with me now), “another plan that’s put on a shelf”. 

Indeed.  For those who have perused the document (available at www.downtowndallas360.com), you will find an implementation matrix in the last chapter.  This outlines the task, as well as the who, what, when and how much of every action item.  So, what will you see first?  Yes, some of those “Quick Wins”…

• In about three weeks you will see downtowndallas360.com transformed into a dynamic implementation tracking site.  Here you can follow each task’s progress, as well as review various subsequent reports and provide comment.
• If you have not yet been introduced, DDI recently hired Dustin Bullard, ASLA , as our Cityscape and Urban Design Manager.  From parks and plazas, to trees, benches, trash cans and pavers -  if it’s in the public realm (or even breathes on the public realm) Dustin has his eye on it.
• Working closely with COD Public Works, the materials palette (pavers, benches, trash cans, etc) for the Main Street District is being integrated into current streetscape improvement projects on Main, Commerce and Akard.
• Check out more sample materials in a potted landscape test area in front of Third Rail Lofts – we have a contingent of volunteers in coordination with the EPA working on this project tomorrow.
  

  Planter pot and contemporary bench for Main Street District (straight off the truck)

• Street vending ordinance revisions are in process – the goal of which is to encourage a greater number and diversify offerings.
• The ordinance which governs supergraphics and video boards is also in the revision process, following the 360 recommendations for the Main Street Retail District.
• Watch for some bright, colorful moveable furniture coming to Pegasus Plaza this month (pictured above).
• Several DDI task forces will kick off next month, focused on specific larger-scale initiatives in the plan like addressing mobility, tunnels, workforce housing and parking.

And those are just a few…  If you spend some time with the Implementation Matrix – you’ll soon understand why, instead of heading to the Tavern to celebrate right now, we’re right back here at hdqts…

 ~Kourtny

Downtown Dallas Roots for the RANGERS!

Chase Tower Lit up for the RANGERS

After receiving feedback from several Downtown Stakeholders, Downtown Dallas, Inc. will be showing the Rangers game instead of “The Lost Boys” this Saturday night for Films al Fresco at Main Street Garden. The game starts are 5:30 p.m. so get there early. We will continue the programming of the Pooch Parade & Pumpkin Carving Contest as planned at 7 pm., so bring your best dressed pets and carved pumpkins for some cool prizes!

Meanwhile, Downtown Dallas is celebrating the TEXAS Rangers first trip to the World Series and all you have to do is look up! The infamous keyhole in the Chase Tower is going to be lit up in red, every night during the World Series.

Are you having a heard time finding a World Series Edition Texas Rangers T-shirt? Not to worry… National Team Sports has opened an officially licensed World Series Merchandise store in the Bank of America Plaza concourse, across from Starbucks in the old Mail Room Express location.

You can find all of those hot Texas Rangers T-shirts, hats, pennants, car flags, earrings and much more.  New merchandise will be arriving daily.

The store opened earlier this week and will be open throughout the World Series. It will remain open after the World Series, should the Rangers win.

Store Hours: Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

CLAW UP - C.C.

Welcome Newly Inducted DDI Board Member Greg Morris!

Greg Morris currently serves as Executive Director & Market Leader at Ernst & Young LLP. He has approximately 27 years of corporate valuation, M&A, corporate finance, financial advisory and valuation consulting experience. Morris has worked in numerous industries including technology, oil & gas, manufacturing, healthcare, and airlines.

He has been directly involved with valuations prepare for mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, due diligence, IPO’s, purchase price allocations, tax, restructuring, bankruptcies and commercial litigation.  Morris has spoken frequently on the subject of corporate valuation and mergers & acquisitions.  In addition, he has testified numerous times in courts of law on matters pertaining to commercial litigation, bankruptcy, estate & gift tax and other areas.

Did you know?

Morris’ favorite Downtown destination is Dakota’s Restaurant.

Morris is passionate about Downtown because it is a reflection of our city to the world.

Morris’ favorite Downtown memory relates to the Jingle Bell 10K Run.  Much of the route was through Downtown and he really enjoyed a different perspective of  Downtown as he ran through the streets.

Morris supports Downtown Dallas, Inc. because it has made, and will continue to make, a difference in the appearance and culture of Downtown Dallas.  It is important to my employer, Ernst & Young LLP, that we have a good understanding of the forces that are shaping Downtown Dallas, as we have a number of employees that residing in the area.

Congratulations DERT for “Best Practices” on Emergency Response

The Dallas Emergency Response Team (DERT) is being recognized at the International Downtown Association conference in Forth Worth next month, as the recipient of the Public-Private Partnership Award. The IDA has more than 650 member organizations worldwide including: North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. It’s a guiding force in creating healthy and dynamic centers that anchor the well-being of towns, cities, and regions of the world.

Created in partnership with the Dallas Police Department and Downtown Dallas, Inc., DERT was designed to improve communication between businesses and public safety departments before a disaster happens. DERT brings together City officials, building owners and managers, security professionals, and other emergency planners from the private and non-profit sectors to deal with the special challenges posed by disasters and emergencies. Whether it’s the threat of a tornado or a terrorist attack, the group works together to prepare for, respond to and recover from critical incidents.

The Department of Homeland Security has asked the group to devise a template of its program that can be used by other cities throughout the nation. In a recent report released by the Government Accountability Office, the DERT project was listed in an audit of best practices in disaster response planning. DERT also is being featured on the FEMA Web Site as a Public Private Partnership “Best Practice”.

Another reason why you should venture outside of the tunnels for lunch

Jaime, DDI’s new event coordinator extraordinaire, is hot on the horn right now chasing a tip from our good pal Robert Wilonsky -  apparently Cirque du Soleil is planning quite the stunt at Thanksgiving Tower tomorrow.  Word on the street is that sometime around the lunch hour Spidey-style antics will ensue…  Emerge, tunnel dwellers!

Check out the YouTube sneak peek at Unfair Park.

DDI Clean Team

Did you know that each month in 2010, the Downtown Dallas, Inc. Clean Team has removed 100 cubic yards of litter from the streets and sidewalks of Downtown?



And, there is more.  See the entire Clean Team June year-to-date report.  Clean Team 2010_06 YTD

Happenings…

Greetings DDI followers!

We’ve been running full throttle here at the Downtown Dallas, Inc. world headquarters for the last several weeks, so let’s dive right into the updates…

Downtown Dallas 360

Consultants MIG returned to Dallas for “Meeting Window 7″ at the end of May, presenting Downtown Dallas 360 progress to multiple working groups and the steering committee.  At the same time, we  launched the Downtown Parking Strategy (approved by Council in April) with particular focus from MIG sub-consultant Kimley-Horn.  At www.downtowndallas360.com you will find a post of the master presentation used at these meetings, with a recap summary to be posted shortly.   But a few of my personal take-aways:

• BE BOLD!  (or “Don’t be timid” to steal a quote from my urban hero, Brent Brown)  In contrast to previous sessions when feedback was consistently based on setting “realistic” goals and prioritizing – the tone seemed to shift, stressing that the creation of 360 is our opportunity to aim high.  Perhaps an indicator that the frugality of the last 24 months  is shifting?  Do I dare say we are becoming more hopeful?  The specific reference in this case was discussion regarding potential deck parks over I-30, ala The Park (Woodall Rodgers Park).  Can we fund and sustain another project like Woodall?  Tell me what you think.  (As a Cedars resident, personally, I say yes!  The connection is critical…)
• Tunnels, tunnels, tunnels.  Yes, friends – start those comments now!  Obviously, this is a consistent question that we here at DDI field daily.  But today, we find the time is right to examine innovative solutions of repurposing (bike parking?  storage?  fiber optic paths?) and incentivizing tunnel dwellers to emerge .
• Parks.  We love our greenspace and there is no denying what Main Street Garden has done for the Main Street District.  But with greenspace comes management, maintenance and programming  (see below for the Main Street Garden updates), begging the question – could Downtown become “over parked” with current plans?  Should we look at a better mix of the typology of our greenspaces (see this part of the presentation on the 360 site), creating more usable, neighborhood places?  Envision pocketparks, playgrounds, basketball courts, more space dedicated to our canines, etc…
• Gateways.  We’ve all seen the designs of overpass treatments with dramatic lighting, artwork and better pedestrian connections – all great things.  But I love, love, love this idea – a skatepark around Good Latimer, seaming together the east end of the Main Street District (Harwood Historic District area) with Deep Ellum.  Already in the works over yonder is “Pillar Park”, more artwork and lighting in the already uber-cool DE Art Park.

Many, many more big ideas have emerged, but we have much to get to in this one little post, so I’ll leave you to check out the 360 site for more.

Main Street Garden - the scoop.

• Yes, we have discovered that the stainless steel in the Tot Lot is too hot!  Ever sat on a black leather car seat?  In August?  In Texas? In Shorts??  Well, we certainly want to ensure every aspect of the park is 110% useable, so we’re working closely with the Park & Rec department to come up with a solution, quickly.  In the interim, parents, please mind the caution signs going up this week.
• The Lily Pad is poised to open – just any minute now!  A complicated permitting process is being addressed as we speak, so you’ll soon be able to grab your multi-grain muffin and coffee on the way to the office.
• PLAY at the Park.  We went out yesterday with the Downtown YMCA folks and tested out kick ball, frisbee and volleyball for upcoming field days and sports leagues (who says this job isn’t fun?).  Dates to be announced soon.
• Vandalism reports.  Yes, unfortunately some no-gooder attempted to break in to one of the restrooms.  In all seriousness, however, the matter was quickly addressed by the Dallas Police Department and Downtown Safety Patrol and camera footage is being reviewed to identify the suspect.  Patrols from both forces have been increased.

Another destination for your morning buzz..
Mercantile Coffee House is set to open at The Merc at the end of this month – featuring Intelligentsia Coffee and Yogen Fruz frozen yogurt.

Some new faces at DDI
Meet C.C. Gonzalez-Kurz, Community Relations Manager and Shawn Corcoran, Interactive Developer/Designer.  They have swallowed the kool-aid and are now part of the DDI team.  Know ‘em, love ‘em.  Bio’s, obligatory headshots and interviews coming soon…

And one last sidenote for all of you passionate urbanites – I highly recommend picking up this month’s edition of Dwell, which is focused on “Megacities”.  It also includes great articles about urban parks, interesting freeway interventions and demographic forecasts that continue to bode well for downtown growth.

~Kourtny

CityWalk at Akard

The red carpet was certainly laid out for the opening of Downtown’s newest residential project, City Walk at Akard, both for Dallas-ites in a celebration held on March 26, and for a visit from music mogul Jon Bon Jovi earlier this month.

CityWalk, a project unlike any in the country, is a mixed-use development of retail (7-Eleven opening soon), office and affordable as well as market-rate housing.  It sits in a formerly vacant 15-story office building with 200 units that range from $350 to $912/month.

Jon Bon Jovi’s visit was motivated by his own nonprofit, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has built 250 affordable housing units in Philadelphia.  During Jovi’s time in Dallas, he visited with John Greenan, executive director of the Central Dallas Community Development Corp., and Larry James, president and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries, the two organizations responsible for the CityWalk project.

Parking and Retail to be specifically addressed in new studies

On April 14, Dallas City Council approved a reallocation of funds to implement two critical studies for Downtown, one to focus on parking, the other to further retail development in the Main Street District.

Both projects will be managed by Downtown Dallas, Inc., in partnership with the City, and will be conducted in concert with the Downtown Dallas 360 (www.downtowndallas360.com )planning effort.

Elements to be addressed in the parking realm include a supply and demand analysis (both for commercial office and public transient parking); valet parking in key entertainment and visitor zones; signage and wayfinding; resident-serving needs; and innovative technologies such as smart phone usage and real-time availability information.  The effort will commence in May, to be complete in line with Downtown Dallas 360 later this fall.

The Main Street Retail Activation Strategy, co-funded by Downtown Dallas, Inc., will build upon past efforts that have created a target tenant mix and incentive programs to entice a mix of luxury, service and entertainment uses to locate in Downtown’s core.  The strategy will put forth guidelines and programs related to urban design including lighting, sidewalk enhancements, street furniture and environmental graphics.  It will also analyze highest-and-best-use locations for sidewalk cafes, street vending and public art.   The stakeholder input process began in February, with the goal of completion early this summer.  Look for emerging strategies to be posted on Downtown Dallas Inc.’s blog later next month.