The Downtown Dallas of the Future Looks a Whole Lot Like the Downtown Dallas of the Past

By Robert Wilonsky Tue., Dec. 7 2010 at 8:51 AM

Categories: City Hall, Development

Main and Akard, then and now, as shown in the Downtown Dallas 360 presentation last night

Grimes and I went to the convention center last night for the unveiling of the Downtown Dallas 360 plan -- which is to say, the 164-page PowerPoint thumbed through in advance of the final plan that'll be presented to the city council next month. (Council's scheduled to approve the plan in February.) Andrea will be along shortly with her recap, and in advance I'd suggest you sit down with the whole thing (download available here, it's a mother) -- there's a lot to take in. The going gets particularly good around Page 98: "Implementation: Specific Actions and Priorities," which begins to outline what needs to get done (um, everything?) and when (um, soon?).

Long story short: Close the tunnels; build "new high intensity, mixed-use development that could be home to major businesses and corporate headquarters" around Union Station; "aim to have at least 25 percent of future housing development affordable to 'middle income' households (currently $35K to $100K)" throughout downtown; install glass-box retail pop-ups along Main Street; creative a Parking Management Collaborative; and build "high-quality schools, parks, daycare services, public art, streetscapes, and other urban features and services utilized by families" around the Dallas Farmers Market and the Cedars. For starters. Either that, or build a time machine and send downtown Dallas back to 1953.

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