RedBird Worked. Can Southern Dallas Pull Off An Even Bigger Comeback?
The redevelopment of the former RedBird Mall has become a rare Southern Dallas success story — and now developers and investors are looking to build on that momentum with new projects they say could help revive the long-overlooked area.
At Bisnow’s Future of Southern Dallas event Tuesday at The Shops at RedBird, panelists pointed to a potential master rezoning, more connective urban design and long-awaited projects — including an elusive grocery store in the food desert — as the next big moves for the area.
While the city focuses on its long-range land use plan, ForwardDallas, Savoy Equity Partners founder Barrett Linburg said what Southern Dallas really needs is a master rezoning.
“That will create more housing where it's needed and where it best fits,” Linburg said.
He pointed to the rezoning of North Oak Cliff more than a decade ago as a catalyst for that area’s growth. In most parts of Dallas, developers still spend years fighting for zoning changes just to build apartments, Linburg said.
While Senate Bill 840 has helped streamline some of the process, he argued that a proactive, areawide rezoning of Southern Dallas would unlock new housing — and the rooftops needed to attract retail.
And in some cases, that momentum has already begun to build.
The Shops at RedBird CEO Peter Brodsky teased the next phase of the mixed-use project but stopped short of revealing details.
Another boost is coming in the form of a new improvement district, which Russell Glen CEO Terrence Maiden said will be “transformational” for the area.
Maiden added that Russell Glen plans to soon break ground on Rivulet, a 90-acre master-planned community just down the street in Oak Cliff. The project will include residential lots, townhomes and a retail center that could be anchored by a grocery store — a major win in a food desert.
No new housing has gone up near the Rivulet site in 50 years, Maiden said.
“When I'm having a conversation with a Tom Thumb or H-E-B about locating their grocery store in this neighborhood, they're more interested in going to Celina, where they know they can forecast the number of rooftops that are going to be built,” Maiden said.
Maiden also cited Hoque Global’s $1B University Hills mixed-use project next to the UNT Dallas campus as another cornerstone of Southern Dallas’ future.
But even with new development, Linburg said the real amenity residents want is affordable rent.
“As developers, as property managers, we're trying to develop something that we can rent at a low price point,” Linburg said.
That model requires sacrificing not just flashy amenities but even common ones like pools and structured parking.
Instead, Savoy Equity is focusing on high-density garden-style apartments with 50 to 60 units per acre. These projects typically offer only a small fitness center and coworking space, but the interiors are finished to Class-A standards. To cut operating costs, the company also uses a single leasing center to serve multiple properties.
“That allows us to give our tenants lower rent and still operate profitably,” Linburg said.
Opportunity zones could be another catalyst for Southern Dallas, Linburg said, adding that state officials plan to redraw the map over the next nine months.
“If we go back to the Texas Economic Development Office and lobby for census tracts in the southern sector to be opportunity zones, they are open to listening,” Linburg said.
HKS partner and Executive Vice President Anthony Montalto said another opportunity lies in regenerative design, which his firm is using to create connective tissue between projects.
Rather than focusing on a single iconic building, he said HKS is studying the elements that make developments successful and using them to knit the broader area together.
“We've committed to doing what we're calling design sprints, where we take something that the city is struggling with … and we're dedicating our designers to just generate ideas,” Montalto said.
With all those big ideas on the way and developers and investors working together, Maiden said the future is bright for Southern Dallas.
“I really do think that ultimately we're going to land some major employers for Southern Dallas,” Maiden said.
