Long known for its abundant industrial space, southern Dallas County is seeing several projects that developers hope will spur commercial and residential growth in a historically underserved part of the metro.
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Projects like Hoque Global’s $1B University Hills mixed-use development next to the University of North Texas at Dallas are poised to change the perception of southern Dallas as an area that can’t support new development. Cities such as Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville and Lancaster are also working to attract projects that will drive continued economic development.
“Our downtown Lancaster project changed the perception of our city overnight,” Stewarding Space founder Michaella Ramler said during Bisnow's Future of Southern Dallas County event Thursday at the Traphene Hickman Library in Cedar Hill.
Stewarding Space helped spark a mixed-use revival in Lancaster's nearly 150-year-old downtown area. Ramler attracted the area's new anchor tenant, La Calle Doce, which took an ownership stake in the redevelopment portfolio.
Finding the right anchor tenant was key to unlocking the potential in Lancaster’s downtown, and Ramler said she believes the district is on pace to rival Bishop Arts.
The redevelopment of the former RedBird Mall is one of the biggest success stories south of Interstate 30, but its developers took a different approach to finding anchors. Investor Peter Brodsky bought the 1M SF mall in September 2015 and worked with Russell Glen Co. CEO Terrence Maiden to bring UT Southwestern Medical Center to the development.
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The Shops at RedBird has become a medical hub that has prompted more projects to come to the area. The city also established the Red Bird Public Improvement District last year to help further enhance the area.
Maiden said the PID will fund beautification efforts that will help change perceptions of the southern Dallas corridor.
“The perception is not going to change overnight,” Maiden said. “We're making investments today that we may not even see but the next generation will experience.”
Russell Glen is bringing that same attention to its Rivulet project, a 90-acre master-planned community at the northwest corner of University Hills Boulevard and Camp Wisdom Road. The development will include around 300 single-family homes, hundreds of multifamily units and a 20-acre retail district.
DR Horton and LGI Homes are the homebuilders on the project, but Maiden asked them not to duplicate homes they have built elsewhere.
“We redesigned their product, so it is an elevated experience for the people that are going to be living in that area,” Maiden said. “It takes that level of commitment and investment to really start seeing change in the area.”
A lot of projects have been discussed and started in southern Dallas County over the years, but the evolution of the area didn't happen as quickly as it did in the northern suburbs because of that negative perception of the area, according to Corinth Properties owner Frank Mihalopoulos.
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However, the area’s emergence as an education corridor, with campuses from UNT Dallas, Paul Quinn College, Dallas Baptist University and Dallas College, is providing further momentum for future development.
“We have the biggest opportunity of raising employment by increasing education,” Mihalopoulos said. “If you look at the demographics of retail, we need income and we need education.”
Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation CEO April Allen said North Texas’ continued population growth will also benefit southern Dallas County.
Allen’s organization partnered with the city of Dallas, the Texas Department of Transportation and the North Central Texas Council of Governments to build Halperin Park in Oak Cliff. That 5-acre deck park over Interstate 35 has become an attraction for longtime residents and those new to the area.
People moving into the region don't have any preconceived notions about the southern Dallas County area, and many are looking for locations with diversity and a socioeconomic mix, Allen said. New residents get not only that in southern Dallas but also what she called the city's prettiest part.
“If you're looking for topography and tree cover, you're not going to find that when you cross the Trinity River,” Allen said. “It's basically like the prairie all the way to Oklahoma.”
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