Impressive things are happening Downtown, from the rebirth of the Farmers Market to the massive overhaul of 1401 Elm as a retail and luxury residence project. It's why we're excited to present Bisnow's Dallas Construction & Development event at The Berkshire at Preston Center on Dec. 11, starting 8am.

UCR EVP and partner Jack Gosnell (left, with Mi Cocina founder Mico Rodriguez) tells us he has two huge projects right now including the $170M redevelopment of the 52-story vacant 1401 Elm St in the former First National Bank building. The 1M SF building has potential for 150k SF of retail, Jack says. It’s a new dimension from what’s been done in Downtown for the last 20 years. Traditionally, only the first floor has been leased for retail, but this could be two- or three-level retailers, he tells us. Jack says this project is of huge importance to the future of the City and could be a catalyst for more development.

The building is being demolished and remediated; construction starts immediately. Jack’s already started putting together tenant packages to roll out. Because of the large spaces, he'll be going after a certain amount of box tenants like H&M, Forever 21, J Michaels (which like TODs) as well as a variety of stores. The site could accommodate a grocery store up to 60k SF. The spaces are completely unstructured at this point with a large volume space, he tells us. Trying to solve the puzzle of what goes into that space is a real challenge, he says. Merriman Architects Associates (architect) and Olympic Realty (developer) are undertaking a tremendous project.

Jack is also working on the redevelopment of the Farmers Market (Spectrum Development is the developer and majority owner). The $86M project is under construction with a grand opening slated for spring, with a new restaurant, Mudhen beer garden, market, fully re-tenanted 30k SF shed and 350 new parking spaces on the way. The farmers’ shed will include brand new space with AC. It was almost 95% leased before construction started, unheard of in a retail project, he tells us. The project will also feature 280 apartments built over the public parking decks.

Jack--a self-proclaimed fossil in the industry--is one of the few general practitioners left in Dallas commercial real estate. Under the tutelage of Henry S Miller Jr, Jack opted to specialize in a geographic area rather than a particular product type handing cradle-to-grave real estate. His focus on Downtown and Uptown has included land assembly for development, selling older buildings for urban rehab, landlord and tenant rep, and he’ll change your oil for you if that helps him get the deal, Jack (left, with SRS’ Janie French and UCR’s Thurston Witt) tells us. What he loves is watching the landscape change. Last week (after a meeting Downtown), he found a parking spot by Klyde Warren Park, grabbed a snack from a food truck, and sat in the park to people-watch. “It’s something unthinkable 10 years ago when there were no parks or easy access to great food.” To hear more, please join us for Bisnow's Dallas Construction & Development event at The Berkshire at Preston Center on Dec. 11, starting 8am. Sign up here!