Bye Bye Valley Ranch?

Where Tony Romo goes, do the Dallas Cowboys follow?

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his wife, Candice, are building a new house in Glen Abbey, a lush, gorgeous and oh-so-secure gated community in Far North Dallas. Really, where else would they build their dream home?

Oil magnate Clint Murchison Jr., longtime owner of the Dallas Cowboys, bought the acreage that is now Glen Abbey for his personal estate, so he could raise his family there. His son’s wife, Lupe Murchison, sold the land to former mayor Bob Folsom to develop.

Glen Abbey, which abuts the Bent Tree Country Club, sits smack in the middle of Keller Springs Road, Westgrove Drive, Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road. So it makes sense the Dallas Cowboys would draw a line north from Romo’s home to their new practice facility.

Nothing has been confirmed, but my source, Frisco agent Brad Holden, says the Cowboys’ new training facility will land at Frisco Station, at the northwest intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Warren Parkway. Holden says the football action will take place on a 317-acre site.

That’s where Houston-based Hines Development recently unveiled plans for 4.5 million square feet of office space, 40 acres of retail, two hotels (one full service and one limited service), single-family homes, and apartments and townhomes.

And, now, America’s team?

Word is that when the indoor facility is built, the Cowboys will share the complex with the Frisco Independent School District. This news has Frisco real estate agents fired up like firecrackers. FISD athletics can practice when the team’s not there, and they can hold playoff and championship games in the facility, as they do currently at the FC Dallas Stadium.

This, says Holden, will help Frisco lure large tournaments, playoff games and possibly bowl games.

Although Holden seems certain about this news, other news outlets are reporting this more cautiously. According to WFAA-TV Channel 8:

The land in Frisco that could become the next home of the Cowboys is located just off the Dallas North Tollway at Warren Parkway, not far from the Stonebriar Centre Mall. It would be the latest jewel in a Frisco sports crown that already includes the Dallas Stars, Frisco RoughRiders and FC Dallas.

Over at the Dallas Morning News, talk is when, not if:

Sources said work remains before the team severs ties with its home of 28 years at Valley Ranch in Irving to travel north. It’s doubtful an announcement will be made in the next few days or weeks. ... Preliminary indications are the Cowboys would make the move before the start of the 2016 season.

Seems like all the athletes are leaving Irving. The Cowboys built their new stadium in Arlington, and now the Byron Nelson is moving to a new golf course in South Dallas. Meanwhile, Frisco’s hot.

Candice and Tony Romo are building a house in Glen Abbey in Far North Dallas.

Photo courtesy of VH1

Candice and Tony Romo are building a house in Glen Abbey in Far North Dallas.

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Big deal

Houston investor acquires Bishop Arts mixed-use portfolio in $170M deal

Photo courtesy of Hines

Michelin-recognized Written by the Seasons is one of several Bishop Arts businesses acquired by a Houston-based investor.

A Houston investor has snapped up a mixed-use portfolio of nine buildings in the Bishop Arts District, the second Bishop Arts property acquisition since August.

Hines Global Income Trust told CultureMap it paid more than $170 million for a mixed-use complex with 539 apartments and 49,000 square feet of high-end shops. The Bishop Arts Portfolio, as Hines refers to the real estate package on its website, sits on almost seven acres.

“Bishop Arts is a special place, shaped by the care and investment of its prior ownership. We see our role as building on that foundation through thoughtful ownership and Hines’ integrated operating platform,” Corbin Eckel, managing director at Hines, told CultureMap.

Hines identified the seller as Dallas-based Exxir Capital. Exxir developed Oak Cliff's 750,000-square-foot, two-block Bishop Main Street area, which features retail, residences, and offices, and includes the properties acquired by Hines.

Tenants of the newly acquired properties include:

Italian restaurant Lucia, a Michelin recommended restaurant.
Michelin-praised Written by the Seasons, which serves a New American menu.
Paradiso, a Southern European-inspired eatery.
Bar Eden Lounge, a swanky cocktail bar.
Village Baking Co., an artisan bakery.

Hines is taking over all leases at the residential properties:

Bishop North, 200 N. Bishop Ave.
Bishop Canopy, 515 W. 10th St.
Bishop Flats, 305 and 431 Melba St.
Treehaus, 211 W. 10th St.
Retail at 308 and 275 N. Bishop Ave.; 404, 332, 336 and 337 Melba St.; and 403 and 321 W. Ninth St. Altogether, the portfolio’s retail component comprises 22 tenants.

The Hines deal comes two months after Dallas-based investor 90Ten purchased 301-321 N. Bishop Ave.301-321 N. Bishop Ave. in Bishop Arts. Tenants include burger diner Hunky’s, Italian pastry and coffee purveyor Palmieri Café, vintage clothing store Dolly on Bishop, gift shop Kawaii Candle Co., and cosmetics retailer Simply Bella.

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