City News Roundup

Deep Ellum has a pretty new tree sculpture and more Dallas news

The Tree of Ténéré is at the Epic Dallas.

Xinix Films

In this roundup of Dallas city news, a mildly controversial high-rise building has changed hands. A Dallas judge is striking back at foes. H-E-B has people worked up. And there are new COVID-19 testing sites coming on board. And check out that tree.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Richards Group building
The 15-story Richards Group high-rise at Cityplace — the dreary black box at Blackburn that blocks once-pretty views of downtown which were enjoyed for decades by motorists driving south on US-75 — has been sold.

According to a pay-walled DMN story, the building was purchased by a partnership of investors that includes OliveMill Holdings, Hunt Realty Investments, and New York-based Angelo Gordon.

The high-rise was built by Richards Group to serve as their headquarters in 2013. People who've been inside say the building's interior is cool. For the rest of us, it's a black hole that, as mentioned above, blocks the downtown skyline from view if you're a worker bee commuter.

The 2013 Dallas City Council gave the Richards Group incentives so they would stay in Dallas. But those incentives depended on the agency having a minimum of 600 employees, which it no longer has, ever since the sad debacle in 2020 when someone leaked comments about white supremacists made in a staff meeting by founder Stan Richards, who subsequently resigned.

Judge drama
There's drama surrounding 282nd District Court Judge Amber Givens, and now there's an attorney and a press release trying to set things straight.

A group of lawyers alleged that Givens improperly allowed her court coordinator to preside in her place during a bond-reduction matter. But according to the release, four Dallas County employees assigned to the 282nd District Court have sworn witness statements that contradict those claims.

Givens' current term ends on December 31. She's facing two challengers in the next election: former State District Court judges Andrew Chatham and Teresa Hawthorne.

Hawthorne is the judge who was reprimanded twice by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct: Once for shaming jurors in a rape case (she told them their guilty verdict was too harsh, and that she would have found the rapist "not guilty"), and another time for interfering in a case involving a family member, when she tried to get a judge to withdraw charges against her nephew.

Pretty new tree
Deep Ellum has a pretty art installation/light sculpture called The Tree of Ténéré — a technology version of a tree with 75,000 LED lights, 12,000 leaves, 120 branches, and 840 twigs. Previously seen only at Burning Man in 2017, it's now installed along the outdoor walkway of The Epic.

For its Dallas residence, it has been re-developed to look more like a natural tree, using digital modeling and algorithms that are affected by factors such as sunlight and wind. The light choreography changes in response, creating a unique performance every day.

HEB fervor
Texas supermarket chain H-E-B has purchased a vacant building near Duncanville and Desoto. It's a former Albertson's that closed in 2004.

The company has not announced any plans to open a store, and is well known for buying real estate and letting it sit. However, if you judge by Facebook groups (and we surely do), then the mere purchase is enough to light up Oak Cliff residents.

New COVID-19 testing sites
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) is working to open COVID-19 testing facilities in Dallas County for anyone who needs a PCR COVID test, starting with four new drive-thru testing sites that will open next week, in partnership with Dallas College, the City of Irving, the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department. In addition to COVID tests, flu tests will be available at some locations.

Testing Locations:

Monday January 10

Dallas College North Lake Campus, 5001 N McArthur Blvd, Irving. Open Monday–Thursday 7:30 am – 4 pm, by appointment only. Tests available PCR COVID and FLU.
Trinity View Park, 2221 E State Highway 356, Irving. Open Monday–Saturday 8 am–5 pm, By appointment only, or call 469-536-0807. Tests available: PCR COVID only.

Tuesday January 11

Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center, 5150 Mark Trail Way, Dallas. Open Monday–Thursday 9 am–5 pm, by appointment only. Tests available: PCR COVID and FLU.

Wednesday January 12

Fair Park – Lot 13, 3809 Grand Ave, Dallas. Open Sunday–Saturday 7:30 am - 4 pm. Appointments are recommended; to schedule visit www.mycovidappointment.com Tests available: PCR COVID and FLU.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anyone who exposed to someone with COVID should test five days after their exposure, or as soon as symptoms occur.

To find a COVID testing site near you visit: bit.ly/3pZhXlE.

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Department store news

Neiman Marcus owner files bankruptcy, leaving Dallas stores' fate unclear

Neiman Marcus

The fate of the Neiman Marcus flagship in downtown Dallas is up in the air.

The fate of stores operated by Saks Global, parent company of the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus luxury retail chain, is up in the air following its bankruptcy filing on January 13 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston.

For the time being, all of the roughly 160 stores under the Saks Global umbrella, including Neiman Marcus’ 36 locations, will remain open. Seven of Neiman Marcus’ stores are in Texas, including four in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The more than $2 billion in debt that Saks Global amassed to acquire Neiman Marcus in 2024 helped push the company into bankruptcy court. According to The Wall Street Journal, Saks Global is the highest-profile department store chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy since the pandemic.

As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, announced in a news release January 14, Saks Global has secured about $1.75 billion in financing to keep the company afloat and its stores open. A bankruptcy judge must approve the financing package.

In announcing the bankruptcy, Saks Global says it’s evaluating its store lineup “to invest resources where it has the greatest long-term potential. This approach reflects an effort to focus the business in areas where [our] luxury retail brands are best positioned for sustainable growth.”

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to reorganize its finances and operations. For retailers, the process can include cost-cutting moves such as closing poorly performing stores.

Effectively immediately, Geoffroy van Raemdonck has taken over the CEO role at Saks Global — following the recent departures of CEO Marc Metrick and his short-time successor, Richard Baker. Van Raemdonck, who relocated in 2023 from Dallas to New York City, was CEO of Neiman Marcus before Saks Global bought it in 2024 for $2.7 billion.

“This is a defining moment for Saks Global, and the path ahead presents a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future,” van Raemdonck says in a press release. “I look forward to serving as CEO and continuing to transform the [company] so that Saks Global continues to play a central role in shaping the future of luxury retail.”

The most notable DFW location of Neiman Marcus is the chain’s 129,000-square-foot flagship store in downtown Dallas, which the retailer owns.

Saks Global said last February that it would close the iconic store, which debuted in 1914, on March 31, 2025. But days before the scheduled closure, Saks reversed course and decided to keep the store open — at least temporarily rescuing two of the flagship’s signature features, the upscale Zodiac Room restaurant and the elegant Bridal Salon.

Here’s a list of Neiman Marcus’ seven locations in Texas:

Flagship store in downtown Dallas.
NorthPark Center in North Dallas (slated to undergo a $100 million renovation).
Shops at Clearfork in Southwest Fort Worth.
Shops at Willow Bend in Plano (scheduled to close in January 2027).
Galleria in Houston’s Uptown District.
Domain Northside in North Austin.
Shops at La Cantera in Northwest San Antonio.

The retailer’s lower-price sister, Neiman Marcus Last Call, closed most of its locations in 2020 and 2021, but five remain open. They include stores at Grapevine Mills in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Marcos Premium Outlets in the Austin metro area.

In Texas, high-end retailer Saks Fifth Avenue operates one traditional store at The Galleria in Houston and another at North Star Mall in North San Antonio, along with one appointment-only store at Fort Worth’s Bowie House and another at Austin’s Commodore Perry Estate. Across the country, Saks Fifth Avenue operates about 50 traditional and appointment-only stores.

Saks’ lower-price sister, Saks Off 5th, announced in November that it was shuttering nine locations, including its store at Gateway Shopping Center in Northwest Austin. The closures will bring the brand’s store count to 70.

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