City Hall News

Southern Dallas wins new development project from Cowboys Emmitt Smith

Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Dallas City Council approved two new major development projects in southern Dallas through the city's Office of Economic Development: The first, a new Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) center for Georgia-based company Chime Solutions. The second, a substantial rehabilitation of the former Urban League of Greater Dallas building on South Lancaster Road for office and retail use.

Chime Solutions
Chime Solutions is a human resources and staffing firm headquartered in Morrow, Georgia. This new 51,000-square-foot BPO center — its first outside Georgia — will be located at Red Bird Mall.

By 2021, Chime anticipates creating over 1,000 full-time jobs at the new center. The range of jobs will include customer service agents, human resource specialists, desktop support specialists, trainers, operations managers, and a site director. Annual wages are expected to range from $29,000 to $80,000+ and all jobs will include a full benefits package.

This business development project is the first office incentive project located in southern Dallas in at least 20 years. Chime Solutions is a privately-owned and certified minority- and woman-owned business. The Dallas City Council approved an economic development grant of $2 million to facilitate this project.

Red Bird Mall, located in southern Dallas at US Highway 67 and Interstate Highway 20, is currently undergoing a $220 million redevelopment which will transform the mall into a mixed-use development, with new options for shopping, dining, entertainment, residential multifamily, office space, medical offices, and a hotel and conference center.

It also features the recently opened Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC) at Red Bird, which provides a variety of services for entrepreneurs and startups, as well as a new Starbucks.

Urban League of Greater Dallas building
The former Urban League of Greater Dallas building, located at 4315 South Lancaster Road, will undergo a substantial rehabilitation by E Smith Communities, a real estate company owned by former Dallas Cowboys star Emmitt Smith. Upon completion, the building will include workforce readiness, community wellness, and retail tenants.

The 29,686-square-foot building will build upon the success of the adjacent Lancaster Urban Village, a mixed-use redevelopment project completed in 2014, and is located across the street from the VA Medical Center and DART rail station.

The $4.4-million project will provide opportunity for local employment and services to the surrounding challenged residential market area with an anticipated 100 jobs to be created. The Dallas City Council approved an incentive to provide gap financing for the project in the form of a $750,000 grant.

In addition to these two projects, the City Council also approved a $500,000 grant to The Golden S.E.E.D.S. Foundation for neighborhood enhancements in The Bottom, a residential neighborhood south of the central business district, as well as the creation of the Southern Dallas Investment Fund, a $2,500,000 fund to support small businesses in southern Dallas.

"These projects attest to the City's larger focus on southern Dallas," says Mayor Mike Rawlings in a statement. "Through today’s actions, we will positively impact local residents by providing employment, retail, and wellness options in the heart of their communities."

city-news-roundup

RIP Pete

Dallas businessman and former Schepps Dairy owner Pete Schenkel dies

Courtesy photo

Pete Schenkel

Dallas businessman Pete Schenkel, a philanthropist and former owner of Dallas-based Schepps Dairy, passed away at his Highland Park home on November 27 while in hospice care.

Born and raised in South Dallas where he worked on his father's dairy farm, Schenkel worked his way up from a Schepps Dairy deliverer to become an owner of the company in 1987. He went on to serve as President and owner of Southern Foods, which later sold to Suiza Foods and became Dean Foods, for which he also served as president and board member.

A statement from the city of Dallas says that Schenkel "leaves a legacy where he will be remembered for sharing his success with others and for his steadfast commitment to serve with pride and humility. Pete was unwavering in his dedication to making Dallas one of the safest large cities in the United States and was instrumental in promoting our economic growth and social vibrancy. We will strive to carry on his legacy by continuing to make Dallas a better place for all."

Founded by Harmon "Hymie" Schepps in 1942, Schepps Dairy traded hands and emerged from a bankruptcy under the primary ownership of Schenkel, who was Schepps' business partner. In 2000, the company was acquired by Suiza Foods Co., which then merged with Dallas-based Dean Foods the following year.

Schenkel was also involved in Dallas politics from the '80s to the '00s, both with sought-after endorsements as well as working on campaigns for mayoral candidates such as Jack Evans and Ron Natinsky.

In 2017, he was honored with an award from the NFF Gridiron Club for his role in helping bring football back to the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day. He fought to keep the annual Texas-Oklahoma rivalry game at Cotton Bowl Stadium and has been the key negotiator in keeping the game there ever since.

Schenkel served on many influential boards that helped shape Dallas and North Texas, including chairing the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board of Directors and the Methodist Health Care Foundation. After retiringm he remained active in nonprofit circles, helping direct a charitable fund with his wife, the Pat and Pete Schenkel Charitable Trust. He also served on the board of the Dallas Blue Foundation, which provides financial assistance to families of Dallas police officers killed or wounded in action.

His multiple awards and commendations including receiving the 82nd annual Linz Award for civic service in Dallas in 2011, as well as a Russell H. Perry Award from Dallas Baptist University, which lauded Schenkel for adhering to the highest ethical standards and being loyal to and respectful of friends and customers, as well as his modesty, shying away from the spotlight and shining it on others instead.

He's survived by his wife Pat, three children and seven grandchildren.

deaths