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How Uptown Dallas' new leader plans to make the neighborhood even better

Uptown Dallas Inc president Nolan Marshall

Nolan Marshall, Uptown Dallas Inc.'s new president and executive director.

Photo courtesy of Uptown Dallas Inc.

There's a new president heading up Uptown Dallas Inc.: Nolan Marshall. He arrives via New Orleans, where he was director of public affairs and policy for the New Orleans Downtown Development District. In Dallas, he will oversee and further expand Uptown's capital improvement projects, community building, maintenance, and public safety.

Marshall took time for a chat soon after he arrived in Dallas, and his excitement for his new city was obvious. "It feels like home, so it must have been home in another life," he said. We're happy you're here too, Mr. Marshall.

Question: What in your background led you to Uptown Dallas Inc.?

Answer: I had always been interested in building places, not in the architectural sense but more in terms of neighborhood and urban development. The experience of a place, you know? When New Orleans was completely wiped out by a natural disaster, we had a unique chance to completely remake a place.

Over the last 11 years, I worked in a variety of capacities to rebuild the city, through being a directors of public affairs and policy, creating a masterplan for the biomedical district, working in criminal justice, education reform —everything I could get my arms around. As we got past the recovery stage, we got to start asking, "What sort of city do we want it to be for next 20-30 years?"

Q: What in Uptown Dallas' upcoming plans are you most excited about?

A: The expansion of M-Line Trolley and the Katy Trail, and continuing to make the area more walkable and pedestrian-friendly.

Q: Describe your perfect day in Uptown.

A: Any day I get to stay in Uptown has been the perfect day for me so far. I like to have brunch with my family, shop, and walk and explore.

Q: What three words do you think best describe Uptown?

A: Walkable is first, but then there are two terms we use in New Orleans that I think are applicable: beaucoup, which means "abundant," and lagniappe, which is "something extra." Uptown has everything you expert in an emerging neighborhood, but there’s still that something extra.

Q: You have a young son, so what are your views on Dallas public schools?

A: They actually really attracted me to Uptown Dallas Inc., because I had been board member at a charter school in New Orleans and witnessed how great neighborhoods and community participation are what make for the best schools. School goes beyond four walls; we’ve got to embrace that idea in Uptown and invest in our schools whether we’re parents or not. People always talk about "live, work, play," but I’d like to incorporate "learn" into that.

The first people to reap growth in an area are the young professionals, but in order for them to stay and not move to the suburbs when they become parents the schools have to be really good. If you can get the schools right, you can make the community sustainable.

Q: What are you looking forward to exploring in Dallas?

A: The State Fair. It sounds like Texas’ version of Mardi Gras.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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