Such a Tease

Tesla taunts Dallas drivers with new showroom at NorthPark Center

Tesla Motors' new showroom at NorthPark Center might as well be a museum. Located on level one between Dillard's and Macy's, the Tesla gallery lets shoppers look at the cars, but they can't buy them or take them for a test drive.

That's because Texas law prohibits Tesla from selling its vehicles directly to the public because the company doesn't have a franchise dealer. Though a formidable obstacle, the long arm of the law hasn't stopped California-based Tesla from moseying on over to Texas with its electric cars in tow.

The NorthPark Center showroom, which opened June 20, is the third such gallery in the Lone Star State. The others are located in Houston and Austin. State regulations mean Tesla can't sell its cars out of the galleries; any mention of pricing is also prohibited.

Despite these huge obstacles, Telsa says it has sold more than 400 vehicles to Texas drivers the only way it can: online. Once purchased, the roughly $70,000 electric car is delivered by an independent company.

Gov. Rick Perry might be the electric car company's ticket into Texas. Perry recently returned from a trip to California, where (among other things) he lobbied for Tesla to build a new $5 billion battery factory in Texas.

If the California company will agree to have operations in the Lone Star State, Perry has said he'd reevaluate the law prohibiting Tesla from selling its cars without franchised dealers. Until then, eco-friendly Dallas drivers will have to settle for eye candy.

Tesla Motors opened a showroom at NorthPark Center on June 20.

Photo via Facebook

Tesla Motors opened a showroom at NorthPark Center on June 20.

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Coworking News

New coworking space to open in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood

Office Evolution

A coworking space is opening in Dallas in a central location: Office Evolution, a Louisville-based coworking chain, will open what a release says is a "state-of-the-art coworking space" at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. #360 in Dallas at the southeast corner of Lemmon Avenue.

No details on what makes it state-of-the-art, but construction is ongoing and an opening is anticipated in mid-October.

Office Evolution was founded in 2003 as a shared workspace-coworking environment, cultivated on the principles of "Ohana," the Hawaiian tradition that references family working toward a common goal. (The founder was from Hawaii.)

The company started out in Boulder, Colorado, then relocated its headquarters to Louisville. It's an affiliated brand of United Franchise Group, and is part of The Vast Coworking Group, which specializes in franchising within the coworking industry. All of their locations are franchised.

The Dallas location is owned by franchisee Michael Pickering, a Dallas native who runs a family-owned indoor soccer facility in Dallas. (There are two other Office Evolution locations in the DFW area in McKinney and Southlake, owned by different franchisees.)

They're describing the Dallas location at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. as "Turtle Creek," although its location at Oak Lawn and Lemmon really puts it at the epicenter of Oak Lawn. (To further complicate matters, the building previously and incorrectly described its address as "Uptown.")

It's a seven-story building in which the majority of tenants are doctor and medical offices.

Office Evolution rates include a coworking day pass for $25, plus "flex" office options starting at $200 a month for 20 hours, up to $550 a month for 80 hours.

Amenities of the building that are also accessible to Office Evolution customers include a front desk; a 1,000-square-foot fitness center; covered parking; and on-site security six days a week.

According to a spokesperson, Pickering and his team put $1.2 million into the renovation to transform the space, which occupies most of the fourth floor where it will span 9,240 square feet of space with 41 total offices — one of which is earmarked as an "on-demand office" for the professional on the go.

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