Downtown News

New downtown tower by City Hall gets Dallas City Council thumb$ up

Right now this is a parking lot.

Courtesy rendering

The Dallas City Council approved a financial incentive of nearly $100 million to facilitate a new mixed-use tower being planned near City Hall.

Called One Newpark, it'll be a 38-floor mixed-use tower from Hoque Global and its development partner Lanoha Real Estate Company, to be constructed on land currently used as parking lots just south of Dallas City Hall.

The project will include street-level retail, 225,000 square feet of office space, a 245-room hotel, and 268 mixed-income residential units. The total cost: approximately $380 million.

The City Council authorized a subsidy that combines funds from the city's Public/Private Partnership Fund and Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing District Fund totaling $96.1 million.

"Newpark Dallas in Southern Downtown will be a catalyst to help take our city to new levels of economic growth by opening doors to new opportunities as our city grows south," said Mike Hoque of Hoque Global in a statement.

Hoque said that the positive impacts of the project could develop talent and create opportunities.

One Newpark is the first phase of the larger, multi-phased Newpark Dallas development. At full build-out, Newpark Dallas is planned to include over one million square feet of Class A office space, 200,000 square feet of urban retail space, a few thousand residential units, and a four-star hotel.

District 2 City Council member Jesse Moreno said in a statement that this is a better use for the land than the parking lots that currently exist.

"For years, we’ve had surface parking lots that have not added substantial value in landscape or taxes," Moreno said. "This project includes a strategic plan with vision that will transform the area into a walkable mixed-use neighborhood, bridging the Convention Center, Dallas Farmers Market, and the Cedars. This will re-energize the southern portion of Downtown Dallas. Today’s action will propel growth and vitality in the area, and I am excited to see this moving forward."

Hoque Global also has plans for a massive mixed-use near UNT in southern Dallas, the first large-scale mixed-use community of its kind in southern Dallas.

downtown

bang for your buck

These are the 10 most affordable ZIP codes for Dallas-area renters

Photo by Jenifer McNeil Baker for Greystar

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Buying a home in Dallas is difficult enough to afford these days, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are 10 Dallas-Fort Worth ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes to rent in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental costs required the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

Two Dallas suburbs and their ZIP codes specifically stood out in CashNetUSA's ranking of the most affordable ZIPs for renters across the Metroplex: 75013 in Allen (No. 1) and 75033 in Frisco (No. 2).

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in Allen comes out to $1,716.45, and the median annual income of an Allen household is $145,220. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in the Allen ZIP code only takes up 14.18 percent of a household's median income, which is the No. 1 lowest in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Allen was recently named one of the best small cities to live in, with a scorching hot real estate market to match its thriving popularity and growth.

In Frisco's 75033 ZIP, annual rent costs only represent 14.89 percent of a household's median annual income. The area – which encompasses the Meadow Hill Estates, Preston Highlands North, Christie Ranch, Newman Village, Shaddock Creek Estates, and Collin neighborhoods – has a median household income of $149,525, and average rent costs add up to $1,855.49, according to the study.

Meanwhile, Dallas' own 75214 ZIP code ranked No. 8 in the metro-wide ranking of most affordable ZIPs for renters. This area consists of several established Dallas neighborhoods, including Northeast Dallas, Wilshire Heights, Lakewood, Lakewood Hills, Junius Heights, and Munger Place.

The median annual income for a household in 75214 comes out to $104,583, and the average rental costs $1,669.40 per month. That means annual rent payments account for 19.15 percent of a household's median income, according to the study.

The seven other ZIPs that make up the top 10 most affordable ZIP codes for renters in Dallas-Fort Worth include:

No. 3 – 76248 in Keller
No. 4 – 76085 in Weatherford
No. 5 – 76262 in Roanoke
No. 6 – 75078 in Prosper
No. 7 – 75048 in Sachse
No. 9 – 75077 in Highland Village
No. 10 – 75093 in Plano

Top ZIP codes for renters in the U.S.
CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio's 78248 ZIP ranked as the No. 4 most affordable ZIP code for renters in the U.S., and the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code statewide.

Two Houston-area ZIP codes – 77401 and 77094 – ranked No. 9 and No. 12 nationally, while Allen's 75013 ZIP code fell two spots behind to claim the No. 14 spot.

frisco suburbs zip codes rent