Fried Garden Fracas

Blast from the glass: Museum Tower fights back in a full-page ad in the DallasMorning News

In a full-page ad in the business section, Museum Tower said, "Our number onepriority is finding the best solution to the reflection issue."
Museum Tower among other downtown skyscrapers, in a rendering from the MuseumTower website.

Finally! A peep out of at least one party in the Museum Tower/Nasher Sculpture Center controversy. Museum Tower made a gutsy move on Friday when it bought a full-page ad in the business section of the Dallas Morning News.

It was an ad, not editorial. In it Museum Tower said it was looking hard for a solution to the "reflection issue" but didn't say what it is — or, more important, who will pay for it.

If you subscribe, Robert Wilonsky has the story. Basically, Museum Tower claims to be doing everything possible, that gutsy architecture pushes the envelope sometimes. Also according to the letter, Museum Tower complied 100 percent with all Dallas city code. The high-rise will open as planned in January.

Robert Wilonsky penned a story about the ad and told the Nasher folks to feel free to buy tomorrow's back page.

The ad must have been a substantial investment, and Museum Tower's marketing campaign has been subdued ever since the "fried grass" stories broke. I wonder why they didn't approach DMN real estate editor Steve Brown, who's a pretty balanced reporter, or Wilonsky, who penned the ad story and told the Nasher folks to feel free to buy tomorrow's back page.

This was not the first time an organization bought an ad in the paper when it felt it wasn't getting a fair shake from editorial. Parkland supporters bought full-page ads in defense of former UT Southwestern president Kern Wildenthal earlier this year.

Museum Tower management has made it clear they feel a bias coming from at least two media outlets: the Dallas Morning News, whom they wrote a check to last week, and D Magazine, which published a cover story called "Towering Inferno." The garden-glare dilemma has landed Dallas in the New York Times and Vanity Fair.

Then, as if that weren't enough controversy, a mud-slinging fest took place between D's executive editor Tim Rogers and Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer, who claims Rogers' bias is real because his wife's PR firm, SparkFarm, once did work for the Nasher. (It bears mentioning that SparkFarm is one of three small businesses that share office space with CultureMap Dallas.)

Has the reporting, most of which nudges Museum Tower to make adjustments to its facade, been biased? I know of some sales at Museum Tower, but I also know of potential buyers who are waiting out the glass solution.

Everyone is hoping for a press conference with lots of hugs and handshakes. Until that happens, Realtors are concerned about lawsuits that could entangle buyers in years of litigation.

Here's the scuttlebutt — street talk, not confirmed — I have heard in real estate circles:

Move the Nasher, and Museum Tower foots the bill. Yes, this story is really circulating.
Install a louver system on the part of Museum Tower facade that allegedly fries the Nasher.
Install a different glass on the part of Museum Tower facade that allegedly fries the Nasher.
The glare from Museum Tower is so bright it is affecting residents at One Arts Plaza — now that's one long, powerful beam!
The glare from Museum Tower will not harm any of the plants in the new Klyde Warren Park.

Like it or not, it was the media's duty to inform us of the reflective "sticky wicket," as my mother-in-law put it — and inform us they did. Will the process hurt Museum Tower sales? We know there have been foreclosures at the W and Azure, and we know The House is offering extreme sales perks. Plus, the Ritz is marketing hard to get those last dozen or so units sold in the second tower.

Speaking of the Ritz, Tim Headington's penthouse at Tower I is listed at $14 million, the highest priced penthouse in town. Is he selling because he wants a penthouse at Museum Tower? Fasten your seatbelts and stay tuned. After all, we had an earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale, so anything is possible.

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living single

Dallas lands among 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone

Getty Images

In DFW, renters can afford to live solo.

Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, Dallas-Fort Worth sits among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living by yourself, according to a new report.

Analysts at Apartments.com discovered North Texas renters spend the seventh lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S.

The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.

The median annual income of a DFW renter household is $63,172, and the findings show the typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment comes out to $1,348 per month. The study determined single renters spend 25.6 percent of their monthly income on rent based on the budgeting suggestion.

Texas' favorable rental market also extends outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Austin surprised as the No. 1 most affordable metro for living alone, and San Antonio appeared among the top 10.

Austin renters spend the smallest share of their income on single-bedroom apartment rent, at 23.1 percent. That's based on a median renter household income of $70,008 and a $1,348 monthly one-bedroom asking rent price.

Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.

"The average rent in Austin has decreased year over year, and construction of new housing increased by 30 percent over the past decade," the report's author wrote. "Tax incentives in Texas draw large tech corporations, like Google and Apple, to the Austin area, which has increased average wages, added more jobs to the local economy, and attracted renters in the process."

San Antonio ranked right above DFW in sixth place nationwide with solo renters spending 25.4 percent of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent, coincidentally the same share as single renters living in Raleigh, North Carolina and Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is the income and one-bedroom rent data in San Antonio:

$51,029 – median renter household income
$1,082 – one-bedroom monthly asking rent

A separate Apartments.com survey found 39 percent of U.S. adults would never feel comfortable living with a roommate, and 16 percent of renters would rather pay more in rent to live alone than consider living with a roommate.

"Factors contributing to lower rents may include recent high levels of construction, rising vacancy rates as renter demand catches up to supply, and fewer regulations, such as flexible zoning and lower development costs compared to other parts of the country," the report said. "Living alone has become a non-negotiable for many renters, and some renters are willing to make tradeoffs to afford this lifestyle."

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Oklahoma City
No. 3 – Phoenix
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 6 – San Antonio
No. 7 – Dallas-Fort Worth
No. 8 – Denver
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio

real estate rent rent prices apartments affordability reports