Leaning Tower News

The Central off US-75 in Dallas will boast 4 restaurants plus retail

New rendering of The Central shows a buzzy space.

Courtesy rendering

A Dallas address that earned international fame as home to the “leaning tower of Dallas” is inching closer to seeing a new mixed-use development, after six years of acquisition, demolition, and delays.

Called The Central, the 27-acre mixed-use development at US-75 and Haskell Avenue is expected to offer four million square feet of office, residential, and retail space on property formerly owned by Xerox Corp. and Trammell Crow Co.

De La Vega Development first purchased the land in 2017. The project has overcome several formidable challenges, dating back to the infamous demolition of the former Affiliated Computer Services building at 2828 N. Haskell Ave. that was there previously.

The incomplete demolition, which took place in February 2020, created an unexpected destination during the pandemic for photo-ops and even prompted a droll petition to keep it standing. (De La Vega president and CEO Artemio De La Vega has said that he plans to memorialize the leaning tower within The Central.)

The razing was eventually completed, but the pandemic delayed progress. During that hiatus, some plans were scuttled and shuffled as partners and deal structures changed.

It's an optimistic venture, particularly the office component, given the fact that the office market currently faces a 25 percent vacancy rate.

But construction began in earnest last fall starting with the first apartment tower at the south end of the development near Haskell.

Dallas-based StreetLights Residential - which has built high-rise apartments in Uptown and Deep Ellum - and Tokyo-based Mitsui Fudosan are developing an adjacent residential tower called The Oliver which will comprise a 19-story, 351-unit building, scheduled to open in 2025.

Part of the plan is a 3-plus acre park in the center of the development, along with hotel, restaurants, and spa.

According to a spokesperson for the project, there will be four restaurants total, each spanning 4,500 to 5,000 square feet; in addition, the StreetLights building will have 3,200 square feet of retail at the base.

Jefferson Innova, the first residential building, opened in fall 2021.

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GP News

Grand Prairie expands to the south with new master-planned community

Rendering courtesy of Provident

Goodland Grand Prairie

The City of Grand Prairie is growing fast and expanding to make way for a new master-planned development south of US Highway 287 and along Tollway 360, in Ellis and Johnson counties.

The community development, called Goodland, is the result of Grand Prairie’s recent 1,500-acre annexation extending its southern border toward Mansfield. Overall, with the added land, Goodland will be a 5,000-acre site featuring 15,000 residences including townhomes, custom homes, and gated communities for 50,000 residents.

According to a release, it will be a “city within a city” and a 45-minute drive from Dallas-Fort Worth. Beyond housing, there will be shops, restaurants, schools, public and private event venues, regional sports fields and complexes, dance halls, churches, trail systems, city parks, ponds, and preserved green spaces.

“This is a significant step in our city’s development,” says Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen in a statement. “Unlike many of our neighboring cities, we have the unique advantage of new development opportunities to our south that will drive the growth and prosperity of our city. We recognized the opportunity and took decisive action.”

Leading the development is Provident, a Dallas-based real estate firm that has created other master-planned communities across Dallas-Fort Worth, such as Preston Hollow Village and Hillstead in Collin County. Provident has plans to work nature into the space design with more than 1,600 acres of creek corridors and floodplain land.

Plans are ongoing for a centralized mixed-use walkable Town Center, complete with civic buildings and other commercial development. Further south on the property near Highway 67, light industrial uses and other private employment campuses are already underway, projects that will contribute vital tax dollars for city growth and future expansions.

“This level of placemaking is quite rare, and certainly not easy to execute, especially in a brand-new community," says Provident Managing Director Rylan Yowell in a statement. "We are committed to a long-term vision with a desire to be good stewards of the land."

A new four-lane road called Goodland Parkway will link Goodland to Grand Prairie at Tollway 360 and US Highway 287. It's set to open by December 2025.

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