Center City News
Two global firms, architects Perkins+Will and engineers WSP USA, have signed leases for space in the 107-year old landmark building in downtown Dallas. John Crawford, CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc., says "The addition of two major international firms coming in sends a message that downtown is open for business." The high school was one of the few old, vacant downtown properties that hadn't already been snapped up for development. Source: Dallas Morning News, September 2, 2015.
An extensive redevelopment has begun of the historic Mayflower Building located at 411 North Akard Street. Plans are for a mixed-use project that includes luxury apartments, ground floor retail space and on-site parking. Dallas-based Merriman Associates Architects Inc. is the project architect and Andres Construction Services LLC is the general contractor. Source: Dallas Business Journal, September 1, 2015.
The Dallas Innovation Alliance, a public-private partnership, has been launched with the goal to drive local adoption of smart-city solutions. Founding members include the City of Dallas, IBM, Microsoft, DART, AT&T, Downtown Dallas Inc. and the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce. The public-private partnership wants to build on Dallas' momentum as "a pioneer in driving innovative, entrepreneurial solutions in the US ... undertaking creative solutions to address urban challenges" per Trey Bowles, CEO of the Dallas Entrepreneur Center. Source: Dallas Business Journal, September 14, 2015.
Real Estate News
With a growing number of older North Texans deciding to make luxury apartments home, Dallas developers are taking notice and creating new products to appeal to this generation of renters. The focus is on larger apartments with ample amenities, as more affluent renters have sold their homes and don't want to deal with traditional homeowner hassles. Source: Dallas Morning News, September 11, 2015.
One of the biggest property sales in North Texas has closed, with CBRE Global Investors buying the Galleria Towers located at LBJ Freeway and Noel Road. With almost 1.4 million square feet it is one of North Dallas' largest office properties and is connected to the landmark shopping mall. The sale price is expected to total more than $300 million. Source: Dallas Morning News, September 21, 2015.
Harwood International has begun preleasing space in its latest project, a 320,000 square foot high-rise office building located at 2826 North Harwood Street. The building is just up the street from another Harwood project, the new Frost Tower. Since 1984 Harwood has built five office buildings in its 17-block development along McKinnon and Harwood Streets. Source: Dallas Morning News, September 8, 2015.
Small Business News
The Dallas area posted its 11th consecutive month of growth in small business jobs according to the latest Paychex/HIS Small Business Jobs Index. In addition, the state of Texas tied for number three with Washington for best performing state for small business growth over the past 12 months. Source: Dallas Morning News, September 1, 2015.
Dallas coworking pioneer Common Desk has opened a second outpost in Oak Cliff. At 6,000 square feet the new space is smaller than its main Deep Ellum location, but it's been designed to be a more intimate workspace. At its recent grand opening, guests checked out the new space and enjoyed treats from Bolsa Mercado and Oak Cliff Creperie. Source: Dallas Culture Map, September 7, 2015.
Southern Dallas News
Amazon.com has sealed a deal to lease an entire building, now nearing completion, at 33333 LBJ Fwy. The 500,000 square foot building will be the last addition to the JJ Lemmon Distribution Center and will bring 1,500 jobs to the Dallas area. The project is a joint venture between Clarion Partners and the Trammell Crow Company. Source: CoStar.com, September 15, 2015.
Restaurant Raising Cane's has broken ground on its 33rd Dallas-area restaurant, located at 8112 South Hampton Road. Plans are for the restaurant to open in December 2015, resulting in the creation of 50-60 jobs. The Louisiana-based chain has more than 70 locations in Texas and 240 nationwide. Source: Dallas Morning News, September 4, 2015.
 Economic Review
 Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, September 2015.
- Real GDP increased in 282 of the nation's 381 metropolitan areas in 2014.
- The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA ranked 4th in the nation in total real GDP, with a 2014 growth rate of 8.5%.
- Contributing most to the 8.5% GDP increase in the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA was the nondurable goods manufacturing sector, reporting a $15.4 billion increase over 2013 (+3.9%).
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