D Economy - January 2016

City of Dallas: Dallas Economic Development
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January 2016

Here are the highlights and news stories you may have missed from the past month:

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General News

Dialexa expands Dallas footprint, prepares to grow workforce

Startup Dialexa has expanded its downtown headquarters from 4,000 to 11,000 square feet, with plans to use the additional space to triple the size of its hardware lab and expand into the virtual and augmented reality spaces. As part of that expansion the company is also looking to triple the size of its workforce. Source: Dallas Business Journal, December 28, 2015.

Jobs are following millennials to Dallas

Millennials are unlike previous generations - they're not finding a job and then moving to that job's location. Instead, they're deciding where they want to live, and only then looking for employment. This is good news for Dallas, as millennials have been moving here in droves, and the jobs are following. Given this trend, it's no surprise that Dallas is said to have the lowest average age of any U.S. city. Source: BisNow, January 20, 2016.

City Center News

Trammell Crow Co. and MetLife toast start of Park District's construction

The start of construction on the PwC Tower at Park District was marked at a ceremony earlier this month. In attendance were approximately 800 attendees, including PwC executives, members of the local business community, and Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings. The tower's location, in Uptown next to Klyde Warren Park, was key to PwC's decision to relocate there. The project's live, work, and play environment will appeal to the firm's young workforce, says PwC. Source: Dallas Business Journal, January 15, 2016.

How a downtown Dallas block is being turned into a center of creativity

Downtown's Encore Park, where blues great Robert Johnson once recorded and Warner Brothers Pictures housed its film distribution facilities, is being revived as a creative hub. Phase One of the project, the outdoor amphitheater, is already complete. Future plans include adding an open art studio, coffee shop, and The Museum of Street Culture, which will celebrate local contributions to the musical and visual arts. Source: Dallas Innovates, January 14, 2016.

Real Estate News

Cityplace Co. and Forest City to develop new West Village hotel and apartment tower

Cityplace Co. and Forest City are teaming up to develop a new hotel and apartment tower on 2.6 acres between Cityplace Blvd. West and Blackburn Street in Dallas' West Village neighborhood. The developers are using this project for Hilton Hotels' new boutique Canopy brand, and will be among the first built in the U.S. Plans are for construction to get started in February, with completion by spring 2017. Source: Dallas Business Journal, January 7, 2016.

Construction starts on Victory Park cinema and high-rise project

Construction has started on a new movie theater and residential high-rise in Dallas' Victory Park neighborhood, at Victory Ave. and Museum Way. In addition, there will be approximately 20,000 square feet of retail space located on the ground floor of the new building. International theater operator Cinepolis USA will operate the new eight screen theater when it opens in late 2017 or early 2018. Source: Dallas Morning News, January 12, 2016.

Lincoln Property is starting work on new Dallas Arts District tower

Less than six months after purchasing the vacant lot at the corner of Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Pearl Street, Lincoln Property is breaking ground on their latest project, a 260,000 square foot office tower. The half-acre property was one of the last available development sites in Dallas' Arts District. The tower has been designed by architect HKS Inc. and will include parking and retail space on the lower levels. The developers are looking to open the building in 18 months. Source: Dallas Morning News, December 16, 2015.

New investment is kickstarting downtown Dallas' West End district

More than a half-dozen West End buildings have changed hands recently. While these historic buildings have been sold before, this time there's a difference. Instead of plans for the usual retail, restaurants or apartments, the buildings are being developed as office space for innovative companies that want unique work spaces. John Goff, of Goff Capital and developer of five of these West End properties, says "The millennials crave new, cool, hip space" and adds that "Dallas has a larger millennial population than most U.S. cities - larger than Boston or Chicago." Source: Dallas Morning News, December 18, 2015.

Southern Dallas News

Historic Oak Cliff church property will be home for new mixed-use project

Magnolia Development is converting Trinity Presbyterian Church, located on Zang Blvd. at Sixth Street, into a mixed-use development that will include approximately 15 apartments and a small amount of retail and office space. The project site has some history, as the block of Zang Blvd. between Fifth and Sixth Streets is where real estate developer and promoter John Zang built his original estate. Nearby, along Sixth between Zang and Elsbeth Street, Magnolia plans to construct 50 new apartments. Source: Dallas Morning News, December 14, 2015.

Firm partially owned by Bill Gates, George Soros and Carlos Slim to break ground on new recycling facility in southern Dallas

Within the next two months Spanish firm FCC (Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas) plans to break ground on a new recycling facility, to be located at the McCommas Bluff Landfill site in southern Dallas. The project represents new territory for both the firm and the City of Dallas, as it will mean shifting recycling operations to a public-private partnership. Instead of having FCC process recyclables in its own facility, the city is partnering with FCC, who will build the facility on city land. FCC will receive payment for operating the facility. Source: Dallas Morning News, January 4, 2016.

D Econ Yellow Line 2

Economic Review

C2ER 2015 Cost of Living Index

C2ER Cost of Living Index

Source: Council for Community and Economic Research, 2016. http://www.coli.org

  • The Council for Community and Economic Research publishes a quarterly Cost of Living Index to provide an accurate measure to compare cost of living differences among urban areas. Items on which the index is based have been chosen to reflect different categories of consumer expenditures.

  • Since 2014, the City of Dallas has had the lowest cost of living index score of major cities within the ten largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

More Dallas Economics

In this edition you'll find

General News

Info on the state of our economy, accolades and insights

City Center News

The latest developments and projects happening in the downtown core

Real Estate News

The latest real estate development projects and progress

Southern Dallas News

The latest developments and projects based in the southern half of Dallas

Economic Review

Unemployment data and more

More News & Press on the Blog

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Did you Know...

Airbnb says Dallas' Oak Lawn is one of the world's hottest neighborhoods to visit in 2016: http://goo.gl/asijVZ

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Dallas Office of Economic Development // 1500 Marilla St, Dallas, TX 75201  //  214.670.1685  // dallas-ecodev.org