Business News
Ernst & Young (EY) has announced it will invest $10 million in a new cybersecurity center at their Victory Park office. The new center will house 300 employees, with approximately three-fourths of them new hires, per EY's Ben Towbridge. A training facility called EY Cyber Academy will be included, to help offset the talent gap in the cybersecurity industry. Source: Dallas Business Journal, July 27, 2017.
Hometown
bookstore Half Price Books is not only surviving but thriving after 45
years in business. With 20 stores in North Texas and a total of 122
stores nationwide, with more to come, Half Price Books had sales of $260
million in 2016. The Dallas flagship store not only sells books, it
holds game nights and other events, including the hosting of a local
band the first Friday of each month. Source: Dallas Morning News, August 2, 2017.
Real Estate News
Uptown's latest high-rise, the 20-story M-Line Tower, has opened its doors to new residents. Construction has taken two years, with completion on the remaining tower units scheduled to be finished by year-end, according to High Street Residential's Joel Behrens, the project's developer. In addition to its 261 apartments, the tower has a business center, conference rooms, a swimming pool and "sky lounge" on the 20th floor. Source: Dallas Morning News, August 8, 2017.
City Center News
Redevelopment of the Dallas Farmers Market continues, with local resident Stacy Breen investigating the latest offerings as well as the tried-and-true options available. The market focuses on Texas produce and a variety of global restaurants such as Palmieri Cafe for Italian coffee and pastries, and 8 Cloves, which features Indian cuisine with a Texas twist, such as paneer tacos.
Source: Dallas Culture Map, August 16, 2017.
Baseball bat company Warstic will open its first brick-and-mortar store in Deep Ellum, according to owner and musician Jack White. The store is scheduled to open in 2018 at 2900 Main Street, and in addition to its storefront will be the company's manufacturing headquarters. The store will have a bat-fitting room where customers can customize the look and feel of their bats, as well as a batting cage for testing those new bats out.
Source: Dallas Observer, August 15, 2017.
Southern Dallas News
After the recent addition of a DART light rail station, UNT-Dallas students now also have the option of living on campus, as the university's first residence hall has opened its doors. Students at the southeast Oak Cliff campus can reside at the 27,000 square foot hall, which has 12 double- and 96 single-occupancy rooms, all with shared bathrooms. A $63 million student center is also in the works, with construction to be completed in fall 2018.
Source: Dallas Morning News, August 3, 2017.
Work on the historic Ambassador Hotel is closer to getting started, with developer Jim Lake planning to turn the 113 year-old, six-story hotel into what's been called a "micro-unit urban oasis" in the Cedars neighborhood near downtown Dallas. Those "micro-units" will be loft-style, with an average size of 500 square feet. In addition, Lake says he is looking to create a "centerpiece destination," with the addition of an Ambassador Swim Club that would be available for use by neighborhood residents.
Source: Dallas Business Journal, August 9, 2017.
Courtland Development has announced plans to build two more industrial buildings at Mountain Creek Business Park. The buildings will be located at Merrifield Road, north of I-20. Courtland's Jon Napper says "It's clear there's a need for more small distribution space in South(ern) Dallas." The two buildings will contain approximately 155,000 square feet of space.
Source: Dallas Morning News, August 17, 2017.
Small Business News
Local company Foot Cardigan, which first became known via its appearance on tv show 'Shark Tank,' is ready for its next act. The company recently announced that it has sold a majority stake to Dallas-based holding company Detail Provisions, which was formed to acquire and build accessories brands. Foot Cardigan is known for its vividly designed socks, sold worldwide in 75 countries, to 30,000 regular customers.
Source: Dallas Morning News, August 7, 2017.
The first step in building a Texas ecosystem for startups and investors has been taken by the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (known locally as the DEC) and Austin's Capital Factory. Capital Factory, considered by PitchBook to be the most active investor in Texas startups since 2013, will work with the DEC to connect Dallas and Austin startups with mentors, investors, business connections, work space, and training in both cities.
Source: D Magazine, August 8, 2017.
 Economic Review
- The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price index is calculated using home sales price information gathered from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
- Home prices in the Dallas-Plano-Irving Metropolitan Division increased by 4.2 percent during the second quarter of 2017, while over the same period the average home price for the entire U.S. rose 3.6 percent.
- For the year (Q2 2016 to Q2 2017), the U.S. jumped 6.2 percent, eclipsing the previous 2016 high while Dallas-Plano-Irving rose 9.9 percent over the same timeframe.
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