Sunday, October 27, 2024

Good evening:

Don’t be surprised if Downtown City Council member Jesse Moreno is driving a bulldozer through the City-owned building at 711 South St. Paul Street (above) when it is demolished in the coming months.

Moreno has been on a mission to get the vacant former family homeless shelter in Downtown sold and torn down since he and his staff discovered it trashed by squatters and vandals earlier this year. His office announced on Friday that it has been sold to a developer and will be demolished as part of the deal.

“The sale of this property and subsequent demolition is the only appropriate course of action in this case,” Moreno said in his announcement, perhaps a subtle dig at some who pushed for the historic building to be preserved.

Though Moreno did not reveal the buyer, Downtown Dallas, Inc. Board of Directors member company Hoque Global confirmed it is their latest purchase on the south side of Downtown. Led by Mike Hoque, the company has amassed blocks of mostly surface parking lots in that area.

The Dallas City Council voted in 2022 to provide up to $96.1 million in incentives toward their planned 20-acre Newpark development, which would include a 38-story office, residential and hotel tower built in partnership with Omaha-based Lanoha Real Estate Co., as reported by The Dallas Morning News. Hoque promises to transform the area behind City Hall into “a major technology and education hub.”

Hoque is also behind the planned SoGood development just south of Interstate 30 and they are partnered with PegasusAblon to purchase Bank of America Plaza and four surrounding blocks.

“I support efforts to pursue other opportunities to relinquish unused facilities for higher purposes in the City,” Moreno said. “I look forward to celebrating the revitalization that will be seen in Downtown Dallas as a result [of this] action.”

Read on for more on:

• The latest on a years long reduction in overall violent crime in Dallas.

• What’s next on a permit decision that would keep Club Vivo operating in Downtown.

• A ceremonial street renaming to honor a late Dallas legend.

⚡ Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest:

Dallas City Council members last week:

• Approved Item 19, a $2 million payment to DART for the operation and maintenance costs of the Dallas Streetcar System, which runs from Union Station to the Bishop Arts District.

• Delayed a decision on awarding a $248,435 grant for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, in the wake of allegations that the firing of 10 dancers was an act of union busting. Read more from the Dallas Observer.

• Approved the appointments of AT&T Performing Arts Center Chief Advocacy Officer Chris Heinbaugh and former Ambassador Jeanne Phillips as new members of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Board of Directors.

• Approved Item 35, the annual City Audit Plan for the current fiscal year. Read it here.

• Approved Item 39 is to reject all bids on a controversial plan to spend pandemic relief money on in-home garden kits. The City said last month it was canceling plans to award the $200,000 service contract to Bellcam Group “to provide residents with a recurring supply of fresh grown produce.”

• Deferred to Dec. 11 Item 41, which would make it easier for Dallas City Council members to use taxpayer money to travel to Austin or Washington, D.C., to advocate on legislative matters. Members of a City Council committee recommended the proposal — pushed by five council members — be killed.

• Approved Item 45, a $566,812 one-year contract with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for a comprehensive economic impact analysis of high-speed rail. City Council members requested the study as part of a resolution pausing support for a Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail line potentially running through Downtown.

• Kicked back to the City Plan Commission an application for a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for Club Vivo at 1908 Pacific Avenue in Downtown (read more here). City Plan Commissioners voted last month to deny the request, meaning approval would have required a supermajority at City Council. The club owner is attorney Kevin Kelley, who also owns the nearby Kitchen + Kocktails.

• Approved a ceremonial street renaming honoring the late Max Glauben, a Holocaust survivor, on streets surrounding the Holocaust and Human Rights Museum in the West End. City Council members Jaynie Schultz, Jesse Moreno and Paul Ridley initiated the process earlier this year.

Thanks to DDI's Nikia Summerlin, Urban Planning Manager, for monitoring hours of meetings every week and contributing to these summaries.

Email Nikia

Meetings of Interest: October 28 - Nov. 1, 2024

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Tuesday, October 29

Special Called City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— This agenda includes briefings on the Dallas Public Facility Corporation and Dallas Housing Finance Corporation, as well as potential bylaw changes for improving governance of those entities.

Special Called City Council Public Safety Committee Meeting, 1 p.m., Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Violent crime overall continues to fall in Dallas, including a 27% reduction in homicides and a 9% reduction in aggravated assaults year-over-year, according to this briefing. It is the continuation of a years-long citywide trend, as noted above.

— Domestic violence incidents in the city have also declined in recent years, according to this Dallas police briefing. The update emphasizes prevention efforts, support services for victims, and collaborations with community partners. Key areas of focus include addressing repeat offenses, expanding the Fugitive Unit, and targeting high-incidence locations, with plans to further enhance lethality assessment procedures and training.

— Police officials will brief committee members on the Criminal Trespass Affidavit (CTA) Program. The program allows for property owners and managers to authorize Dallas police officers to issue criminal trespass warnings or make arrests on a given property when unauthorized people are present. Briefing materials are not yet available online.

— Dallas police and fire officials will deliver updates on respective hiring and retention efforts.

Thursday, October 31

Special Called Park and Recreation Board Meeting, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings? Let me know.

Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.Have a great week.

Best,

Scott Goldstein

Communications & Government Relations Consultant

Downtown Dallas, Inc.