Southwest Center Mall Dallas, Texas
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AN ADVISORY SERVICES PANEL REPORT Southwest Center Mall Dallas, Texas Urban Land Institute www.uli.org 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Printed on recycled paper. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 Southwest Center Mall Dallas, Texas Strategies for Transforming and Reinventing the Southwest Center Mall June 14–19, 2009 An Advisory Services Panel Report Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 About the Urban Land Institute he mission of the Urban Land Institute is Established in 1936, the Institute today has more to provide leadership in the responsible than 33,000 members worldwide, representing use of land and in creating and sustaining the entire spectrum of the land use and develop- T thriving communities worldwide. ULI is ment disciplines. Professionals represented committed to include developers, builders, property own ers, investors, architects, public officials, planners, • Bringing together leaders from across the real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engi- fields of real estate and land use policy to neers, financiers, academics, students, and exchange best practices and serve community librarians. needs; ULI relies heavily on the experience of its • Fostering collaboration within and beyond members. It is through member involvement ULI’s membership through mentoring, and information resources that ULI has dialogue, and problem solving; been able to set standards of excellence in • Exploring issues of urbanization, conservation, de velopment practice. The Institute has long regeneration, land use, capital formation, and been recognized as one of the world’s most sustainable development; respected and widely quoted sources of objec- tive information on urban planning, growth, • Advancing land use policies and design and development. practices that respect the uniqueness of both built and natural environments; • Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media; and • Sustaining a diverse global network of local practice and advisory efforts that address current and future challenges. ©2009 by the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission of the copyright holder is prohibited. Cover photo by Cary Sheih 2 An Advisory Services Panel Report About ULI Advisory Services he goal of ULI’s Advisory Services Pro stakeholders in the project under consideration, gram is to bring the finest expertise in participants in ULI’s five-day panel assignments the real estate field to bear on complex are able to make accurate assessments of a spon- T land use planning and development sor’s issues and to provide recommendations in a projects, programs, and policies. Since 1947, compressed amount of time. this program has assembled well over 400 ULI–member teams to help sponsors find A major strength of the program is ULI’s unique creative, practical solutions for issues such as ability to draw on the knowledge and expertise downtown redevelopment, land management of its members, including land developers and strategies, evaluation of development potential, owners, public officials, academics, representa- growth management, community revitaliza- tives of financial institutions, and others. In tion, brownfields redevelopment, military base fulfillment of the mission of the Urban Land reuse, provision of low-cost and affordable Institute, this Advisory Services panel report is housing, and asset management strategies, intended to pro vide objective advice that will among other matters. A wide variety of public, promote the re sponsible use of land to enhance private, and nonprofit organizations have the environment. contracted for ULI’s Advisory Services. Each panel team is composed of highly qualified ULI Program Staff professionals who volunteer their time to ULI. They are chosen for their knowledge of the panel Marta V. Goldsmith topic and screened to ensure their objectivity. Senior Vice President, Community/ ULI’s interdisciplinary panel teams provide Education Provost a holistic look at development problems. A Thomas W. Eitler re spected ULI member who has previous panel Vice President, Advisory Services experience chairs each panel. Caroline Dietrich The agenda for a five-day panel assignment is Panel Associate, Advisory Services in tensive. It includes an in-depth briefing day Cary Sheih composed of a tour of the site and meetings with Senior Associate, Community and sponsor representatives; a day of hour-long Professional Development interviews of typically 50 to 75 key community representatives; and two days of formulating Gwen McCall recommendations. Long nights of discussion Senior Administrative Manager, Community precede the panel’s conclusions. On the final James A. Mulligan day on site, the panel makes an oral presentation Managing Editor of its findings and conclusions to the sponsor. A written re port is pre pared and published. Kimberley Todd Manuscript Editor Because the sponsoring entities are responsible Betsy Van Buskirk for significant preparation before the panel’s vis Creative Director it, including sending extensive briefing materials to each member and arranging for the panel to Susan S. Teachey, ON-Q Design, Inc. meet with key local community members and Layout Artist Dallas, Texas, June 14–19, 2009 3 Acknowledgments n behalf of the Urban Land Institute, the The panel also recognizes the numerous other panel thanks Tom Leppert, mayor of the entities that contributed to its success: Aspen city of Dallas; Karl Zavitkovsky, director Penney LLC, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, O of the Office of Economic Development; Charlton Methodist Hospital, Dallas County, and Tennell Atkins, council member, for spon- Dallas Police Department, Dallas Independent soring this panel and securing the political sup- School District, Macy’s Inc., Madison Realty port for this project. Capital, Sears Holding Corporation, and the Woodmont Company. Special thanks go to the Dallas Office of Economic Development staff, including Hammond Perot, Interviews conducted with numerous stake- assistant director; Jim Greenwalt, retail coordi- holders, including residents, business owners, nator; Tim Glass; Daniel Olney; and Heather and public officials, provided information and Lepeska for preparing the briefing book and diverse perspectives, aiding the panel in its organizing the briefing session and tour. analysis. The panel thanks all those who con- sented to be interviewed. The panel extends particular thanks to Yvonne Davis, Texas state representative; Albert Bryant Finally, the panel wishes to thank Dallas District of the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Task Force; the Council outgoing chair John Walsh and incoming pastors of the Oak Cliff area churches; Carl chair Christopher Seiley for their active partici- Sherman, mayor pro tem of the city of Desoto; pation in this endeavor. Dwaine Caraway of the Dallas City Council; and Dave Leininger and Jack Wierzenski of Dallas Area Rapid Transit. 4 An Advisory Services Panel Report Contents ULI Panel and Project Staff 6 Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment 7 Market Potential 11 Planning and Design 16 Development Strategies 21 Implementation 26 Conclusion 31 About the Panel 32 Dallas, Texas, June 14–19, 2009 5 ULI Panel and Project Staff Panel Chair Monte Ritchey President Charles A. Long The Conformity Corporation President Charlotte, North Carolina Charles A. Long Properties Jamie Rusin Berkeley, California Principal ELS Architecture and Urban Design Berkeley, California Panel Members Bryce Turner President/CEO Michael Berne Brown Craig Turner President Baltimore, Maryland MJB Consulting New York, New York Marta Borsanyi ULI Project Director Principal The Concord Group Cary Sheih Newport Beach, California Senior Associate, Professional Development Stephen Dragos Senior Adviser for Development Greater Camden Partnership ULI On-Site Coordinator Camden, New Jersey Jennifer Green Robert Feinberg Senior Executive Administrative Manager, Senior Vice President/Principal Special Events Grubb & Ellis New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Terri Gumula President MMDC Group New York, New York 6 An Advisory Services Panel Report Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment ULI Advisory Services panel spent June Location map. 14 to 19, 2009, evaluating the redevelop- ment potential of the distressed Southwest A Center Mall located in Dallas, Texas. Built in 1975 by the Debartalo Company, the South- west Center Mall sits on 96 acres located 11 miles south of downtown Dallas. When it opened, it was the only regional mall in southern Dallas and was named Red Bird Mall after the com- munity it served. It is a typical center-oriented mall with large anchor stores surrounding a core of smaller, in-line retail spaces. Including the anchors, it has 1.1 million square feet of space. The mall’s customer base began to weaken soon after completion due to competition from newer retail space built nearby. New owners in 2001 renamed the mall Southwest Center Mall after investing in revitalizing improvements, pri- marily a food court. Over the past few years, as Regional map. more competition occurred with newer nearby retail centers, decline has quickened. Montgomery Ward went bankrupt and liquidated in 2001. Its space is currently occupied by Burlington Coat Factory. JCPenney also shut its doors in 2001 and left for nearby Cedar Hills. Next, Dillard’s shut its