Crush of land deals deserve cautious optimism
Editorial
Dallas Morning News Friday, June 6, 2008
Investment partnerships have quietly acquired several hundred
commercial and residential properties in West Dallas, including many
acres near one of the planned Calatrava bridges over the Trinity River.
Not far away, the INCAP Fund, which invested more than $200 million in land
in north Oak Cliff, is marketing more than 200 acres.
This newspaper favors new investment in these neglected communities to help
narrow the economic gap between North Dallas and the southern part of our city.
We are particularly enthusiastic about projects that provide residents services
and businesses that they deserve and, at the same time, grow the tax base.
These two deals seem to fit this model. The trick will be for the development
to come without large-scale gentrification that displaces large groups of
working-class residents.
For years, blocks of dilapidated residential and commercial properties in the
two areas have discouraged new businesses and middle-class residents from
investing there. The city's inattention to basic improvements also hindered
economic redevelopment. The difficulty of acquiring land from multiple property
owners didn't help, either.
That's why we see the assembly of large tracts of land in these two deals as
a net plus for these neighborhoods. INCAP, for example, has torn down more than
1,000 old rental units in Oak Cliff, a key step in revitalization. The city has
supported the effort by creating a financing district to pump tax revenue back
into neighborhood improvements.
The vision for the area includes a mix of townhouses, condominiums and
businesses, similar to the blueprint that helped revitalize the once-distressed
area south of Knox Street and west of Central Expressway.
In West Dallas, the Trinity River project is stirring land purchases and will
eventually attract commercial and residential developers. Investor groups own
residential lots and abandoned commercial and industrial sites in and near La
Bajada and Los Altos, two predominately Hispanic neighborhoods that hug the
Trinity levees. As that development takes shape, the city must safeguard both
those neighborhoods and the Trinity project.
As part of The Dallas Morning News editorial board's efforts to "bridge the
gap" between the northern and southern parts of our city, we will watch these
two development opportunities carefully to make sure everyone's interests are
taken into account.
INCAP Fund properties for sale
Investor INCAP has spent more than $200 million buying Oak Cliff properties to
redevelop and is now hoping to find buyers for the land. |
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The big picture
Altogether investors have purchased more than 500 properties in West Dallas
located between the river and Interstate 30. |
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SOURCES: Dallas Central
Appraisal District: Dallas Morning News research |
Courtesy of the Dallas Morning News, Friday, June 6th 2008 Edition
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