A hot button issue is defined as an issue that causes people to feel strong emotions (such as anger) and to argue with each other. You can throw a rock in any direction and find a Dallas real estate professional with an opinion on Victory Park – what went wrong and why it will or will not ever be successful. During March’s Neighborhood Lunch, Leadership Alumni was treated to a bird’s-eye view from One Victory Park of the repositioning of Victory Park recently kicked off by the partnership of Trademark Property Company and Estein & Associates. Daniel Goldware of Trademark gave the alumni a detailed play-by-play of the tremendous amount of activity designed to help Victory Park realize its potential.
A good plan spoiled
Anchored by the 840,000-square-foot American Airlines Center, Victory Park was originally envisioned as Dallas’ 75-acre version of Times Square. The early years saw the addition of almost 400 condos, 380 apartments, 250 hotel rooms, half a million square feet of office space, and more than 200,000 square feet of retail. The former brownfield was replaced with projects such as the W hotel, the Victory Plaza and One Victory Park office buildings, the Vista and Cirque apartment centers, and a pair of condo properties.
A difficult physical layout and struggles to develop a cohesive retail tenancy resulted in very little foot traffic outside of Mavericks and Stars games. Ultimately the Great Recession gobbled up any progress at Victory Park, as it did to so many, and the development was left to weather the storm along with the rest of us.
The light at the end of the tunnel
Ownership sees Victory as a strategic asset to DFW and is working in tandem with the City of Dallas to overcome the existing issues to bring the project forward. To address the issues with traffic flow, Olive Street was redeveloped to add a crosswalk and traffic light to connect the AAC with the rest of the development. The number of lanes were reduced and a median was added to slow down traffic through the area. Houston Street and Victory Avenue were converted to accommodate two-way traffic and Katy Trail was extended into the project. The Victory Park Lane median was removed to make the area more pedestrian friendly.
Trademark has developed a comprehensive merchandising and leasing plan for the ground floor retail space and undeveloped land. Identifying and attracting destination retail and restaurant tenants that fit the strategy is key to repositioning efforts. Place making elements including bench seating, planter boxes and new landscaping have been added and nondescript storefronts are being replaced by tenant designed and branded versions. The W Hotel vent box design has been modified and will be part of an overall public art program. New retail under the base of the former Mandarin Oriental garage creates a two-sided retail street. Over $1 million in new signage and way finding will guide visitors and 36-foot District ID signage will brand the district.
These efforts have already produced notable results. It was recently announced that Dallas restaurateur Tristan Simon’s company Rebees will develop and operate a 4,000-square-foot retail emporium, a 6,000 square-foot restaurant and 14,000-square-foot co-working office center featuring a 3,500-square-foot cafe. Lennar is currently developing an eight-screen, 700-seat luxury theater with six floors of parking and topped by fifteen stories of residential units.
The Victory Park of tomorrow
It’s easy to see momentum is shifting to Victory Park. As development sites in Uptown disappear and residential units lease up, the need for centrally located real estate has become more and more apparent. The aforementioned activity is backstopped by numerous projects, including the 455,000-square-foot Victory Center office development and thousands of new apartment units. Victory Park will have a substantial core of residents providing the 24-hour presence needed to support the growing retail base. The success of the development will provide a substantial tax base for the City of Dallas and an irreplaceable amenity to its residents. The timing is right and Victory Park is well on its way to becoming the great success it always seemed destined to be. The real estate community just might have to find a new development to opine on going forward.