Rachel Wimberly

Dallas’ Revitalization Is the Real Deal
November 19, 2007

A lot of cities are working on revitalizing their downtowns. Oftentimes, once-thriving areas have waned over the years as people and businesses moved to the suburbs, but now more and more downtowns are making a comeback, or at least trying to.

I was recently in Dallas, and the skyline is dotted with cranes everywhere. I was in town for the 50^th anniversary of the CVB and convention center, and was lucky enough to have someone from the bureau take me on a tour of downtown.

We walked the arts center, with three art museums already there; a performing arts center, theater and refurbished arts school are also on the way. Pretty impressive. 

Mixed-use developments, such as Victory Park, have high-end hotels that are fairly new, such as the W, or in the works, such as the Mandarin, as well as fancy shops, gleaming condos for sale and excellent restaurants.

We ate at a fantastic restaurant owned by celebrity chef Stephan Pyle in the middle of the arts area downtown on a Wednesday night and every table was full. Clearly, people were coming in from the suburbs to eat there, unless they lived at one of the many residential complexes also going up downtown.

Above all, as someone who has lived in New York City and Los Angeles for most of my adult life, downtown Dallas was remarkably clean and uncluttered. There is actually space between the buildings, a lot of green areas and the big open Texas sky visible from almost everywhere.

All of this is good news for conventioneers heading to Dallas since, like most urban areas, the city’s convention center is located downtown. Other cities that are trying to undergo the same resurgence (ahem, Los Angeles …), please take note and check out Dallas to see how it can be done right.

Posted by Rachel Wimberly on November 19, 2007 | Comments (0)