DALLAS CONDO MARKET NEWS

For years, Dallas boosters have yearned for more residential space downtown. They are about to get their wish. By next year, the number of apartments and condominiums in the central business district will top 4,400 units. That's up from fewer than 500 in 1999.

08/08/2006
Condos planned for Las Colinas site
Two Tarrant County real estate companies have purchased a lakeside building site in Las Colinas where they are planning a condo and hotel project. Arlington-based Fortis Group and Realty Capital Partners of Colleyville bought almost five acres across the lake from the Omni Mandalay Hotel.

08/01/2006
Lewisville townhomes are next for builder
Steve Wall has had his homebuilding company for only about a year. But Wall Homes is already diversifying into the booming townhouse market with a 135-unit community near Lewisville Lake.

07/28/2006
Condo market has ups, downs
Dallas' high-rise condo boom appears to be peaking. With construction costs soaring and investors pulling out of the housing market, several residential tower deals have been killed and others are in doubt. "Construction costs have risen a lot faster than sales prices of condominiums," said Jonas Woods, president of Victory developer Hillwood Capital. "That's why you are seeing some of these projects get canceled."

07/25/2006
Slow market kills Uptown condos
Developers have canceled plans for a high-profile Uptown condo deal. Trammell Crow Co. has halted efforts to construct condominiums in Dallas' historic Maple Terrace building and develop an adjoining high-rise because sales did not meet expectations.

07/21/2006
A lot of high-rises have something missing
Downtown Dallas' Metropolitan condominium tower will have a swimming pool, a fitness center and a private movie theater. About all that's missing from the 283-unit condo project under construction at 1200 Main St. is the 13th floor.

06/22/2006
Colossal retail project revs up
Developers are breaking ground across the street from NorthPark Center for an even more expensive project. The Park Lane development will cost north of $500 million and will include more than 2 million square feet of retail, apartments, condominiums, hotel rooms and office space.

06/29/2006
Townhouse project OK'd
The Addison Town Council approved plans Tuesday for a townhouse development at Montfort Drive and Celestial Road against the wishes of neighboring residents. Zachary Custom Builders of Frisco plans to build 19 townhouses on the 2.37 acres that housed Walden Preparatory School for 36 years.

06/23/2006
Complex may be Uptown's missing link
A vacant block that developers hope will provide a link between Uptown and downtown Dallas will soon be sprouting a mixed-use complex.

06/20/2006
Uptown gets Ritzy again:
2nd luxury tower in the works
Uptown's luxury condo boom is getting its second wind. Another tower will soon be going up in the Ritz-Carlton project under construction on Pearl Street. And it will be even larger than the first phase.

06/01/2006
Kids growing up downtown
Downtown Dallas' apartments and condominiums are filling with young professionals and even retirees. But children don't seem to fit the equation. There are no central parks or commons, only meager school choices and a dearth of playmates. But a small number of families with children now live in this neighborhood.

05/31/2006
Urban retirees
The last thing some retirees want is a quiet little house by a lake. They have their sights set on a luxurious high-rise near the symphony or theater. This emerging trend has arrived in Dallas, where two developers have launched sales campaigns for properties planned in the Turtle Creek neighborhood.

05/26/2006
Uptown townhome project ends, sells
The streets are in and utilities laid for CityHomes' new Uptown development. But the townhouse community is being canceled before the first nail gets pounded. A high-rise developer is buying CityHomes' Luminaire project on Harwood Street.

05/23/2006
Prestigious Turtle Creek high-rise nears 50th birthday
When construction of 3525 Turtle Creek Blvd. was announced in 1957, it was the first luxury high-rise along Turtle Creek, a strip that has since become Dallas' version of Chicago's Gold Coast. Residents are working to put the building on the National Register of Historic Places. A documentary film also is planned. Preservation Dallas, which is helping residents apply for historic status, has called the design by Dallas architect Howard Meyer "the most fully realized and successful modernist apartment building in Texas, perhaps in America."
• The grand dame of Turtle Creek

Developers scale back plans for condos near White Rock
Builders of the Emerald condominium near Garland Road unveiled plans Friday for a building with 10 floors of homes built above parking. The original plan to construct a 25-story high-rise ran into widespread opposition from homeowners in the area.

New housing stirs interest in
long-dormant Farmers Market area
Dallas' Farmers Market district is a sleepy pocket of downtown that seems remote from the nearby skyscrapers and condo projects. Now developers are hoping that the addition of hundreds of residential units will turn it into the next hot neighborhood.

Townhomes to be built near Parkland
In-town housing developer Perry Homes has purchased a creek-side property near Parkland Memorial Hospital with plans to construct townhouses. The 5.5-acre site on Production Drive is between Harry Hines Boulevard and Maple Avenue and is largely undeveloped.

05/12/2006
Project on rise west of Galleria
Developers have broken ground just west of the Galleria mall on an 8-acre shopping and housing complex. The urban-style development, being constructed by builders Opus West Corp. and Alliance Communities, will replace an old industrial building.

Abandoned building near City Hall slated for condominiums, retail
One of downtown Dallas' oldest buildings is primed for renovation from abandoned hulk into condominiums and retail space, now that a City Hall board has approved $15 million in public subsidies for it.

It's an Uptown whirl
The Dallas real estate market is going Uptown. The trendy neighborhood between downtown and Turtle Creek is sprouting construction cranes like weeds. Even more projects are planned to start in the coming months than are currently under construction.

04/30/2006
Enough buyers for luxury condos?
Faced with deciding between a condo in the W Hotel or in the Ritz-Carlton, Michael Sandlin chose one of each. "The W seems a little more young and sophisticated," he said, "the Ritz, more of a sure thing on a higher level of service." The 45-year-old Dallas attorney is part of an influx of pioneers returning to the center city.

05/01/2006
Post takes aim at homebuyers
One of Uptown's biggest apartment landlords is hunting some homebuyers. Post Properties has decided to take advantage of the demand for condominiums and construct a building on McKinney Avenue. The $17 million Mercer Square project will be one of the first condominium projects built by the Atlanta-based apartment company.

04/28/2006
Developers enter Cedars neighborhood
"When I found out Mark Cuban was buying over there, too; that did it for me," said Jerry Beauchamp, who bought a condo unit in Dallas' venerable Cedars neighborhood. Developers and urban homebuyers are attracted to the Cedars because of affordable property prices and proximity to downtown.

04/21/2006
New condos named for old restaurant
A new North Dallas condominium building will take its name from a beloved neighborhood restaurant. The five-story Sorrento condo complex is being constructed on the site of the Il Sorrento restaurant, which was demolished in 2003. The Italian-style building is being developed by Glenbrook Residential Inc. The project will have 97 units priced from $245,000 to more than $500,000.

04/08/2006
High-rise trend drifts to south
Dallas' high-rise housing boom is headed south of downtown.

04/07/2006
Townhomes booming in the 'burbs
East of White Rock Lake, builder Charles Magee is starting work on the first of 64 townhouses. Indeed, more than three-fourths of the townhouses being built in the Dallas area are in the suburbs.
• Housing market remains strong
• Online prices are out of touch

03/16/2006
Townhouses to replace Oak Lawn units
Developers have bought up several Oak Lawn apartment complexes with plans to replace the rental units with townhouses.

03/28/2006
High-rise to become condos
A Dallas investment group has purchased the Shelton apartment tower in Preston Center and plans to convert it to condominiums.

03/10/2006
Historic Maple Terrace offers Uptown condos
The developers of the historic Maple Terrace are hoping the landmark's appeal and lower prices will attract condo buyers. The building was a favorite of celebrities who were in town for a long visit. Former visitors include Greer Garson, Shirley MacLaine and Judy Garland.
• Photos: Uptown's cachet draws cash
• Map: Uptown is where it's at
• More Uptown Aspirations