The news that Lincoln Property — yes, that Lincoln Property — has scooped up a bunch of worn out apartment buildings on Gaston and Live Oak is not just news, but perplexing news. Why would the company that owns the Village want that stuff?
I asked my commercial real estate guy, and he was equally as puzzled. It’s not the sort of deal that Lincoln does, he said, and the buildings are not contiguous, which is usually a prerequisite for the sort of development Lincoln does. His conclusion? That Lincoln was able to buy the properties cheaply, and is waiting to see what happens with development in that part of the neighborhood before making its next move — whether it’s to redevelop the sites or sell them to someone else. Until then, the property will generate a nice cash flow. (Love those real estate terms.)
This dovetails with what I was told when I was working on next month’s story about redevelopment in East Dallas. Almost everyone I talked to said development was going to to move up those streets from downtown, thanks to the new DART station in Deep Ellum and the general revitalization of the neighborhoods. Lincoln proably sees that too, and being as smart as it usually is, decided to get in early.
