Since last month’s column, there have been a number of interesting developments in neighborhood zoning issues.
At the Collett-Reiger intersection in Munger Place, the business owners and the Munger Place Historic District Association were deadlocked in a struggle to determine the fate of non-conforming businesses on two corners of the intersection.
At a Sept. 22 hearing, the Plan Commission, on a divided vote, sided with the business owners and their supporters by changing the under-lying zoning in question from single-family to mixed use. However, under mixed use, the existing car wash and grocery store are probably still non-conforming, as mixed use calls for a residential component.
In a surprising move, the Commission also voted to remove the area in question from the Historic Overlay as well as the Munger Place Planned Development District. This raised a number of legal questions about changing the boundaries of a planned development district without sending official notice to the whole district; removing property from a historic overlay district without going through the historic designation process; and also not going through the Landmark Commission. There is a chance the Commission’s action will be reversed by the City Council.
The only safe prediction is that the hotly-contested case is far from over.
FIESTA IS COMING: I’ve got the word on what is planned for the old Sears building at Ross, Greenville and Henderson. It looks definite that, after replatting the property, the street down the middle will be abandoned and a Fiesta supermarket will be built roughly where the main Sears building now stands.
A retail strip will be built along the Greenville Avenue side of the triangular-shaped site, with the storefronts facing a large parking lot on the Henderson Avenue side.
While the loss of the old Sears building is lamentable, it is likely that City officials will support redevelopment of the tract as part of an effort to encourage better-quality inner-city retail development.
In addition, the vacant retail strip on the northeast corner of Ross and Henderson will become an expanded medical clinic.
The Fiesta development also calls for remote parking at Hudson and Hope, across Greenville, and landscaping around the site’s perimeter.
DR PEPPER FACES THE WRECKING BALL: Another neighborhood landmark which appears to have a date with a wrecking crew is the Dr Pepper building at Mockingbird and Central.
Dal-Mac Investments, owner of the property, says it has been unable to locate retail tenants to reuse the existing building. Since Dal-Mac has the zoning needed for a new retail building on the site, there appears to be little standing in the way to tear down the building. The central clock tower will be left intact, but a two-story strip center will replace the rest of the structure.
One remaining issue is a pending federal court case about whether or not the FDIC violated federal regulations when it sold the property. Many in the nearby neighborhoods are upset about Dal-Mac’s decision and feel that not enough serious effort was made to find an “adaptive reuse” for the building. Dal-Mac says a lot of work was done to recruit tenants but the configuration of the building was too hard to work with.
LUBY’S PASSES: As expected, the proposed Luby’s Cafeteria location at Mockingbird and Norris passed City Council unanimously on Oct. 12. Construction should begin soon.
WORKING FOR SAMUELL BOULEVARD: A group of neighborhood and business representatives, under the guidance of Council representatives Craig McDaniel and Larry Duncan, are meeting to explore possible improvements in the Samuell Boulevard area. At least one theater chain and the Dallas Restaurant Association have been approached about locating new and more desirable businesses in the area. One difficulty is improving on and off freeway access and possibly extending the East R.L. Thornton service road. Participants are optimistic improvements can be made.
WAREHOUSING EAST DALLAS: Two applications are in the City Hall pipeline for Specific Use Permits for mini-warehouses along the east side of Central Expressway, one south of Fitzhugh and one at the northeast corner of Thomas and Lemmon-Washington.
The Fitzhugh application goes before the City Council Nov. 9, while the Thomas application is scheduled to be heard by the Plan Commission Nov. 17.
No opposition has surfaced so far. Mini-warehouses are popular with property owners lately because they are a good way to temporarily “warehouse” land – they are easy to build, will generate cash flow and are easy and cheap to tear down for more profitable ventures if need be.
SUP GRANTED IN JUNIUS HEIGHTS: The Plan Commission granted a permanent Specific Use Permit on Oct. 12 to the 31-unit apartment complex at 5510 Junius at Augusta. The current owners want the property conforming so they can sell it to a buyer who has pledged to make improvements. The City Council will probably grant the SUP for a limited tie.
IMPROVING INTOWN LIVING: Intown housing continues to develop at a gradual pace. On Nov. 10, the Plan Commission will consider and most likely pass a historic overlay designation for the building being redeveloped as the 2220 Canton Lofts, which will probably add to the value and marketability of the loft units.
The Plan Commission also recently approved a second story for a small, but well-designed apartment conversion on Swiss Avenue southwest Hall, near the Wilson Block and the Dallas Visual Arts Center, as well as additional landscaping.
