Dallas has a Downtown and, since the late ’90s, an Uptown.
So where is Midtown?
Depending on who you ask, it’s either four miles northeast of Uptown in an area traditionally known as Vickery Meadows, five miles northeast on Royal Lane or eight miles north at the former Valley View Mall site.
How does that work?
We’re not exactly sure. Logically, one would figure Midtown to be located somewhere in the Harwood District and Victory Park, both sandwiched between Uptown and Downtown.
Perhaps it’s easier to understand through the lens of what happened to the area now known as Uptown in the 1990s.
The impetus for the district came after the collapse of the real estate market in the ’80s created an opportunity for a walkable, mixed-use area containing historic neighborhoods like State Thomas. Developers jumped at the opportunity and eventually coined the name Uptown to sell their vision.
Uptown’s story somewhat mirrors that of the other “Midtown” planned at the former Valley View Mall site, albeit with much less progress to show. When it was purchased by developers in 2012, a multi-use district containing retail and residential development was planned on the site of the mall, which was demolished between 2019 and 2023.
Earlier this year, Robert Wilonsky at The Dallas Morning News reported that the site’s three owners had put the property up for sale, potentially signaling the end of “Midtown” near Dallas North Tollway.
Four miles to the west, close to the intersection of Forest Lane and Josey Road, the Residence at Midtown apartment complex seems to be trying to get in on the action, or perhaps even create its own out-of-the-way Midtown, although no other properties in the area have embraced the new branding.
On Mockingbird Lane, an apartment complex adorned with 20-foot murals, Mockingbird 5, was previously known as Phoenix Midtown, but has since rebranded.
Close to four miles north, near U.S. 75 on Royal Lane, apartment complexes have branded themselves as located in “Midtown” or “Midtown Park” with names like Everra Midtown Park Apartments, Luxia Midtown Park, The Summit at Midtown and Domain at Midtown Park.
The development comprises the northern end of the Midtown Public Improvement District. Previously known as the Vickery Meadow Public Improvement District, established in 1994, the PID rebranded at first to Vickery Midtown PID before losing the Vickery entirely to become Midtown PID in 2021.
Signs bearing the name have sprung up in every nook and corner of the neighborhood, and the infamous intersection better known to longtime residents as Five Points has been repackaged with bright street art, a Little Free Library and benches to become “Midtown Plaza.”
In a historically working-class area long known as the “Little UN,” newer, pricier apartment developments are starting to creep in. The motivations for the rebrand aren’t hard to figure out.
So where is Midtown?
We still aren’t sure, and it doesn’t seem like many people know either. Maybe, Midtown is wherever the (developer’s) heart is.
