G.R.i.D. (Get Rich in Dallas)

I’ve posted about this before, and there is a lot of information going around on the web, but because so many people are extremely upset when they post I think they start from the assumption that everybody knows what they are talking about which is just not the case. I don’t think this has been explained or publicized enough – so to rehash:

The City of Dallas has made new zoning SUP requirements for bars, clubs and tattoo parlours in Deep Ellum / Expo Park district. Their apparent goal, working hand in hand with the Deep Ellum Association and the local landowners, is to shut small business down, to empty and then bulldoze Deep Ellum, destroy its history, and turn it into a homogenous new construction like Uptown and the West Village. A picture of their plans:

http://www.ciphernull.com/Content/DEEP/DeepUptown/Img/DeepUptownLarge.jpg

Expo Park falls in the same zoning district, and is thus required to follow the same new (and under-publicized rules). I have watched the fringes of Expo filling up with new loft constructions. I’m not opposed to new lofts per se, especially when they don’t take the place of historic buildings. It’s just that having a tiny, vastly overpriced McLoft will never be my dream OR my folly. I feel that business and bars are what *made* Deep Ellum / Expo Park attractive to both to residents and to customers who come to patronize these places. Unique business and old buildings ad something special to the city, they give the place character and dignity, and if you take them away you have nothing left. There is no character in the West Village. It’s a temple of commerce, pure and simple. New, crowded, and generic. If you like that, go there, now. Please.

Expo Park on the other hand has a neighborhood feel. I have a small business there, and my husband and I have lived in Expo Park for years. The Gibson lofts http://www.thegibsonco.com which make up the bulk of the area are sensitive conversions of the old pre-existing buildings, and the opposite side of the street is the same store front row that was there at the turn of the century.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~jwheat/expopark.html

This are is still filled with small, independently owned businesses – the kind of places you want to hang out it - and we need to keep it that way.

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This is what the opponents of some of the businesses who were in the first day of hearings said:

“We feel strongly that this type of business [tattoo studios] is inconsistent with the future of Deep Ellum….we’re spending over fifty million dollars in the neighborhood…if the city approves SUP applications for undesirable uses, such as new tattoo parlors and dance clubs, the city is only perpetuating the negative perception of Deep Ellum….The Deep Ellum neighborhood is an untapped goldmine….only after the city denies the application will landlords attempting to rent to these types of businesses get the message that Deep Ellum is closed undesirable uses.”

–Brandon Henry

“I am here representing two partnerships which own 150,000 feet of land and 75,000 feet of buildings…At some point enough is enough with the kind of uses that are dominating the night, creating fear, traffic congestion, and enormous expenses for the police….The previous speaker [Brandon Henry] is the future of Deep Ellum….”

–John Tatum

“I am a representative for a major landowner in Deep Ellum. We have about 120,000 square feet of retail buildings and apartments in that area. We are trying to turn Deep Ellum into a 24/7, pedestrian oriented, chic, urban neighborhood….we needed a plan to accomplish that goal and that is what the PD [Planning District/SUP] was for….”

–John Hetzler

THESE ARE THE VENUES GOING UP FOR APPROVAL THURSDAY:

MONKEY BAR
Z067-333(RB)
CONTACT - info@dallasmonkeybar.com
408 S Exposition Ave
Dallas, TX 75226
214-827-1129

Didn’t pass.

Monkey Bar in particular is in jeopardy because some residents in the new lofts complained at their first council hearing, and they were not prepared with supporters on their side. PLEASE take a moment to at least write something on their behalf. It simply is not fair to build a loft adjacent to a bar location (that has continuously housed a bar for 10+ years) and then to complain about the aforementioned bar.

THE AMSTERDAM BAR
Z067-334(RB)
CONTACT: Mike — amsterdam@theamsterdambar.com — 469-233-6591
831 Exposition Ave
Dallas, TX 75226
214-827-3433

MINC LOUNGE
Z067-332(RB)
CONTACT: Julie — Julie@mincdallas.com
813 Exposition Ave
Dallas, TX 75226
214-370-4077

Are under advisement.

FALLOUT LOUNGE
Z067-340(RB)
CONTACT: Unknown – Take a letter to them!
835 Exposition Ave
Dallas, TX 75226
214-823-0675

DOUBLE WIDE
Z067-348(RB)
CONTACT: Kim — kim@thedoublewidebar.com / sheltonator@gmail.com
3510 Commerce St
Dallas, TX 75226
214-887-6510

DARKSIDE LOUNGE / ELM ST. BAR
Z067-343(JH) / Z067-344(JH)
CONTACT: Wes — darksidelounge@yahoo.com
Elm St. Bar - 2812 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75226
214-653-1668

CLUB DADA
Z067-347(RB)
CONTACT: Unknown – Take a letter to them!
2720 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75226
214-744-3232

THE BONE
Z067-336(JH)
CONTACT: Unknown – Take a letter to them!
2724 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75226
214-744-2663

Check The Sub-Rosa for more information -

Deep Ellum Enrichment Project – Read their blog!
DEEP has a listing of who the City Council killed last week