March 16, 2007

Oak Cliff - the "Oh" factor is gone

Stewart Lytle / The Dallas Morning News

The cast-stone fireplace in the lobby of the renovated Lake Cliff Tower may be a metaphor for the evolving north Oak Cliff community. Beneath 17 layers of paint were traces of a design that developers Steve Everbach and Doug Deason thought was worth taking a risk on. So, utilizing a solvent used on airplane paint, workers stripped away decades of decoration and uncovered a showpiece for the lobby.

Lake Cliff Tower, a former luxury hotel built in 1928 at the height of the Roaring ’20s prosperity and more recently, a nursing home and decaying vacant high-rise – is in turn the showpiece of what is being called the Oak Cliff Gateway, a 60-acre area under intense scrutiny by the city of Dallas, other developers and the community.

Evergreen Realty’s Mr. Everbach and Mr. Deason, armed with $4.1 million in support from the city, have completed 60 upscale condominiums in the 12-story, 85,000-square-foot building, which strongly dominates the skyline in its neighborhood. The building looks out on Founders Park and Lake Cliff Park. Every unit – about half of which are sold – has permanently unobstructed views of the lake or downtown. Also coming as part of a $24.5 million mixed-use development will be a new shopping center and a bank.

Mr. Everbach believes that Lake Cliff Tower is the leading edge of the Oak Cliff renaissance. Mr. Deason describes it as the “bleeding edge,” due to the amount of work and cash required for the project. But both men take great pride in turning what was “an eyesore into an icon.”

“Everything that is old is new again,” Melissa Huffman with Century 21 Judge Fite Co. says. She also is chairwoman of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce.

South of the Trinity River, about a mile on the Houston Street Viaduct from downtown, the Oak Cliff Gateway could become one of the hottest development areas.

Perry Homes, which has built projects north of downtown, at the Farmer’s Market and in Oak Lawn, is selling 15 two-story, duplex-style homes in the Bishop Arts District that start at $310,000.

Developer Monte Anderson is building a 35-unit townhouse project on Fort Worth Avenue, called The Villas at Dilbeck Court.

David Griffin & Co. Realtors is marketing Trinity Townhomes just southwest of downtown on the Houston Street Viaduct. It will have 24 two-bedroom townhouses priced from $299,000 to $369,000. And investors, including Charles and Sam Wyly with Michael’s Stores and Sterling Software, are buying land for future development.

Anticipating this rapid growth, Dallas city officials are going through a six-month process to establish new zoning designations for the area. Along the riverbanks, plans call for dense mixed-used buildings – assuming that the old riverbed and a large sewer don’t impede high-rise development.

The reason for Oak Cliff's renaissance? One key factor may be that people are looking for a better quality of life.

“I am seeing so many couples who are tired of the long commutes,” Ms. Huffman says. One client recently called to say Ms. Huffman had saved her marriage by finding them a home close to his work.

Oak Cliff is experiencing what one Realtor called “complex demographic shifts.” For years, historic high-end neighborhoods such as Kessler Park were surrounded by lower-end, transitional neighborhoods. Artists and urban pioneers rediscovered the area, which was once one of Dallas’ most prominent neighborhoods. Then, gay and lesbian homebuyers tapped into the community. Now the mix of buyers is broader, including empty-nesters and other young professionals who are looking for proximity to downtown, the Arts District and the developing river.

Property is still very attractively priced, Mr. Everbach says. Realtor Mark Oram with Master Realtors says Oak Cliff home prices run about 15 to 20 percent less than homes in Lakewood. And price tags of homes designed by the same architects and builders of the popular “M Street” homes are much lower.

As a result, the Oak Cliff boom is on. And the “Oh” factor is gone, Mr. Oram says. “People don’t automatically say ‘Oh’ when you say you live in Oak Cliff.”

Original article appears in The Dallas Morning News.