New Valley View owners plan $2 billion ‘Dallas Midtown’ project

An expample of what Beck Ventures means by "urban village." The actual renderings of Dallas Midtown have not yet been released. (Courtesy photo)

Update from this morning’s post:

The first step in revitalizing Valley View is getting local and national tenants back in to the mall, says Scott Beck with Beck Ventures. The development company bought the center with plans for a walkable, urban village known as Dallas Midtown, but that won’t happen for the next seven to 10 years.

“What we’re talking about is not a demolition,” Beck says. “It’s a repositioning. The mall is 55 percent leased right now. The first thing is to get it back to 100 percent.”

The long-term idea is to essentially turn the mall inside out. The parking lot along makes up 40 acres, so that’s where they’ll start to build the “urban village” much like the Shops at Legacy in Plano or the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. Eventually, the tenants inside the mall will start to relocate to the outdoor structures. Beck says portions of the original mall probably will remain in tact.

Three major tenants are showing no signs of vacating: Sears, JC Penny and AMC likely will remain fixtures in the redevelopment, Beck says. They just might move to different spaces. Sears originally developed the property more than three decades ago. JC Penny has its corporate headquarters in Dallas and wants Dallas Midtown to be its flagship store. And, AMC is one of the most conveniently located movie theaters in the area (plus, it’s on a long-term lease).

It’s important to note that Beck Ventures has only purchased about 25 percent of the entire area from Preston to the Dallas North Tollway and Alpha to LBJ. The Valley View Galleria Group is still working on its vision for the area, with the mall as the catalyst.

“They will continue their vision for the area,” Beck says. “This catalyst project gives them something to work from.”

Beck Ventures is a local, family owned developer. Most of the partners live within 1 and a half miles of Valley View.

“I want a pedestrian-friendly, walkable urban village that I would want to go to,” says Beck, who lives in Preston Hollow. “I feel like we know what the neighborhood wants because we’re part of it.”

Over the next couple of years, they will still hold meetings with community leaders, civic groups and other stakeholders nearby to gather feedback on the project.

While the long-term vision involves turning the mall inside out, the short-term vision aims to increase tenant occupancy and bring the mall as we know it back to life. Beck says there are plans for weekly mall events, concerts and art shows.

Original post:

Finally, some big news in the redevelopment of Valley View Center.

Beck Ventures announced its purchase of the mall in a press release today with plans to create a $2 billion mixed-use project that includes retail, high-rise office buildings, luxury and multi-family housing and a five-star hotel. The “bustling urban village” will be walkable – a characteristic rarely seen around North Dallas. It already has a name: Dallas Midtown.

Valley View was marked for demolition last summer. It looks like we’re a little closer to seeing it come down.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth story on this project.