The Dallas skyline is about to change again with two new additions set to be added; one high-rise south of Dallas City Hall and a skyscraper on Field Street.
Developer Hoque Global will build a 38-story, mixed-use high-rise development on a vacant parking lot that was once a potential location for Amazon’s second headquarters four years ago, on Canton at Akard streets. Now the lot will host office and retail spaces, a hotel, and apartments.
Hoque Global will receive $96 million in city taxpayer dollars to help subsidize the development after the city council voted last week to approve the project, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“We are building for the future, your grandkids, the next generation, so we have to invest more in downtown,” said Dallas City Council Member Tennell Atkins. “Dallas is booming right now, especially downtown. If we don’t build up downtown, especially our core, you’re not going to grow the city of Dallas.”
As for the development on Field Street, its anchor will be the financial giant Goldman Sachs. Hunt Realty plans on erecting an 80-story building where the Northend Apartments currently stand. When it is finished, it will be the tallest building in Dallas.
For its part, the city council doled out $18 million in city taxpayer money to Hunt Realty for its Field Street project. In return, the enterprise is required to put up $390 million in private capital investment and guarantee the project will either retain or create 5,000 jobs on-site, according to NBC DFW.
Construction on both projects is slated to start over the next two years.
Dallas was voted by USA Today in their 2014 “10 Best” list as the best skyline in the world. Chicago came in second place that year. Rio de Janeiro, third. Toronto and New York rounded out the top five.
It now appears that the 80 story building will only be between 9-15 stories. The city should recoup the money it gave to Goldman Sachs. No one is commenting on the scaled down building that GS is now building. They advertised a new building that would be the tallest in Texas, but now it will barely be seen from downtown.