The Dallas City Council has approved the redevelopment of Knox Promenade, adding more density to a rapidly changing area.
The mixed-use project from Dallas-based Stockdale Investment Group and Houston-based Hines will build three towers of varying sizes and uses in the city’s Knox neighborhood while preserving the existing buildings.
The tallest tower is planned for an apartment complex and would be built on the highway side of the development and could reach 399 feet in height.
The remaining two buildings are planned as an office building and a senior living and memory care facility, with ground-floor retail and restaurants.
The underground parking is part of a zoning trade-off made with the city to allow for higher density.
Meg Merriett, who works for developer Hines’ senior housing division, described the project as an “intergenerational village.”
But it was the building’s towering height, rather than its use, that drew the attention of one of two speakers speaking against the plan.
“Knox Street has always been a special neighborhood, like Bishop Arts,” said McKinney Street resident Mary Beth Harrison. “It’s a really special area of Dallas, and to erase that with the high rises around it would be a mistake.”
Councillor Paul Ridley, whose parliamentary district includes Knox, said the project, which has been under consideration for several years, involved “extensive community outreach”.
“This is a project that will add a significant amount of housing in addition to the affordable housing that we so desperately need. We also so desperately need senior housing,” Ridley said.
The affordable housing recommended by city staff to developers would include 10 percent for people making 61 percent to 80 percent of the area median household income and 5 percent for people making 81 percent to 100 percent of the area median household income.
Five percent of the units in the apartment tower will also be micro-units.
The developers have tapped Dallas-based architecture firms GFF and New York’s Kohn Pedersen Fox to lead the design.
Stockdale partnered with Hines in 2020 and began full-scale development of the site on this project.
Currently underway in the Knox neighborhood is another three-pronged project, The Knox.
Dallas-based Trammell Crow Company, MSD Partners, The Retail Connection and Highland Park Village Associates plan to bring 1 million square feet of development to the area through projects along the Katy Trail.
The Knox complex will include housing, offices, retail and a hotel on four acres with underground parking.
MSD Capital, the Dell family’s long-term investment arm, has purchased about 12.5 acres in the Knox area, including properties along Cole, McKinney and Travis streets.
