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The effort to revitalize Dallas’ urban core has been underway for sometime; witness the lofts that popped up in the Deep Ellum area in the mid-1990s, and the subsequent retail & entertainment renewal focusing on American Airlines Center and the Uptown/McKinney Avenue area.

But what about getting young professional Dallasites to actually consider living among the concrete and steel canyons of  downtown? Sure, the Arts District has received a lot of recent attention from city leaders, and new light rail lends a huge assist. But when the suburbs and their gleaming shopping centers and upscale grocery stores beckon, it might be easier to get local residents to refrain from offering free advice to the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff then talk them into giving up time in their cars for a shot at East Coast-style urban living.

The developers who brought the 94-year-old Interurban Building on Jackson Street back to life think they have the winning formula: stuff the 9-story historic building with all the amenities residents are used to getting in big cities – and add a few more, like downtown Dallas’ only food market and a cafe/bar that would fit right in among the hip bistros of Addison (or New York’s West Side, for that matter.)

The city helped out with the idea for a market, said Charles Acklen of the Barker-Nichols development firm, by throwing in tax incentives. “They wanted to repopulate downtown,” Acklen said. “They wanted to see as many as 10,000 people back downtown, and at the time there was not maybe 1500. And to repopulate it, one of the things that was necessary was an urban market and so here we are.”

True, there are other older buildings in downtown Dallas that have received or are currently getting the condo/loft treatment. But not many share the special history of the Interurban. Built in 1916, the structure was the terminal for all the trolley cars ferrying people to and from home/work as the city built itself into a regional hub for business and transportation.

But as cars and highways multiplied, the trolleys disappeared and the Interurban began its slow decline into eventual abandonment. It was condemned and set to be demolished when it caught the interest of Barker-Nichols co-founder Hiram “Chip” Nichols.

“He really loved downtown Dallas, and he had the passion to build something in downtown Dallas. We used to tease him that he was ‘Mr. Dallas,’” Acklen said. “He had developed a couple of other projects here in downtown successfully, and then he saw this as an opportunity to put a nice touch on it.
“It was his vision, totally his vision. We said, ‘let’s just see what we can do with this building. Let’s renovate it and make lofts out of it, because urban living is becoming more and more popular.’ We thought this is something we’d do with it.”

A plaque in the Interurban lobby dedicated to the late “Chip” Nichols is a testament to his faith in developing quality living spaces as a way to lure life back to Dallas’ urban core.

“It’s a different lifestyle,” Acklen said. “You park a car when you get here, and then you don’t need the car anymore, because you can walk. You can get everything you need by walking – there’s restaurants, cafes, pharmacies, everything is within walking distance. And now there’s a grocery store within walking distance.”

Renay San Miguel:
To twist a popular saying, “those that condemn history, may not get the chance to repeat it”.  Built in 1916, the nine story interurban building was designed to handle 35 trolley cars at one time and it was later a bus terminal.  But the historic building was abandoned; condemned and would have come down had Barker Nichols not bought it and transformed it into lofts over an urban market.  So now the real Texas sized challenge, convincing those with no east coast big city life experience that they should ditch their cars and live in downtown urban areas.

Before the siren call of the suburbs, Dallas buzzed with activity as people worked and lived downtown.  The interurban building’s trolleys were the link to office and home.  The late Hiram Chip Johnson believed a restored building could link Dallas’ past to its future.

Charles Aklen:
He really loved downtown Dallas and he had the passion to build something in downtown Dallas.  We used to tease him that he was “Mr. Dallas”.  And he had developed a couple of other projects here in downtown successfully and then he saw this as an opportunity to put a nice touch on it.  It was his vision; totally his vision.  We said well let’s just see what we can do with this building; lets renovate it and make an office out of it because Urban living is becoming more and more popular; we thought this is something that we can do with it.

Renay San Miguel:
They started from the top down; designs and styles for the living spaces.  One and two bedroom units some split level, ranging from 400 to 2000 square feet.  Shiny appliances and granite countertops blend with trendy loft type touches right out of a New York SoHo district apartment. 

Cassidy Cavazos:
A loft is an open floor plan where you’ve got exposed ductwork, cement floors, cement ceilings and we do have some exposed brick.  Basically a space that is all open.

Renay San Miguel:
But opening up the concept of urban living needed something more than a swimming pool; resident lounge; 24 hour fitness center to seal the deal with tenants.   Try an upscale restaurant and bar; or if you want to fix your own meals in your apartment, how about Dallas’ only downtown market. 

Charles Aklen:
The city said if you put a grocery store in, we will give you a little incentive money; some tax incentive money.  That’s how it came about being…

Renay San Miguel:
Because the city like the idea of restoring..

Charles Aklen:
They wanted to repopulate downtown.  They wanted to see as many as 10,000 people back downtown.  At the time, there were not maybe 1500 and they wanted to repopulate it.  To repopulate, one of the things that is necessary is an urban market.  So…here we are! 

Renay San Miguel:
This is a city, having lived here before; I know how people love their cars here and the importance of the highways.

Charles Aklen:
Park the car when you get here and you don’t need a car anymore.  We are selling convenience.  We have good prices.  We actually are competitively priced with an Albertson’s or a neighborhood market and a Fiesta.  And we have approximately 9000 SKU’s in this store; which is about every grocery item you can think of, we have here.   The only thing that we don’t have is fresh cut meat, because we don’t have a butcher here.  But other than that we have everything that a grocery store in the suburbs would have; so we are trying to offer convenience at a price and take care of people downtown. 

Renay San Miguel:
What demographics would you say are of the people who live here in the building? 

Charles Aklen:
Today it is probably 20’s, 30’s mostly; some of us are a little older than that but most of us 20’s 30’s.  It’s a little more expensive but it’s a different lifestyle; because you can walk wherever you want.  There are restaurants, cafes, pharmacies.  Everything is within walking distance; and now there is a grocery store within walking distance. 

Renay San Miguel:
And all of this helps the city.

Charles Aklen:
The city has been so supportive.  From the mayor to the city council to the department of economic development; everyone has been very supportive of the market.

Renay San Miguel:
That’s got to feel good?

Charles Aklen:
It does feel good; it does feel good, to all of us.

Renay San Miguel:
Charles said it was tough for Urban Market’s first year of existence.  But the city of Dallas sensing revitalization for its urban core, has thrown in a lot of money to help Urban Market keep its doors open and its produce section fully stocked.
For spark360, I’m Renay San Miguel.