Developers enter Cedars neighborhood

02:31 PM CDT on Monday, July 3, 2006By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/classifieds/news/homecenter/condos/stories/DNclass-cedars_28bus.ART0.State.Edition2.7d039591.html

When Jerry Beauchamp began looking for a home in the Dallas area, he decided it was time to abandon the 'burbs.

ZAD ROUMAYA/Special Contributor

Though construction started only recently, the Buzz condos on South Akard Street are already about 50 percent sold. "I'm tired of taking long car rides," said Mr. Beauchamp, who's relocating from Arlington, Va. "I'm 61 and want to live in the city."

His new digs are two blocks south of downtown in Dallas' venerable Cedars neighborhood.

"I saw the location and the view, and everything clicked," said Mr. Beauchamp, who bought a unit in a condominium building under construction on South Akard Street.

"When I found out Mark Cuban was buying over there, too; that did it for me," he said.

Mr. Cuban – who recently purchased a development site on South Lamar Street – isn't the only investor to take notice of the neighborhood south of Interstate 30.

Developers and urban homebuyers are attracted to the Cedars because of affordable property prices and proximity to downtown.

With catchy names including the Buzz and the Beat, new housing developments hope to bring residents back to one of Dallas' oldest neighborhoods.

"The neighborhood is improving, but it's still difficult to get some people to move down here," said Bennett Miller, who began creating homes in the Cedars more than 20 years ago.

His first project was converting an old tavern and theater on South Ervay Street into loft apartments.

"It was Jack Ruby's first nightclub," said Mr. Miller, who converted several old commercial buildings into apartments before moving on to new construction two years ago.

Since then, Bennett Miller Co. has built about 15 townhouses on the mostly vacant residential streets between Ervay and Akard.

"Our objective is to get to 30 homes this year and 60 next year," said Mr. Miller, who sells his units for less than $160,000. "The next project we are doing will be Victorian row houses."

Jennifer Stitt recently bought one of Mr. Miller's Browder Row homes in the Cedars.

"I wanted to be near downtown but don't want to spend a half-million dollars to buy," said Ms. Stitt, who is renting an apartment in the South Side on Lamar complex.

"I don't know where everyone is getting the money to purchase all the stuff in Uptown," she said.

"I stumbled across Bennett Miller's homes and was surprised he was offering stuff that was so affordable," said Ms. Stitt, who will be moving into her two-bedroom townhouse next month.

She admits to being something of a pioneer.

Take a chance

"It's a transitional neighborhood, and I decided to take a chance," Ms. Stitt said. "I for sure will be making a lot of money back on my investment in five to 10 years."

A century ago, the Cedars was one of Dallas' most fashionable addresses.

Developed in the late 1800s, the area was chock-a-block with Victorian homes housing some of the city's wealthiest families. Nearby Browder Springs provided Dallas' water supply and was one of the first settled areas in North Texas.

But growth of downtown caused commercial buildings to spread into the area. And construction of Interstate 30 in the 1960s destroyed many buildings and cut the Cedars off.

Now with land prices topping $80 per square foot on the north side of downtown, builders have given the Cedars a new look.

"It's coming to life," said Jack Matthews, who redeveloped the former Sears, Roebuck and Co. building on Lamar into apartments. "We've reached that famous tipping point."

Two weeks ago, Mr. Matthews began selling homes in a 10-story condo building to be constructed next to the Cedars light-rail station. Homes in the Beat at South Side Station will start at about $140,000.

"We've taken well over 150 reservations for appointments with potential buyers," Mr. Matthews said.

The Beat is in the same block where Mark Cuban has invested in vacant land and old buildings. Mr. Cuban said he hasn't decided what to do with the property, but word of his purchase has excited other investors.

"There are people right now looking all over the neighborhood," Mr. Matthews said.

With the increased investor interest come higher prices. Much of the property in the Cedars has been selling for less than $10 per square foot.

"The cost of land will probably go up," said Eric Volbrecht, who works with Mr. Miller. "A lot of people buying in the neighborhood are passive investors.

"We need more doers."

Hotel project

Hamilton Properties, downtown's biggest loft apartment developer, recently purchased the former Ramada Plaza hotel at Akard and I-30 and is working on plans for a redo into a boutique hotel.

"Once the momentum gets going, it feeds on itself," said Larry Hamilton, who compares the Cedars to Denver's Lodo district. The Denver area has morphed from scruffy commercial buildings and empty lots into the most popular residential and entertainment area.

Zad Roumaya and Will Pinkerton are building their Buzz condominium building across the street from Mr. Hamilton's hotel project.

"We are 50 percent sold – 25 units remaining of the 49 available," Mr. Roumaya said.

Most of the units left for sale are priced under $200,000. "So we hope to provide a cool place to live within everyone's budget," he said.

Nine of the buyers at the Buzz are suburban transplants.

"The ones that do surprise me are the folks that want to move into the city that still work out in other parts of town," Mr. Roumaya said.

"It tells us that there are people that are truly getting the feeling they want to come back into the core to live, even if they are still reverse-commuting ... each day."