|
Loft
pioneer is blazing another trail
06:22
PM CST on Thursday, December 23, 2004
Steve
Brown / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/all/stories/1224dnbusloft.470ca.html
This
column started with a holiday card.
I
get one every year from Bennett Miller, and, besides wishing
me season's cheer, he always includes a note about what
he's been up to.
Some
people brag about trips they've taken or their kids' latest
accolades, but Mr. Miller talks about rebuilding Dallas
bit by bit.
If
you've never heard of Mr. Miller, that's probably OK by
him.
The
unassuming builder is the father of Dallas' loft apartment
movement, and he's been creating inner-city housing for
20 years.
In
1982, he quit his teaching job at Southern Methodist University
and began turning old, usually vacant commercial buildings
on the city's near south side into affordable rental units.
Mr.
Miller, 76, has converted everything from grain elevators
to oil company depots into lofts – and he started
it years before the big real estate companies decided
they could make millions by converting derelict downtown
buildings into trendy lofts.
"I
just plod along and try something new and then try something
else," Mr. Miller said. "Then other people come
along and build a thousand of them and make a lot of money."
His
latest project may teach the real estate market a few
things. The first lesson: Start out small and test the
market.
On
McKee Street in the Cedars neighborhood south of downtown,
Bennett Miller Co. is building a half dozen townhomes
that will sell for a fraction of what such units go for
in Uptown.
The
two-story, 1,440-square-foot brick homes start at less
than $116,000 and are the first of a series Mr. Miller
and his team plan to build on the fringes of downtown.
"We've
already sold them all, and we plan to do more starting
this summer," Mr. Miller said.
Given
the low prices, the location near downtown and the DART
light rail station about four blocks away, the townhomes
should be a hit with urban pioneers.
|
