Articles about Real Estate
Beck Likely to be Safe at Vaquero Estates
One thing’s for sure: Right-wing lightning rod Glenn Beck is unlikely to be assaulted by a mob of liberals–as he was in New York a few days ago–when he settles into that $20,000-a-month rent house at Westlake’s Vaquero Estates. In the middle of a place that’s been called the most affluent neighborhood in the country, Vaquero is a gated expanse of castle-like mega-mansions peopled by pro athletes like Josh Hamilton and big-deal CEOs like BNSF’s Matthew Rose, said to be a potential successor to Warren Buffett.
The other day, for example, Westlake Mayor Laura Wheat and her husband Douglas (formerly of the Haas, Wheat & Partners investment firm) opened the doors of their rambling Vaquero digs for an intimate gathering featuring a mini-concert by American Idol finalist Tim Halperin. Think low-key. Tasteful. Friendly. You had to pass muster with a uniformed guard to get into the neighborhood, and certainly there were no street people, or roving mobs of angry progressives, in sight. Not a big fan of Beck–especially since he threw Debra Medina under the bus last year–but he’s obviously coming to the right place.
How Can a $21.8 Million, 20,000-Square-Foot Dallas Home Have Zero Bedrooms?
By now you’ve no doubt noticed that we’ve published the July issue of D Magazine, which includes our biennial examination of the 100 Most Expensive Homes in Dallas. We used Dallas Central Appraisal District valuations, meaning every Dallas County home was ranked, though only houses in the Park Cities or Dallas proper were worth enough to make the cut.
Online our list is sortable by a number of statistics. Those who’ve played around with this tool may have discovered an oddity: eight of the listed homes have no official bedrooms, according to DCAD records. For example: Ed Cox’s nearly 20,000-square-foot house (No. 7 on the list) has 4 fireplaces and 6 bathrooms, but no bedrooms.
Here at D World Headquarters we discussed among ourselves why this might be. Sure, it could be that DCAD’s information is just wrong, but it was more fun to speculate about alternatives. Perhaps the interior of Cox’s home consists merely of a series of cavernous sitting rooms, libraries, conservatories, dens, dungeons, and man-caves, and he prefers to sleep in a Barcalounger instead of a bed. Or maybe DCAD adheres to some arcane definition requiring any officially tallied bedroom to feature double egress, not merely single.
Whatever the case, I called DCAD to find out. What I discovered might shock or dismay you.
Rosewood is Selling the Management Group of The Mansion to New World Hospitality
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has signed a purchase and sales agreement to sell the management of The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and the rest of the properties to Hong Kong-based New World Hospitality. The deal closes on July 29.
The release follows the jump.
Rafael Palmeiro’s Grapevine Real Estate Venture Files For Chapter 11
Poor Rafael Palmeiro.
First, he swears to Congress that he never used steroids in his Major League Baseball career. Then he tests positive for using steroids and is essentially forced out of the game. (He claims the positive test was because of a vitamin supplement).
Though he’s not really a Hall of Famer, he compiled enough of the numbers that old-school baseball writers like that he might have had a shot of being elected to the Hall one day. But in January, in his first year on the ballot, the longtime Texas Ranger and Colleyville resident only received votes from 11 percent of the writers (you need 75 percent to get elected).
Now his business venture — a mixed-used development in Grapevine — has had to file for Chapter 11. I guess the Grapevine-Southlake-Colleyville area doesn’t really have “a need for upscale stores and lodging?”
University Park Resident Puts Home on Craigslist
If you’re looking to get into University Park on the cheap and you don’t mind a little Brady Bunch architecture, search no further than Craigslist. This 2900+ square foot, 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath home in HPISD hits the auction block Sunday night and it isn’t even a foreclosure. The owner, Scott Miller, is testing out a radical sales strategy offered by Bill G. Effros in his book, How to Sell Your Home in Five Days.
3614 Granada, $349,000 or best offer.
All the Parkie real estate agents are looking at each other right now saying, “Whatchoo talkin’ bout Willis?”
Is More Development Coming Soon to Downtown Dallas’ Victory Park or Not?
So Ross Perot Jr. invited some reporters over yesterday to talk about land he’s purchased in Far North Fort Worth with an eye to building upon his little AllianceTexas development-empire in the area (read more about Alliance’s future on RealPoints).
The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News were represented at the confab. Each publication filed a story. Aside from the notable contrast in average paragraph length exhibited by the two pieces, I was struck by the different accounts given of what’s next for Victory Park in downtown Dallas, which many consider to be a failure.
Here’s what the WSJ wrote:
For all of Mr. Perot’s Texas-sized ambition, he doesn’t always succeed. Hillwood’s Victory Park mixed-use development surrounding the American Airlines Center sports arena in downtown Dallas is a flop by many accounts. Hillwood forfeited its equity stake in Victory Park to its German partners in 2009, followed last December by its relinquishment of its management of the project to Cousins Properties. Hillwood and partners still own 27 acres of land at Victory Park, but Mr. Perot doesn’t foresee developing it soon.
But here’s what Steve Brown has to say about the same land:
Hillwood also continues to be an owner of about 27 acres of land in the Victory Park project in Dallas’ Uptown district.
Perot said Hillwood is focusing on developing a vacant tract fronting Woodall Rodgers that’s next to the Perot Museum of Nature & Science, which is under construction.
“That’s the next development play,” he said. “We have zoning for more than 1 million square feet on that site.”
Richard Chiu Writes Us From Paris About the Statler Hotel
By now you know that the old downtown Statler Hilton has been sold. Finally. The Ricchi Investment Group out of San Antonio bought the thing from Hamsher International. But in late 2009, it looked like a mysterious fellow named Richard Chiu was going to save the landmark. Then, well, it didn’t look like that. As the hotel’s future grew murky, Brendan McNally wrote a story for us in June 2010. He tried to interview Chiu, with no success.
So it came as a bit of a surprise, when we received the following letter from Chiu today. It is dated April 8, 2011, and was sent via international mail from Warwick’s Paris office. Chiu takes issue with some points in the story. We stand by it.
D Empire Expands with New RealPoints Blog
Hey! Lookee here. We’re filling up the internet with a new blog. This one concerns itself with commercial real estate. It’s called RealPoints, and it’s really quite something. Example: this morning Christine Perez breaks the news that Citigroup has signed a lease at Trammell Crow Center and that the financial services giant is trying to sell its 625,000-square-foot campus in Irving. Another example: RealPoints has a roster of 60 contributors that includes Alan Shor of the Retail Connection, Allen Gump of Colliers International, Blair Oden of CB Richard Ellis, John Amend of the Amend Group, and John Crawford of Downtown Dallas Inc. Big hitters, in other words.
We expect RealPoints to do what InsideCorner did: become so hugely successful that someone backs up a money truck to Christine’s house and hire her away from us. So enjoy it while it lasts.
Star-Telegram is Packing for a Move
The Star-Telegram reports it will move to the Commerce Building in downtown Fort Worth by October. The daily paper has to relocate since the sale of its present digs to Bob Simpson’s MorningStar Capital closed today.
Wonder how many U-Hauls it’s gonna need.
The Odd Recruiting Strategy of the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Through his eight years in the White House, President Bush led with courage and compassion — and that leadership continues today as President and Mrs. Bush create the George W. Bush Presidential Center thanks to the support of proud Americans like you.
Today it is a great honor to present to you a 2011 Membership Card from the Bush Center. I am sending this to you on behalf of President and Mrs. Bush, because I believe you appreciate the extraordinary service they gave our Nation and our world during their years in the White House, and that you embrace the values and ideals that President and Mrs. Bush continue to advance through the Bush Center.
Since I’ve had this Membership Card commissioned especially for you, I want to make sure that it arrived promptly, and that you will support the action-oriented programs President and Mrs. Bush are creating at the Bush Center.
So please take a moment to complete the Receipt Confirmation and Membership RSVP I’ve enclosed for you, and send it back to me today along with a tax-deductible gift of at least $25, and help President and Mrs. Bush continue their public service through the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Sure enough, the letter came with an Official Membership Card — only it had my 12-year-old son’s name on it. In fact, The Honorable Mark Langdale sent the letter to my son. There is no doubt that the lad is a proud American. But I’d be very surprised if he pays the $25 to belong to the Bush Center.
Lady Lee Bailey Snaps Up Turtle Creek “Party House”
Casa Bellamini
Some gals, when they live through a divorce, get a face lift. Others get a boy toy. But newly-single Lee Bailey (aka Ed Bailey’s ex-) just finished the final steps in purchasing Braden Power’s Casa Bellamini on Turtle Creek, with Allie Beth Allman’s Doris Jacobs making sure all the T’s were crossed. As one residential real estate pro put it, “It’s a perfect match.”
This 8,430-square-foot, two-story mansion, with its oh-so-cool party/spa master bathroom and salt-water pool in the living room, has been a neighbors’ nightmare. After a little refreshening, Lee claims the Cole Smith-designed palazzo will go from “the party house” to “the convent.”
BTW, the two black swans that originally came with the property are now down to one. Evidently, the surviving swan killed the other one.
Deion Sanders Puts Pads up for Sale
This might not be news to you. The post went up nearly a week ago. Move.com has pics of the two places Deion has on the market. Looking to live way north of town and price is no object? His Prosper mansion is listed at $21 million. If, however, you want to live near downtown Dallas and you’re on a budget, his Azure condo is listed at $7.5 million.
One is tempted to speculate as to why Deion would be looking to sell at a time when real estate prices aren’t exactly at their peak.
Budget Cuts at Hillwood Lead to PR Exec’s Exit
After 12 years of defending the corporate line at Hillwood, David Pelletier, former director of communications, was given his walking papers earlier this week. Pelletier says he wasn’t too surprised at the budget cuts that led to the elimination of his position, with the real estate market in an ongoing slump. Commercial development has been at a standstill; and in mid-2009, Hillwood had to give Victory Park in Dallas to German lenders who had financed the project.
Hillwood plans to outsource some of the things he was handling, Pelletier says; but for now, press inquiries about the company’s various divisions—Hillwood Properties, AllianceTexas, Hillwood Energy, Hillwood Investment Properties and Hillwood Residential—are being handled by three in-house employees.
Prior to joining Hillwood in 1998, Pelletier focused on professional football. He was public relations director for the Minnesota Vikings from 1993-1998; before that, he spent nine years with the Dallas Cowboys, the last five as assistant director of public relations.
Westlake: Most Affluent Neighborhood in the Country
It must be tough to keep up with the Jonases in Westlake. With an estimated median household income of $250,000, Forbes.com has named it the most affluent neighborhood in the country.
The Town of Westlake, Texas, might be best-known for being the home of the Jonas Brothers. But this Dallas suburb, where Buffalo roam the ranch land, is crawling with the rich and famous. Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton has a house there, as does his boss, Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg. Vernon Wells, the Toronto Blue Jays center fielder, is building a massive home in Westlake; New York Yankee Mark Teixeira already owns a house there that he’s been trying to sell.
Westlake boasts a Tom Fazio designed golf course and some famous golfers like K.J. Choi and Todd Hamilton live there, too. Former Exxon chief Lee Raymond is building a house in Westlake, which is already home to Matthew Rose, the CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, who is seen as a potential successor of Warren Buffett.
No word on whether Kevin Jonas’ plans to sell his home in Vaquero will affect the rankings.
Entire World Population Could Fit in Texas
Robert Kunzig of National Geographic is on Krys Boyd’s Think right now discussing his article, “Population Seven Billion.” He said he did the calculations, and the entire world could fit in Texas if each person were alloted the same average square feet of living space as in New York City. I lived in New York City, and the sqaure footage wasn’t that bad. Give up a private screening room and a wine cellar and a couple of extra bedrooms — and most of your kitchen space — and you’d be surprised.
I’m all for it. Imagine all the room left over for farming, flyfishing, and horseback riding. When it comes to picking neighborhoods, I’d want to move to wherever the Italians settle. (The North Koreans can have Odessa.)
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