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June 02, 2005
City, developer revive Mercantile plan
06:35 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 1, 2005
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA-TV
During a last-ditch trip to Washington on Wednesday, Dallas city leaders revived a deal to redevelop the downtown Mercantile complex.
The complex between Main and Commerce streets has been vacant since 1993, and three previous attempts to redevelop the complex have failed.
Developer Forest City began negotiations last summer, but city leaders began scrambling last week when the deal collapsed.
"Dallas is officially married to Forest City for a downtown deal at the Mercantile Tower, so we're very excited," mayor Laura Miller said following Wednesday's meeting.
The deal involves about $60 million in tax incentives to redevelop the entire Mercantile block. The main building with a historic clock tower will stay, but the remaining three buildings will go. A new building, an underground parking garage and green space will take their place, bringing retail and 375 apartments.
In Washington, the mayor said it's about the same money as before, but the plan was expanded and fast-tracked.
"It's a more ambitious plan," Miller said. "We're going to bring more apartments on line (and) more retail, so it's a better deal for the citizens - and it was worth it for the five hours we spent here with Forest City."
The plan calls for transforming the historic Continental Building into condos; the city will share in the profits from those sales. Forest City will also develop the Atmos Energy complex nearby.
"We're just thrilled to be back at the point to where we can start the hard work of getting that to happen," said Forest City's Ron Ratner.
The deal must still be approved by the full City Council, but three council members were part of the negotiations and most everyone else appears to be on board.
Forest City said it will finish purchasing the Mercantile site by September, with plans to begin construction in six to nine months.
Posted by lumi at June 2, 2005 07:21 AM