
A flood of investment is transforming old buildings into shiny mixed-use developments and drawing new shops, restaurants, and bars to the city center. Once a ghost town after 5 p.m. on weekdays — when thousands of office workers troop out of the neighborhood’s skyscrapers — downtown Dallas is becoming a live-work-play community all its own.
The ability to enjoy a car-free lifestyle, especially if you’re lucky enough to both work and live downtown. The neighborhood is the central hub of DART’s light-rail and bus systems, so there’s no better place in town from which to take advantage of public transportation.
Despite (city-subsidized) attempts, no grocery stores have been able to make a go of it downtown. And too many shops still shutter after 5 p.m. weekdays and are closed entirely on weekends.
Downtown Dallas has adopted the mythological Pegasus as its symbol. It was originally the logo of the Magnolia Oil Company and a sign featuring the flying red horse was first installed atop Magnolia’s building in 1934. A replica is there today above what’s now the Magnolia Hotel. In 2015, the original was restored and placed in front of the Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel.
The past 15 years have brought renewed life to the city’s core.
South Side on Lamar, which converted the former Sears Catalog Merchandise Center into residential, office, and studio lofts beginning in 2000, has been the linchpin in the redevelopment of the Cedars area of downtown into an entertainment district.
A revamped Dallas Farmers Market is a draw to downtown’s southeast corner.
Tree-lined streets of townhomes offer an alternative to high-rise living downtown.
All of DART’s light-rail lines converge downtown.
There’s no traditional grocery store in the neighborhood, but the Dallas Farmers Market provides plenty of produce shopping.
The arts and commerce converge to forge a robust, lively neighborhood.
The 2016 population of Downtown is estimated to be 13,041. That’s a change of +38.4% in the last five years. Over the next five years, the population is projected to change by +13.1%.
The number of households is 7,863, a change of +39.8% in the last five years. In the next five years, the number of households is projected to change +14.0%.
The average household size is 1.51.
The median household income is $72,224 and, of the entire population age 16 and over, 14.5% aren’t in the labor force. 12.6% of families live below the poverty line.
Among those employed, 5.8% are blue-collar workers, 82.5% are white-collar workers, and 11.6% are occupied as service industry or farm workers.
The average commute time for workers who live in this area is 24.0 minutes. The average number of vehicles per household is 1.4.
2.5% of Downtown homes are detached, single-family houses. The median owner-occupied home value is $337,404
12.2% of the homes are owner-occupied. The average length of residence among residents in owner-occupied homes is 7.5 years, while the average renter has been in the same home 5.0 years.
The median year the area’s housing units were built is 2002.
Downtown includes portions of these police beats: 131, 132, 134, 133, 135, 136, 151, 152
Throughout those beats during 2014, there were:
Aggravated Assaults (non-family violence) | 60 |
Aggravated Assaults (family violence) | 9 |
Business Burglaries | 109 |
Home Burglaries | 54 |
Motor-Vehicle Burglaries | 539 |
Auto Thefts | 172 |
Business Robberies | 11 |
Robberies of Individuals | 66 |
Shoplifting Incidents | 34 |
Other Thefts | 459 |
Murders | 5 |
Rapes | 23 |
Dallas ISD Alex W. Spence Talented and Gifted Academy | 65 |
Dallas ISD Billy Earl Dade Middle School | 53 |
Dallas ISD Esperanza Medrano Elementary | 72 |
Dallas ISD Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary | 67 |
Dallas ISD James Madison High School | 51 |
Dallas ISD Martin Luther King Jr. Learning Center | 48 |
Dallas ISD North Dallas High School | 57 |
Dallas ISD Sam Houston Elementary | 82 |
Dallas ISD Thomas J. Rusk Middle School | 47 |