Editor's note: This story is part of a special report, "Decoding Downtown," which examines the state of Downtown Dallas ahead of 2025.
What's the state of downtown architecture? That's easy: Purgatory. Major projects are in the works across the city's core, but there is little clarity on what any of them might look like. Projecting a decade forward, Dallas could be an entirely different place -- more vibrant, more walkable, more attractive -- or it could be about what it is today.
From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the most promising project on the boards is the remaking of the Dallas Museum of Art by the Spanish architects Nieto Sobejano. Their initial proposal looked like a budget buster, and the museum is searching for a new director, making the form and status of the final project an open question.
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Across town, the prospect of a new convention center has spurred a wave of new development, from the center itself to the remaking of the old Dallas Morning News headquarters and an addition to the Bank of America tower. But once again, exactly what any of this will look like is unclear. Having the Dallas Wings move into a remade Memorial Auditorium is great news, but exactly how the area around that arena will be built is to be determined. Again, civic limbo.
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On the eastern end of the core, the plan to take down I-345 will either be transformative or disruptive or both. Removing the dilapidated road is a long overdue project, but the city and state seem to have settled on the least productive and most chaotic way to go about it, replacing it not with a system of streets and boulevards but a sunken highway.
The I-345 plans are illustrative of the city's persistent inability to get out of its own way. Another good example is the fight over sidewalk advertising kiosks. The last thing Dallas streets need is more visual and physical clutter, but we might be getting more of it, unless the City Council steps in.
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Fingers crossed.
Decoding downtown Read MoreRead more stories from our special report, "Decoding Downtown," which examines the state of Downtown Dallas ahead of 2025.Is downtown Dallas cool? Luxury high-rises are islands of cush, but the most promising change is how people engage with each other.10 of downtown Dallas' most influential restaurantsFrom spaghetti to secret steak, downtown Dallas has always been a culinary hub.'What other neighborhood has this vibe?': Inside the dining shift in downtown DallasOne restaurant owner says the area is "ready to explode with culture."Is downtown Dallas a litmus test for city's response to homelessness?Most providers are based downtown and the city targeted three sites in September to embark on a mission to cut homelessness in half by 2026.