Last August, we featured five buildings in and around the Metroplex that have been left vacant, abandoned, or simply overlooked. Now, one year later, how have these sites changed? Read on to see what's next for the Shells of Our City.
The Baker Hotel - Mineral Wells
(Read our original feature | See photos)
The former bustling resort and perennial favorite for redevelopment rumors seems to have a steward to help the hotel return to its former glory. Jeff Trigger, former managing director at The Mansion on Turtle Creek and the man behind the renovation of the Stoneleigh Hotel, is now in charge of a redevelopment project funded by Hunter Chase Private Equity, who told us during our feature last year that they were working on the project. Currently, the time table for the project is around two years.
West End Marketplace - Dallas
(Read our original feature | See photos)
There have definitely been more bodies in the West End Marketplace since our last check-in -- many of them lacking life. The BODIES exhibition was installed in November of 2009, but by the end of August, the Marketplace will once again be empty. That doesn't mean it'll stay that way for long -- Downtown Dallas 360's latest plan included focusing some development effort to help revitalize the marketplace.
Statler Hilton Hotel - Dallas
(Read our original feature | See photos)
The familiar face on Preservation Dallas' list of endangered buildings is no better off this year than last. Seemingly nothing has changed about the building, other than gaining another year of dirt. The site overlooks the now-completed Main Street Park and has been noticed by the Downtown Dallas groups as being a significant site for redevelopment, but, yet again, the size and cost of the project seem to be standing in the way of a new life for the building.
Crozier Tech/Old Dallas High School - Dallas
(Read our original feature | See photos)
Directly across from the Pearl Street DART station, Crozier Tech still sits mired in development limbo. Preservationists won the battle to claim the school as a historic site, though developers fought that in court, claiming it would hurt the chances of finding someone willing to redevelop the building without changing the exterior. According to a DMN story in March of this year, plans are being formed to update the space, though the interested parties have all been silent and off-the-record thus far.
Swift and Company Meat Packing Plant - Fort Worth
(Read our original feature | See photos)
We've heard nothing about this property since our feature -- even our calls into contacts were never returned. Although the Stockyards are still attracting folks to the area, it doesn't seem that expansion into the area that the ruins stand on is on any developer's list. For now, it seems the ruins are doomed to collect graffiti before they eventually crumble.
As we continue to keep an eye on these Shells of Our City, we're noticing more buildings stuck in the battle between the past and future. Expect more news on these and other properties in the future.
