Preston Hollow Show House Tour Shortened After Neighborhood Dispute

Step inside 9250 Meadowbrook Drive and be prepared to be impressed.

The Preston Hollow mansion is the site of this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House in Dallas. Designers and architects get two months to transform a home before it opens to the public for tour and raises money for charity.

“We have 24 designers from all over the country. They are assigned a specific room and then they bring their vision to life,” said Nazira Handal, Director of Special Events and Corporate Partnerships for Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club.

The tour benefits the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club in New York and local non-profits Dwell With Dignity and The Crystal Charity Ball.

“We’re extremely excited. We’re extremely proud. This is our third year in Dallas so we’re happy to be back,” Handal said.

But not everyone in the neighborhood is happy.

The neighborhood association fought the home’s opening, questioning proper permitting and citing problems with last year’s showhouse nearby on Deloache Avenue.

In a statement, the Inwood-Northwest Homeowner’s Association President Leland Burk said they recognize the charitable aspects of the event, but said for more than a month last year neighbors “reported unmanaged trash, traffic and parking congestion on a daily basis throughout the neighborhood that even caused very serious delays for emergency vehicles.”

Neighbors took their complaints to the city and ultimately there was a compromise.

Instead of being open for 30 days the home will now be open for four days.

“It’s a shame but we’re going to deliver a great show like we always do,” Handal said.

No parking signs now line Meadowbrook Drive as organizers stress visitors must park at a nearby church lot and encourage people to buy their tickets online now since there are only four days of tours.

“All of this goes to charity so of course, that’s why we do this,” Handal said. “It’s a labor of love.”

The Kips Bay Decorator Show House will be open to the public from Thursday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 25. For more information, you can visit its website here.

Inwood-Northwest Homeowner’s Association President Leland Burk release a full statement below:

There’s no question the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club has a long track record of serving young people in New York.  The Kips Bay Decorator Show House has attracted some of Dallas’s finest families as supporters and attendees of its Dallas show since it started two years ago. 

However, for more than four weeks last year, neighbors living near last year’s Show House reported unmanaged trash, traffic and parking congestion on a daily basis throughout the neighborhood that even caused very serious delays for emergency vehicles.  In at least one life-threatening instance, an ambulance was reportedly unable to gain access to a home in the neighborhood, due to unmanaged traffic improperly parked on both sides of the narrow streets.  In addition, parking on both sides of the streets made it impossible for many homeowners to get to and from their homes.  Attendees ignored the parking shuttle and parked everywhere throughout the neighborhood.  Mail trucks often couldn't deliver mail due to their inability to get to houses.  Cars parked on lawns throughout the neighborhood causing damage to property and irrigation systems.  This all went on last year for more than 30 days.

Unfortunately, this year, neither the Kips Bay Show House organizers nor the beneficiary homeowner reached out to their neighbors to partner -- or the City of Dallas to get proper construction permits or check on proper land use ordinances.  The Dallas City Attorney’s Office even determined the site that Kips Bay Decorator Show House organizers selected is an improper land use, in violation of City ordinance, not equipped to handle the traffic and large crowds that were expected for over a month’s time.  And we strongly agree.  With thousands of visitors expected in the neighborhood at the Kips Bay Show House daily for more than four weeks, strong partnership and alignment with both the neighborhood and the City would have been critical to identify an appropriate site.  

Nevertheless, the neighborhood agreed to a compromise to allow the Show House to open for a shorter period this year.