The 70 year old Weir’s Furniture store on Knox Street in Dallas still does good business but the building is not so great.
“We’ve tried to patch and darn so to speak as we can over the years,” said Blake Weir, grandson of the store’s founder. “We realize that the building really needs renovation and that’s quite an expensive endeavor.”
Instead, the family has teamed up with development firm Four Rivers Capital to replace the single story structure with a 12 story office and retail complex.
Justin Schoellkopf with Four Rivers said his firm also has long time ties to Dallas.
“We definitely wanted to fit into and weave into and compliment the district,” Schoellkopf said.
The City of Dallas plans street upgrades in the area, transforming one way cross streets McKinney and Cole into two way streets and widening the sidewalks along Knox.
The wider sidewalks will complement the Weirs project.
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“The Knox district has the number one walkability score in the entire state of Texas. It scores in at 98. And we want to enhance that even further,” Schoellkopf said.
The Weir’s property on Knox includes The Highland Park Soda Fountain which will be preserved in the new construction project.
“I think that that’s a really smart move and I appreciate their sensitivity to that,” Dallas City Council Member Philip Kingston said.
Kingston has been involved in negotiations with several new projects along Knox and Henderson where current residents have concerns about added traffic and congestion.
“It’s a balancing act,” Kingston said. “It takes a very careful examination of each proposal so you get the right mix in the neighborhood.”
Weir’s will direct customers to the firm’s Farmers Branch store during two years of construction at the Knox street site.
“We’re very, very grateful to be in such a great neighborhood with the renaissance that’s happened on the street,” Blake Weir said.
City of Dallas street construction could begin later this year.
