2 min read September 2022 — Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI) strives to keep Downtown friends and stakeholders informed of breaking news, development plans and special events through various communication channels. In an interview with Invest:, President and CEO Jennifer Scripps discussed priorities for the area, opportunities and investments going forward, marketing strategies and unique destinations in Downtown Dallas.
How have you seen growth progress in Downtown Dallas?
Making the largest contiguous arts district in the country was a project that I worked closely on, and it is located within the Downtown Dallas loop. It is also the home of the Majestic Theater, our historic theater that hosts everything from NPR shows to comedians. We have tons of attractions within the Downtown area, and we are working to create a neighborhood that highlights the vibrancy of the area. We have had a lot of parks come online, and we are activating them with pop-ups and art installments. This is what people are looking for in urban areas: They want to come here to work, stay for dinner or have an evening of entertainment. It makes that a complete experience whether you work, live or visit here.
Visit Dallas is reporting tremendous success for our hotels. The tourism numbers have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. It has helped that we were seen as open earlier than most of the country. On the other hand, when talking about locals, we want them to want to live and work Downtown. We are providing the best opportunities for dining, entertainment and nightlife, that way companies that are coming into the region will choose Downtown because it is much more dynamic than a suburban office park.
For example, AT&T corporate headquarters redesigned the blocks around their headquarters, into what we call the Discovery District. It is open to the public and has green space, the largest digital board in Texas and an expansive food hall with great offerings.
What are some of the opportunities and initiatives that you are looking to push forward in your new role?
The first step is resetting our baseline post-COVID. Downtown Dallas has recovered quicker than other cities. However, we still have things we must work on, so we are constantly pushing our economic development. Real estate is very hot, and we’ve been working to help our partners with their future development. On that note, a ballot initiative to fund a downtown convention center expansion is a huge priority. Assuming that voters pass the measure, it will allow us to invest over a billion dollars in our Convention Center District and re-envision the southwest quadrant of Dallas. It will be a huge opportunity for new development, not just hotels but lots of housing, office space and even higher education. At the same time, we are working to make Dallas a multimodal hub, making it more pedestrian-friendly, accessible by DART, scooters, Uber or Lyft, and with a variety of work, entertainment and parks.
What are some of the emerging hotbeds for activity in Downtown Dallas?
The Farmer’s Market is a place where you can find something for everybody. People think of them as the place to buy honey or produce, but we have an entire food court, local vendors and an air-conditioned shed that has everything from breweries to plant shops. It’s the kind of place where you can meet a friend for coffee, enjoy live music or walk around the area. They are going to be opening a new park next year, in addition to Carpenter Park that opened in May. The latter is our largest park. It used to be chopped up by streets, but it has been consolidated into contiguous green space. It is gorgeous and has been completely re-envisioned, connecting Downtown to Deep Ellum.
Downtown Dallas is constantly surprising people in a good way. I grew up in this city and every time I bring somebody that hasn’t been here in a long time they get surprised when they revisit. Whenever we welcome visitors we hear how blown away they are by our beautiful buildings, the green spaces and the pedestrian friendliness of the area.
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