CLIFF
Pane Nostro is located in the heart of the Bishop Arts District and has Italianinspired design curated in part by managing partner Adalberto Lujan. Read more on page 12. Photography by Kathy Tran.
2022
2023 2024 2025
GROWING PAINS
HOW PARKING IS IMPACTING DEVELOPMENT IN DALLAS
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by KATHY TRAN
After years of discussion, city council approved parking reform for Dallas on May 14.
Chapters 51 and 51A of the Dallas City Code determine parking areas’ location, design and how much off-street parking must exist per land use. These regulations impact housing affordability, economic development potential, environmental resiliency, safety and walkability in Dallas. The amendments will shift the approach from one-size-fits-all numerical requirements to a framework prioritizing context-sensitive travel demand management, multi-modal transportation options and well-designed parking facilities.
The reform looks to dismantle strict parking mandates to allow for more housing and small business opportunities.
Jake Ettinger, District 1 policy advisor and community liaison, says the parking reform will primarily help small businesses.
“A big business can afford to buy a plot next to it, build a parking
garage, or just pave, and a small business can’t afford to do that,” Ettinger says. “I think something that’s really unique about Oak Cliff is we have all these amazing women and minority-owned small businesses, and so if we want to support them and make it easier for future small businesses to come in, this is really going to be a huge step in the right direction.”
Restaurants and bars, particularly those under 2,500 square feet, could see mandates completely waived. For buildings over 2,500 square feet, one space per 200 square feet for sales and seating area would be required.
Parking requirements are recommended to be removed for office use and Downtown, with no parking for any use within 1/2-mile of light rail, streetcar stations and Downtown districts.
According to the proposal, parking minimums would also be reduced for hotels, commercial amusement and places of worship, with designated historic buildings having minimums mostly removed.
The idea for parking reform originated in District 1, when a boutique hotel was looking to open on Beckley Avenue.
The 12-room hotel was wanting to build on a 2,500 square foot restaurant and connect everything with a patio.
“It was a very fun, kind of funky plan, from what I saw, and the location is what caused the problems,” District 1 council member Chad West says.
The developer was going to have to park it to code, and the parking requirements were going to be 12 spots — one space for each hotel room, plus they had to completely park the restaurant because it wasn’t connected to the hotel, totalling 37 parking spaces.
“City staff got it, and they were recommending massive reductions in parking,” West says. “But in the time it took for all of this to happen … some individuals had gone into that building and lit a fire in it and burned it down.”
This instance inspired West to look into the outdated parking code.
“It started with a simple memo asking the plan commission to look at it. And once I sent that memo, my plan commissioner at the time, Enrique MacGregor, and two other commissioners, filed a three-signature memo to make it official at the plan commission level,” West says. “We want to get away from just doing a PD for every single situation and try to fix this globally to benefit businesses and not put the burden on them to try to figure out what they’re supposed to be doing.”
In addition to the hotel, other Dallas businesses have been impacted by parking requirements. Val’s Cheesecake in East Dallas had growth stopped by two parking spots and permit confusion — they needed two more parking spots, eight total, to apply for a certificate of occupancy that allows customers to enjoy their purchases inside the shop. B-Side Coffee, now Little Joy Coffee, in Elmwood has also had its struggles.
“B-Side coffee, but that entire building in Elmwood, has had a lot of turnover in tenants … and has really struggled to keep a tenant long-term because they’re so limited by the parking requirements,” Ettinger says. “There’s all these neighbors that live in Elmwood and just want to walk over to their morning coffee shop. But it’s
the parking requirements that say, ‘Hey, no, you need this many parking spots.’”
Additionally, Ettinger says this could make housing more affordable in the city, as part of the cost of housing right now is unused parking spots. Multi-family dwellings will see a decrease in parking requirements from one space per bedroom to one-half space per unit.
Other council members, such as District 10’s Kathy Stewart, intitially did not agree with all aspects of the parking reform.
“From a multi-family perspective, what came out of CPC (City Plan and Zoning Commission) was the one-half space per unit, and I just don’t think that works in District 10 or in District 12,” Stewart says. “We have a lot of multi-family that is adjacent to single-family, and we already have examples of where property managers put some impediments of some things in the way of people parking multiple cars, like they’ll charge an extra fee for your second car.”
Stewart ended up voting for the parking reform, while District 12 council member Cara Mendelsohn was the sole dissenting vote.
In some cases, residents opt out of parking in the parking facility, and they go to park on the public streets in the single family neighborhoods, Stewart says. This can be disruptive to people who live on those streets.
“I really had preferred that they roll this out in the center of the city, right where there is a lot of density already, and where parking has been an issue, and then sort of bring it in in phases,” Stewart says. “We couldn’t really get agreement on that. I’ll
BRIDGING THE PAST, BUILDING THE FUTURE
Veteran Attractions exec Chris Lyons to help launch Halperin Park
Story by
JILLIAN NACHTIGAL
Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
Chris Lyons has been in the attractions business for 30 years and is now stepping into the role as chief operating officer of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation.
Lyons will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Halperin Park (formerly known as Southern Gateway Park), the five-acre landmark bridge park slated to open in 2026 over Interstate 35E in Southern Dallas. The park received a $23 million contribution from the Halperin Foundation in September for the naming rights.
“This role ties directly to my background,” Lyons says. “Some reference calls came in and said, ‘Hey, you should check out what’s going on with this deck park in Dallas.’ And I did and ended up meeting April (Allen), and everything lined up to come back to Texas and leave the Middle East. You know, I liked Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and I like the Middle East. It’s different, but it’s just too far.”
Lyons has worked with some of the world’s most renowned brands in hospitality, zoos, parks and attractions, including the Houston Zoo and Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts. He joins the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation having recently served as chief operating officer from 2021-2025 for Worldwide Zoo Consultants in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, where he helped lead the creation, development and management of modern zoological parks, public aquariums and living museums.
“I fell in love with it,” Lyons says. “I liked being outside, moving around and having different things pop up every day, and that’s sort of what led me into operations and just having that fix-it approach, putting out fires and solving problems.”
The park is a public/private partnership with the City of Dallas and the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, and it has support at the regional, state and federal level.
Once open, the park will attract an estimated 2 million visitors annually and generate more than $1 billion in economic impact in its first five years. In addition to native landscape and green space, park amenities will include: a stage and pavilion for concerts and live events, an inclusive children’s playground, outdoor classroom space, a multi-purpose building for dining and community events, integrated history exhibits, a dedicated food truck area, interactive water features and more. Together with the Dallas Zoo’s Master Plan, the collective capital investment will exceed $250 million, the largest investment in Southern Dallas’ history.
He knew he wanted to be closer to home after being in Abu Dhabi, and the Halperin Park project provided the perfect opportunity given his background and experience.
The five-acre Halperin Park will be a key catalyst for closing the opportunity gap created when the highway was originally built in the 1950s through the middle of Oak Cliff.
When Interstate 35E was built, it disconnected communities from Downtown Dallas and bulldozed homes belonging to people of color. The new park is seen as a bridge between neighborhoods in Oak Cliff, and its impact will also likely be felt at the Tenth Street Historic District, one of the only remaining intact Freedmen’s Towns in the nation.
Some are wary of the development, according to Texas Monthly , as several Tenth Street residents worry the park will not benefit them but the people who build homes, apartments and restaurants.
They worry that the park will spur speculative land investments and new developments that will push up property values near the park and price out existing residents who can’t afford to pay higher property taxes.
The team that’s working on the project now are fundraisers and planners, and they needed someone to come aboard who understands how a park like Halperin works once it is up and running with people in it, Lyons says.
“I think that’s the biggest thing that I bring to the table,” Lyons says. “You build a certain level of instinct over 30 years. And when you see mistakes, you learn from them, and you see how guests and crowds behave, you can plan for that then in projects like this. We’ve taken lessons learned from Klyde Warren, lessons learned from my background, and hopefully apply them here and have minimal hiccups.”
Klyde Warren Park, a 5-acre park located over Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Downtown Dallas, was named one of the best parks in the country with its designated spaces for kids and dogs, spots to play board games, or host events and live music performances. Food trucks line the park during the day as well.
Halperin Park, unlike Klyde Warren, will feature a turnaround lane. It can also accommodate food trucks or blood drive trucks.
“We’re going to provide a job base here so people that have perhaps no opportunity to go out and get hospitality skills or park skills, which I didn’t have coming out of college, and get hands-on experience,” Lyons says. “We’ll have that here, and people will be able to come here and create a base level of skill for their career that they can then take on the bigger and better things later.”
The park’s primary goal is to provide a space where people can gather.
“The biggest thing is obviously reconnecting Oak Cliff and providing a world class park here right in Oak Cliff that can be a regional destination,” Lyons says. “This park is built by the community and for the community.”
WHO REPRESENTS YOU?
Story by ALYSSA HIGH
In the City of Dallas, council members may come to mind. But behind every council member are topical boards and commissions that advise the council. Volunteer-based positions are appointed by council members for their district, with exceptions for district-only boards. Often we see the same 10 people in our neighborhoods jumping up to volunteer and speak out for their community, but volunteers can only serve on two. So where are the people who represent you?
When a charter amendment passed last year that allowed the public to sue the City for not complying with laws outlined in the charter, a petition signed by more than 80 neighborhood leaders came forth, demanding that the City remove those who have exceeded their term or be sued. The letter alluded to a number of commissioners fitting this bill without naming many names.
So we did a deep dive into the City’s database of all boards and commissions and their members.
WHAT ARE THE RULES TO PLAY?
Council members begin the nomination process during August of every odd year. Nominees:
• Must live in the city for at least six months.
• Must have no serious convictions.
• Must not have pending litigation against the City or a City employee.
• Must not owe any taxes or other obligations to the City.
• Must not be an employee of the City.
• Does not have to live in the district for which they are appointed, unless expressly noted.
• May serve a maximum of four consecutive two-year terms with at least one term elapsed before being on the same board again.
Another notable issue is that 75 commissioners reside in a different district than they serve across district-based boards/commissions. While this is allowed per the City Charter and residence in or prior knowledge of a district is not required for service, it highlights a problem that we’re all aware of but rarely see evidence of: Residents of several wealthy neighborhoods (like 14, which makes up the majority of those serving in other districts) have a greater voice in City Hall than the rest of us.
Additionally, each district-based board or commission also holds space for a commissioner nominated by the mayor, who is also required to appoint a chair of the commission from the members appointed. Of these positions, six out of 22 (27%) are vacant, and two are past their term limit.
HOW CAN THOSE INTERESTED IN FILLING VACANCIES GET INVOLVED?
Explore the City’s boards and commissions webpage to see available positions. Fill out an online application.
Introduce yourself to the council member who is set to make the appointments in the fall and keep in communication.
†All data represented in this story was taken from the City of Dallas Boards & Commissions website and, thus, is likely to have errors. Data was pulled on May 5, 2025, and is reflective of information available on the website at that time. Additionally, while we are sure that lots of time and effort go into carefully choosing the boundary lines for City Council districts, to our untrained eyes, it looks like a mis-filled color-by-numbers sheet. Most of the districts exceed our neighborhood and coverage boundaries, so district data is reflective of more than just the neighborhood. I mean, look at District 2. What is that?
ONE VACANCY= ONE TERM EXCEEDED=
D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 0 D10 D11 D12 D13 0 D14 TOTAL VACANCIES 39 TOTAL TERMS EXCEEDED 6
(THEY ARE NOT REINVESTMENT ZONES OR DISTRICT-BASED BUT ARE TOPICAL OR GEOGRAPHICAL.) 123
OAK CLIFF - DISTRICT 1
2 VACANCIES (SOUTH DALLAS FAIR PARK OPPORTUNITY FUND BOARD & ETHICS ADVISORY COMMISSION.)
0 COMMISSIONERS SERVING PAST THEIR TERM LIMIT
0 COMMISSIONERS WHO LIVE IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
COMMISSIONERS FROM D1 ARE SERVING IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
There are TWO REINVESTMENT ZONES in our neighborhood — Davis Garden and Oak Cliff Gateway. There are no vacancies in either board.
OUT OF 330 POSITIONS IN DISTRICT-BASED BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, 44 ARE VACANT / 75 RESIDE IN A DIFFERENT DISTRICT THAN THEY SERVE / 25 ARE AT THE END OF THEIR ALLOWED TERM, UNABLE TO SERVE AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEIR SEATS WILL BE UP FOR GRABS/ 235 ARE ON CITY-WIDE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
N E W B E G I N N I N G S,
S A M E T R A D I T I O N
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL
Photography by KATHY TRAN
WHAT WAS ONCE A CHOCOLATE LOVER’S FAVORITE STOP IS NOW SERVING CLASSIC ITALIAN CUISINE.
Pane Nostro has moved into the CocoAndré house at 508 W. Seventh St. CocoAndré vacated the space in September 2023 after a 15-year run.
“We originally wanted to be down in this area to begin with,” Pane Nostro co-owner Dion Gazzaruso says of Bishop Arts. “All the development that’s been going on, all the new restaurants, I think it’s a good community and people really support the businesses.”
Gazzaruso and co-owner Adalberto Lujan opened Pane Nostro in October 2022 after moving to Dallas from Las Vegas. They found a spot located in McKinney’s Adriatica Village, but it unfortunately lacked visibility and foot traffic.
“After about seven, eight months, we kind of realized McKinney really wasn’t what we were hoping it would be,” Gazzaruso says. “So we decided then to start looking again, to try to find some place down here.”
When they saw the CocoAndré house on the market, they jumped on it.
“We were competing against two other buyers and wrote a letter to the owner. We came to talk to them a lot, explained exactly what we were doing, and it was important to her to keep someone in the space that could have a lot of positive things to contribute to the community as well,” Gazzaruso says. “She wanted a local business to be in there. And an interesting fact is that the original owners of this house were Italian, so it was just kind of meant to be.”
After it took about six months to get permits, which were secured by the end of July 2024, the restaurant began to take shape and opened in early March.
Pane Nostro’s menu sticks
to Italian classics like bucatini all’amatriciana ($25), spaghetti aglio e olio ($21) and linguine alle vongole ($32). Most ingredients used are imported from Italy, Gazzaruso said.
“It’s homemade, family-owned — we’re not doing any type of fusion or anything like that,” Gazzaruso says. “These are all just real, traditional, tried-and-true recipes. Most of them are handed down from my family. So that’s the difference. We’re not doing anything new. We’re sticking with tradition.”
The only things changing about the new location is the addition of a patio for more seating and a brunch menu on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch classics include a smoked salmon eggs benedict ($21), ricotta pancakes ($15), a Nostro Panino/ciabatta egg sandwich ($18) and more.
The McKinney restaurant closed on Nov. 7, 2023, and renovations on the new Dallas space were slated to begin in early 2024. But the pair faced some setbacks with permitting.
“It was a long and frustrating process, but it was all a learning experience,” Gazzaruso says. “We’re just enjoying the process and really appreciate the community helping us and coming to support us and talk to us.”
The interior of the restaurant is Italian-inspired, from decorations to products to tile. After all, the most important aspect for Gazzaruso is staying true to his Italian roots.
“I know when I have Italians from Italy coming to the restaurant, then I know that we’re doing something right,” Gazzaruso says. “We’ve gotten really good reception from the area, and it’s been really popular so far. We’re really grateful for that.”
Pane Nostro, 508 W Seventh St. 214.425.3280, pane-nostro.com
The Linguine Diamante at Pane Nostro is served with clams and a white wine sauce with extra virgin olive oil and lemon.
A classic Italian appetizer at Pane Nostro includes the Arancini — fried creamy Italian rice balls.
CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT
BEST ART GALLERY
WINNER - MERCADO369
2ND - WE ARE 1976, INC.
3RD - DAISHA BOARD GALLERY
BEST BOOKSTORE
WINNER - THE WILD DETECTIVES
2ND - WHOSE BOOKS NEIGHBORHOOD BOOKSTORE
3RD - LUCKY DOG BOOKS- OAK CLIFF
BEST EVENT VENUE
WINNER - 445 EVENTS
2ND - TURNER HOUSE
3RD - THE CLIFF HOUSE
BEST INDOOR ACTIVITY
WINNER - OAK CLIFF CULTURAL CENTER
2ND - OIL AND COTTON (TIE)
2ND - KIDS EMPIRE DALLAS WYNNEWOOD (TIE)
3RD - ARTS MISSION OAK CLIFF
BEST LIBRARY
WINNER - NORTH OAK CLIFF LIBRARY (TIE)
WINNER - HAMPTON- ILLINOIS LIBRARY (TIE)
2ND - DALLAS WEST BRANCH LIBRARY
3RD - ARCADIA PARK BRANCH LIBRARY
BEST MEMBERS-ONLY CLUB
WINNER - OAK CLIFF LADIES CLUB
2ND - CHÂTEAU LE SOL
3RD - LE SOL HOUSE
BEST OUTDOOR ACTIVITY
WINNER - DALLAS ZOO
2ND - KIDD SPRINGS PARK
3RD - OAK CLIFF NATURE PRESERVE
BEST LIVE MUSIC
WINNER - REVELERS HALL
2ND - THE WILD DETECTIVES
3RD - BISHOP EXCHANGE
BEST PLACE FOR DOGS
WINNER - OAK CLIFF NATURE PRESERVE
2ND - ELMWOOF DOG PARK
3RD - MOSS PARK
BEST THEATER
WINNER - KESSLER THEATER
2ND - TEXAS THEATRE
3RD - BISHOP ARTS THEATRE CENTER
Food and Drink winners will be featured in our August issue. To nominate your favorite business in the remaining categories (shopping) for our Best Of 2025 competition, email aquintero@ advocatemag.com
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FORWARD ROLLING
In December 2022, the first neighborhood meeting was held to discuss the development of a skate park in Oak Cliff. The meeting had standing room only and was well attended by neighborhood skateboarders, skaters and bicyclists in favor of the park.
Dallas is considered a skate park desert. As a city of 1.2 million residents, there’s only one skatepark across the entire city. For context, San Antonio has 16, Houston has eight and even Fort Worth has four.
“We figured out that we had so many skaters in Oak Cliff, we couldn’t believe it,” says District 1 Parks and Recreation board member JR Huerta. “But then the skaters were talking about how they had to travel so far to go to a park and skate.”
Skateboarding has risen in popularity
as legends like Tony Hawk brought attention to the sport, which originated in California in the 1950s as a way for surfers to recreate the feeling of riding waves on land when the ocean was flat. Skateboarding officially became an Olympic sport in 2020, making its debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
As skateboarding’s popularity grows in Dallas and more families move to the city, Dallas leaders are working to meet demands. District 1 council member Chad West headed the effort.
“Skateboarders across the city were very interested in bringing a skateboard park to some other place in the district, preferably Oak Cliff,” West says. “I approached city staff and they explained that there was a pot of money available to a skate park, and if there was a community
interested in it, but to be fair and not to pick one community over the other. They asked for us to try to match it, or try to raise a certain amount of funds to unlock that money.”
The Oak Cliff park will be an addi tion to Westmoreland Park, designed for “all wheels,” meaning it will be a facility designed for skateboarders, bikers, roller skaters and scooter-ers to participate.
“We’re actually adding an addition to the park that’s been underserved for a long time,” Huerta says. “We’ll put infrastructure for the skate park, but we’re also planning to upgrade a lot of things that you see at the park at the same time.”
On March 27, skate park advocates announced a big jump in their $400,000 private fundraising goal,
Oak Cliff Skate Park nears fundraising goal
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
securing a $150,000 match pledge from the Eugene McDermott Foundation.
“Hitting that fundraising milestone was awesome,” West says. “It was a really significant moment. It’s hard to raise money for something of this nature, because, unlike a deck park, or some really significant downtown park where someone would put their name on it, this is in a location in a lower-income area in Oak Cliff, where probably a lot of our bigger donors have never even been to.”
In 2023, at the request of West, the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department committed $400,000 in public funds designated for skate
parks to match private donations $1 for $1 towards a new skate park.
By raising $400,000 in private funds, advocates secured $400,000 in matching public funds, totaling $800,000, that will be added to the $1 million in bond funding secured by West for the park in the 2024 Bond election. West, along with neighbors and members of Skate Parks for Dallas, raised $165,000 between 2023 and March 2025 towards the $400,000 private raise goal. On March 27, 2025, park supporters gathered at Cibo Divino marketplace to announce the new $150,000 pledge from the Eugene McDermott Foundation, a pledge intended to help close out the fundraising gap by late summer 2025. The Foundation’s $150,000 donation will be released once advocates raise $85,000.
“We’re excited and we’re elated that so many people want to help in our southern area,” Huerta says. “Living in Oak Cliff for 30 years, it really makes me happy that we’re actually getting those dollars.”
Additional donations towards the final $85,000 fundraising gap include: $20,000 from Lindsey
Billingsley,
$10,000 from Mintwood Real Estate, $10,000 from Hudson Henley and Geoff Henley, and $20,000 from David Spence. The final tally of donations, including the foundation’s $150,000 pledge, totaled $375,000 of $400,000 leaving only $25,000 left for advocates to raise over the summer.
Notable donations prior to March 27, 2025 included a previous $25,000 from the Eugene McDermott Foundation, $25,000 from Monty and Sarah Bennett, and $15,000 from Mintwood Real Estate.
“Generally, most skateboarders are not fabulously wealthy individuals. And so it was harder to raise money for this than I think some other parks have experienced,” West says. “But we persevered and continued doing so for a long time. The skate parks for Dallas organizers were always available to bring skaters out to events and host demonstrations so that we could pitch the benefits of it to our donors. And that was also extremely helpful.”
West says skate parks provide an alternate activity for teenagers and an outlet to expend energy.
“As they get older and their skills develop, they can really make a sport out of it, and it has really grown in popularity through the Olympics,” West says. “We’re really excited about it.”
How Peter Brodsky is working to restore the iconic South Dallas mall
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
“ONCE A GLAMOROUS PLACE TO BROWSE TITCHE’S AND DILLARD’S, TO HAVE LUNCH WITH FRIENDS AT EL CHICO OR WYATT’S CAFETERIA, A MALL BECAME A CAVERNOUS HAUNT OF T-SHIRT AIRBRUSH SHOPS, DISPOSABLE-FASHION STORES AND EMPTY SPACES.”
This is a line pulled from a 2019 Oak Cliff Advocate story titled “RedBird Redux.”
Today, it remains largely true.
Once a symbol of Southwest Dallas’ vibrancy, RedBird Mall had long fallen into decline — its iconic retailers replaced by empty storefronts and short-term shops.
A developer has been working to return the mall to its former glory as a community center and economic engine for Southwest Dallas.
RedBird Mall had fallen on hard times, losing its ties with the community with a name change to Southwest Center Mall and bankruptcy in 1997. For a time, it looked like it was going the way of other dying malls.
But the community pulled together, with resident and activist Edna Pemberton once going so far as to intervene when power to the mall was about to be cut off. City council member Tennell Atkins and former Mayor Mike Rawlings worked to keep the mall afloat and connected investor Peter Brodsky with the former owners of the main mall building to broker a deal on Sept. 18, 2015.
There have been a couple of previous efforts to revitalize the mall. What’s different this time is that Brodsky owns 78 acres, more of the mall than any previous owner.
The way malls were financed in the ’70s, a developer would build out the mall’s interior, but anchor tenants like J.C. Penney and Sears constructed and owned their buildings and adjacent parking lots.
It took 10 transactions to compile the acreage, including the entire mall except for Burlington Coat Factory and Sears. Brodsky also owns several adjacent retail pad sites.
Brodsky arrived in Dallas in 1995. His first 15 years were spent in North
The Shops at RedBird sits on 90 acres of property and remains largely empty. Photo by Austin Gibbs.
Dallas, and he didn’t know much about the Oak Cliff area.
“I started spending more time in southern Dallas. … I just discovered that it was so much more than what I’d been led to believe it was,” Brodsky says. “I thought it was sort of a uniformly poor neighborhood that was to be avoided. And what I found instead was a huge area, very diverse — racially, socio-economically — very physically beautiful, better topography and broad swaths of middle class communities, but when you drove around the commercial areas of those middle class areas, you did not see the amenities that one would expect to see.”
He had the investment idea to buy the mall and provide those attractive amenities.
“I was excited to do that, because I thought it would be a way to make a lucrative investment, but also do something that was positive and uplifting for the community,” Brodsky says. “RedBird was the perfect place.”
The Starbucks opened in 2019 and was a major milestone for the mall. It’s the first of what Brodsky called “early adopters” who were buying into the neighborhood.
“I’m happy to say, six years later, it is doing extremely well. I was just in there, and there was barely anywhere to sit,” Brodsky says.
Brodsky says COVID really changed the retail environment, and even before that, Amazon had changed it as well. He began to convert the anchor buildings into professional uses.
They signed a deal with UT Southwestern at the end of 2019 to occupy the former Sears building. They opened in February 2022 with a 150,000-square-foot clinic focusing on cancer and nutritional medicine, mammography and a women’s health clinic and a cardiology clinic.
At the same time, Parkland Health opened a primary care in the former Dillard’s building, and a 20,000-square-foot Dallas Entrepreneur Center was developed, which is an incubator space for hundreds of businesses. Brodsky has also developed a lot of the parcels along Camp Wisdom Road.
In addition to Starbucks, they’ve also brought in Chickfil-A, Jamba Juice, an AT&T Store, a Breakfast Brothers and a couple of banks.
“We’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Brodsky says.
Something they are still working on, though, is bringing in a grocery store. RedBird was very close to a deal with Tom Thumb, but the grocery store backed out.
The 50,000-square-foot Tom Thumb grocery store was set to be located at the southeast corner of Camp Wisdom and Westmoreland roads and expected to create at least 90 jobs.
Albertsons Companies, which owns the Tom Thumb chain, told the city Dec. 5 that it “decided to terminate its economic development incentive agreement with the City” and would no longer develop the Tom Thumb grocery store within the Shops at RedBird, according to a City of Dallas memo sent to the mayor and council members.
“That was a disappointment,” Brodsky says. “It was theirdecision, but I think it’s safe to say that they didn’t feel that their store was going to be a success there, and they decided not to pursue it. For us, it was incredibly disappointing because we have a lot of confidence that that store would have done extremely well. But we’ll just have to prove that with another grocer.”
Brodsky says they are also looking to bring in a hotel and have residential plans such as bringing in town homes. Additionally, they are looking to bring in more restaurants.
“There aren’t a lot of really high-quality mixed-use developments in Oak Cliff, and the people of Oak Cliff want the same things that the people of Preston Hollow and Far North Dallas, and all the neighborhoods in North Dallas, everybody wants the same sorts of things,” Brodsky says. “There’s no financial reason why this area can’t support those sorts of amenities. I think it’s really important for the community to be paid that respect of being provided those amenities, but also it’s really important for the economic development of the city.”
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JD’S TREE SERVICE Mantels, Headboards, Kitchen Islands, Dining tables. Made from Local Trees. www.jdtreeservice.com 214-946-7138
SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING
Cabinet Refacing, Built-ins, Entertainment/ Computer Centers. Jim. 469-585-1588 jhholbert2@att.net
CLEANING SERVICE
CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133
COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS
CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let a seasoned pro be the interface between you & that pesky Windows computer. Hardware/Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $100/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 972-639-6413 / stykidan@sbcglobal.net
CONCRETE, MASONRY & PAVING
ADVANCE STONE ART CREATIONS
Decorative Concrete Overlays. 214-705-5954
BRICK, BLOCK, Stone, Concrete, Stucco. Gonzalez Masonry. 214-395-1319
BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS
Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174
CONCRETE DRIVEWAY SPECIALISTS
Repairs,Replacement,Removal. References, Reasonable Chris Roberts. 20+ Yrs exp. 214-770-5001
FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls,BBQ’s Veneer, Flower Bed Edging. All Stone Work Chris Roberts, 20+Yrs Exp. 214-770-5001
JOHNSON PAVING Concrete, Asphalt, Driveways. New or Repair. 214-827-1530
Concrete • Driveways Retaining Walls Stamped Concrete
ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC
Master Electrician. Anthonyselectricofdallas.com
TECL24948
BENJAMINS PAINTING Hiring:18-26Yr.olds, Top Pay- Will Train. In Advocate since 2007. 214-725-6768
EXPERIENCED NANNY 2 months-6 Years
Great References.15 Years Experience warconie@gmail.com. 469-987-2172
WANTED: BOOKEEPER
Experienced in Quick books for general construction and home flipping. Send resume or call Ricky:(512) 554-6084
R.Moises.Garza@gmail.com EXTERIOR CLEANING
G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925
FENCING & DECKS
4 QUALITY FENCING • 214-507-9322
Specializing in Wood. YourWoodmaster.com
AMBASSADOR FENCE CO. Automatic Gates, Fences/Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers, Arbors. AmbassadorFenceCo.com 214-621-3217
FENCING, ARBORS, DECKS oldgatefence.co 214-766-6422
HANNAH WOODWORKS
• Decks • Pergolas • Patio Covers Hannahwoodworks.com 469-427-0058 or 214-435-9574
FOR SALE 6 pc Queen bedroom set (solid wood). Separately or together. Good Condition. $1200 for set. 956-645-1747
GARAGE SERVICES
UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned. 214-251-5428
GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS
ROCK GLASS CO Replace, Repair. Single,Double Panes. Showers, Mirrors. 214-837-7829
WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134
HANDYMAN SERVICES
DANHANDY.NET Repairs Done Right For A Fair Price. References 214-991-5692
HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628
HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/ Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635
HANDYMAN WANTS your Painting,Repairs, To Do Lists. Bob. 214-288-4232. Free Est. 25+yrs exp.
HOME REPAIR Small/Big Jobs. Int/Ext. Sheetrock, Windows, Kitchen, Bathroom 33 yrs exp. 214-875-1127
HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606
ONE CALL WEEKEND SERVICES Contractor & Handyman. Remodels, Renovations . Paint, Plumbing, Drywall, Electrical.469-658-9163
Let Us Tackle Your To-Do List!
HOUSE PAINTING
BENJAMINS PAINTING - Professional work @reasonable price. In Advocate since 2007 214-725-6768
TOP COAT 30 Yrs. Exp. Reliable. Quality Repair/Remodel. Phil @ 214-770-2863
RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513
TEXAS BEST PAINTING LLC Resd,Interiors 30Yrs. 214-527-4168
INTERIOR DESIGN
www.hallowedhallsinteriors.com
FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645
TK REMODELING 972-533-2872
Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com
MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Lawn Maintenance. Resd/ Commcl.Insd. CC’s Accptd. mayatreeservice.com 214-924-7058 214-770-2435
MONSTER TREE SERVICE DALLAS Certified Arborists, Fully Insured 469.983.1060 Locally harvested wood!
JD’s Tree Service
RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Firewood/Cooking Wood Full service trimming & planting of native trees. 214.946.7138
ORGANIZATION
A CHARMING HOME Decluttering + Organizing + Styling acharminghome.co 214-794-6382
PEST CONTROL
NATURE KING PEST MANAGEMENT INC. Squirrels, Racoons, Skunks, Snakes, Possums, etc. Pest & Termite. Neighborhood Resident 30+ Yrs.exp. 214-827-0090
"Keeping Children & Pets in Mind" Termite Specialist - Mosquito Mister Systems Licensed · Insured · Residential · Commercial · Organic 214-350-3595 • Abetterearth.crw@gmail.com abetterearth.com
PLUMBING
AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943 ANCHOR PLUMBING Your trusted Oak Cliff plumber for 30+ years. 214-946-1638.
staggsplumbing.co
POOLS
CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996
REAL ESTATE
ESTATE HOME NEEDS TO BE SOLD? Facing forclosure? IG Heron Homes Call Ricardo Garza @ 469-426-7839
NEAR WRLAKE 2/1 DUPLEX. Hdwds, Appl. Yard Serv. CHA, 1/carport. $1,400+Dep. 469879-2977
OFFICE SUBLEASE In Bishop Arts. Cool, Quiet. 1,179 Sq ft. 4 rooms + kit / bath, parking. $2,950 + NNNs. 713.302-7722.
WHERE CAN I FIND LOCAL
REMODELING
A2H GENERAL CONTRACTING,LLC
Remodeling, Painting, Drywall/Texture, Plumbing, Electrical,Siding, Bathroom/Kitchen Remodels, Tilling, Flooring, Fencing. 469-658-9163. Free Estimates.
A2HGeneralContractingLLC@gmail.com
FENN CONSTRUCTION Kitchens And Baths. Call Us For Your Remodeling Needs. 214-343-4645. dallastileman.com
RENOVATE DALLAS
renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247
S&L CONSTRUCTION All Home Services & Repairs. 214-918-8427
Kitchens, Bathrooms, Windows, Doors, Siding, Decks, Fences, Retaining Walls, New Construction New Construction & Remodels FiferCustomHomes.com• 214-727-7075
TK REMODELING
KITCHEN • BATHS
Complete Remodeling and Restoration
Design Build • Detailed Professionals
TKREMODELINGTX.COM 972 533-2872
ROOFING & GUTTERS
BERT ROOFING INC.
Family owned and operated for over 40 years
• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com 214.321.9341
SERVICES FOR YOU
AGING ROOF? New Homeowner? Got Storm Damage? You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind their work. Fast, free estimate. Financing Available.1-888-878-9091.
BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-761-1725
SERVICES FOR YOU
BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation,production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author’s guide 1-877-729-4998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ads
DENTAL INSURANCE-Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Covers 350 procedures. Real insurance -not a discount plan. Get your free dental info kit! 1-888-623-3036 www.dental50plus.com/58 #6258
DIRECTV STREAM - Carries the most local MLB Games! ChoicePackage $89.99/mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once.HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/Choice Package or higher.)No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-866-859-0405
DONATE YOUR CARS TO VETERANS TODAY. Help and Support our Veterans. Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800 -245-0398
ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855-402-0373
GENERAC Prepare for power outages today with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Down + Low Monthly Pmt. Request a free Quote. Call before the next power outage: 1-844-334 -8353
GET DISH SATELLITE TV +INTERNET Free Install, Free HD-DVR Upgrade, 80,000 On-Demand Movies, Plus Limited Time Up To $600 In Gift Cards. Call Today! 1-866-479-1516
SERVICES FOR YOU
HUGHESNET Finally, super-fast internet no matter where you live.25 Mbps just $59.99/mo! Unlimited Data is Here. Stream Video. Bundle TV & Internet. Free Installation. Call 866-499 -0141
INFLATION is at 40 year highs. Interest rates are way up.CreditCards. Medical Bills. Car Loans. Do you have $10k or more in debt? Call National Debt Relief to find out how to pay off your debt for significantly less than what you owe! Free quote.1-877-592-3616
PROFESSIONAL LAWN SERVICE: Fertilization, weed control, seeding, aeration & mosquito control. Call now for a free quote. Ask about our first application special! 1-833-606-6777
REPLACE your roof with the best looking & longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! 3 styles & multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off install + Additional 10% off install. (military, health &1st responders.) 1-833-370-1234
SAFE STEP North America's #1 Walk-in tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top-of-the-line installation and service. Now featuring our free shower package & $1600 off - limited time! Financing available. 1-855-417-1306
THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services WATER DAMAGE
cleanup & restoration: A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home's value! Call 24/7: 1-888-872-2809
TUTORING/ LESSONS
GARTH ORR - TUTOR Math & Physics grade 8-12. Private Tutoring that works! garthorr.com
Let’s work together to unlock your child’s full potential. Ready to learn.
A Next-Level Real Estate Experience
