REAL ESTATE REPORT area home values BUSINESS BUZZ

WHAT’S UP WITH NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES

Shopping Center Overhauls

Lake Highlands will soon be home to the newest Alamo Drafthouse after plans were solidified for the movie theater to open shop at the old Tom Thumb that’s been vacant for three years at Skillman and Abrams. No word on when the theater might open, there’s still plenty of city paperwork and renovations that need to happen first. But it’s expected to be the first in a wave of new developments at the shopping center. “We’re talking to a million different tenants from Rudy’s to El Fenix to a pizza concept to an Asian fusion concept. We have more interest than we have space,” says Mark Hajdu of property broker Triumph, which oversees the center.

Kiss that Condoms To Go sign goodbye, the shopping center The Hill at Walnut Hill Lane and North Central Expressway is getting a major makeover. Soon, the Austin-based sustainable building supply store TreeHouse will open there, bringing its signature parklike design that is inspiring a revamp across the center. The 25,000-squarefoot site will include between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet of dedicated green space. Additional green space is being added at the center to give it a new look.

New In The Neighborhood

Shady’s is all about the neighborhood, with its backyard style seating and laid back atmosphere. It opened recently at Audelia and Walnut Hill, and hopes to quickly make itself apart of the Lake Highlands scene. “A big part of what we do is, we’re community driven,” says general manager Cole Lapwing. “We do a lot of spirit nights and fundraisers –anything local. A lot of our staff have local connections, and we’re trying to keep that at-home feel and be that place where everyone can hang out and say, hey, I know that person and go sit down. It’s a neighborhood spot kind of place.”

Bad For Business

Just weeks after five Dallas officers were killed in an ambush on police on July 7, Genghis Grill faced a public relation nightmare when, according to an employee told a group of cops they were not welcome in the Greenville Avenue establishment, supposedly because they would make the other patrons uncomfortable. The restaurant immediately apologized on social media, adding “We have investigated this incident and acted swiftly and removed the employee in question from Genghis Grill.”

Internationally Recognized

We know our Dallas Arboretum is a gem of the city, but now the world knows it, too. Architectural Digest named it one of the 15 most breathtaking botanical gardens in the entire world. It was listed with luminaries like Gardens of the Palace of Versailles in France, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden in Brazil.