BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Construction updates: dog park and town center

The White Rock Lake Dog Park, which closed in late-April for reconstruction, looks like a pile of dirt these days, but the renovations are on schedule, representatives say. “The contractor has completed all demolition work and is working on storm drainage system,” says Leong F. Lim, the program manager for design, engineering and site development with the Parks and Rec Department. The projected re-opening date is February 2015. At one point, city officials tossed around the idea of building a temporary dog park at White Rock Lake while the big one was under construction, but that would have cost about $40,000, which they decided to put toward the final project instead.

At the May 19 Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association meeting, District 10 councilman Jerry Allen said he expected an announcement from Lake Highlands Town Center developers regarding an anchor tenant in a couple of weeks. But as of publication time, the town center developers Cypress Realty had not responded to inquiries, and Allen says, “I had hoped by

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now we would have an announcement but remain encouraged by the work of both parties.” Meanwhile, the one building/business occupying the property, Haven Lake Highlands apartment homes, is filling units. A three-bedroom runs about $2,200 a month.

T. Hee closes Mockingbird store

T. Hee Greetings & Gifts in Hillside Village at Mockingbird and Abrams will close July 31. Last year the Lake Highlands-based business shuttered its third location in Preston Center after three months in business. With the closing of the four-year-old Hillside Village location, T. Hee’s original location on Walnut Hill and Audelia is the last store standing. T. Hee explains the decision to close the Hillside Village location via blog post. It went something like this: Co-owner David Farris returned to full-time work, leaving business partner Tony Doles to operate both locations by himself. As a result, the business partners “decided it was best to consolidate to one store instead of continuing to run Tony into the ground managing two separate locations.” As long as loyal customers continue to shop locally and support the neighborhood store, they note, “We should be golden.”

1 Thai Opal restaurant recently replaced Ginger Thai at the southeast corner of Skillman and Abrams. 2 Denver-based CorePower Yoga opened at Mockingbird Station location July 31. 3 Hillside Village (Abrams-Mockingbird) shops Random and Ditto are merging and moving to the other side of White Rock Lake.

Advantage Self Storage coming soon

Following a rezoning approval earlier this year, 1.4 acres of vacant land at the southeast corner of Northwest Highway and Solta will be developed into a 65,900-square-foot Advantage Self Storage facility. The rezoning met approval only after much discussion and collaboration on the parts of the city, the developers and the surrounding homeowners, Charles Wicker, a member of the Old Lake Highlands Neighborhood Association says. “They’ve held several meetings over the past year, addressing concerns and modifying site plans,” Wicker says. “Neighbors thought the first plans looked like something that you’d see in Frisco, so we worked with an architect to design the facility with a midcentury modern look that is more complimentary to the businesses nearby.” Other concerns ranged from dumpster location to noise and security. The latest plan includes limiting harsh exterior lighting, preserving the Live Oak trees along the perimeter of the property and providing an additional 10 feet of buffer (compared to original proposal) between the facility and the residences. The council subsequently lifted the zoning restrictions. As of now, “plans have been submitted to the city of Dallas for permit, and we expect approval by early/mid-September,” says Rick Jones, Advantage president. “We’ll start construction then and expect to be open for business in 2015.”

Paddleboard lessons at White Rock Lake

Tyler Marshall, proprietor of DFW Surf, recently launched stand-up paddle boarding (more widely known as SUP) lessons at White Rock Lake. Classes meet at the Boomerang across from White Rock Boat House and run about $40. Visit DFWsurf.com for schedules and to book classes. Interested readers can also email tyler@dfwsurf.com with questions.