Mike Ablon

DEVELOPER PERSPECTIVE DALLAS 2036

BUILDING THE FABRIC FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN CITY

BY MIKE ABLON

IN 1936, DALLAS HOSTED THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBIT FOR THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. IN JUST LESS THAN 15 YEARS, DALLAS SHOULD HOST THE STATEWIDE CELEBRATION FOR THE BICENTENNIAL.

When we do this, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is projected to have a population of 10.2 million. When my father was four years old, he attended the Texas Centennial Exposition at the newly built fairgrounds in Fair Park. At that time, the local population was only 234,000. Therea er, the population of DFW started doubling every 10 to 20 years.

This stunning growth has brought unending opportunities and incredible job opportunities, as well as unanswered questions and unfulfi lled gaps. From here, how do we answer the question: How do we grow our economy in the next decade, recruit talent, recruit new companies, incubate new homegrown companies, and simultaneously fulfi ll our best destiny as a city—for all its current and future citizens? Simply asked, what will Dallas become? What will be our destiny?

Before answering this question, it is healthy to look outside ourselves for a moment. We are reminded that we are living in a time of accelerated change in technology, which aff ects every aspect of our personal and business lives, bringing substantial generational diff erences, changing demographics, a rapidly evolving knowledge economy, and global drivers with which we have close associations and no immunities.

It might well be argued that the answer to these questions (What will Dallas become? What will be our destiny?) may largely be found in the confl uence of two things: our current status and the state of our given advantages, and how we harness these paradigm shi s to our advantage. So we need to harness our strengths, mitigate our weaknesses, and strategically position ourselves with actions. Our to-do lists could be written from many perspectives—all carrying strong currency of thought, importance, relevance, and actionable items. But we should always remember that we will prosper to the highest level only if we all benefi t and prosper together.

One of the least discussed, and most interesting opportunities, lies in the articulate and focused intention of reformatting our city in a manner that builds the city fabric and directly recruits the talent and businesses we desire. A er all, at their core, cities are neighborhoods, communities, and the ties that bind.

In the past decades, we have chased corporate relocations with incentive packages. That was a diff erent time, a diff erent economy, and though it seems not so long ago, a diff erent corporate America. Today’s corporate America no longer choses its location and expects talent to come to it. Today’s businesses understand that talent migrates to where it wants to live, and that they must go there—to the talent. Therefore, to harness growth, a city should no longer chase businesses as a primary objective. Cities should chase talent as their prime objective, knowing that companies will immediately follow.

In this brave new world, business follows talent, and talent moves to where it believes it will fi nd opportunity, happiness, and prosperity.

Positive and prosperous growth will go disproportionately to cities that invest in the day-to-day lives of their citizens. It is that simple. This means investing in distinct neighborhoods, supporting all communities, and building the hard and so infrastructure that together forms the ties that bind.

The ties that bind include public parks, mobility and transportation systems, education systems, housing and food to support challenged citizens, and security and health care supporting all. For Dallas, growth will come to us; this has been the paradigm for the century since the Texas Centennial Exposition, and all trend lines indicate this will keep up. In other words, Dallas will continue to become more dense. Momentum will bring many good things of their own accord; but unchecked and unattended, momentum can also exacerbate the diffi culties that challenge larger cities.

The heart of the Dallas miracle has always been based on community and a can-do, handson spirit. If these words applied in the early days of Dallas’ growth, they apply even more in this internet age of systemic transformations moving at radical speeds. Nothing replaces the human touch, or the emotional fulfi llment found in neighborhoods, communities, and the ties that bind. When cities invest in building and nurturing what can’t be bought or found in the virtual world of the internet, they create unique places where we want to live and work.

Dallas’ history was built by bold moves. The shi away from Love Field and Meacham Airports seemed almost incomprehensible 50 years ago, and today we almost underappreciate the catalytic engine that Dallas Fort Worth International Airport provides for us as one of the largest airports in the world. With DFW Airport, we are no more than one touch removed from most of the globe. Moves like this require big aspirations and bring big payoff s.

We should continue these moves. Current examples include the complete redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas and a major reenvisioning of Fair Park for the 2036 bicentennial.

At the same time, we must remember that, for every colossal endeavor we have undertaken and should undertake, as great and catalytic as they all are, the lives of the people now in Dallas (and those yet to come) play out almost entirely, from one day to the next, in our neighborhoods and communities.

No big projects will ever replace the warmth of belonging, the hopes that come with the infrastructure that gi s us aspirations, and the feeling that there is a powerful hand out there that we all provide for each other. We will be the third-largest city in America in 15 short years—that is our destiny. The only question is—through aspiration, strategy, and dedication to following through—how great a city we can become for all of us.

It should have always been, and should always be, about all of us prospering together. In a world of growing binaries, “One Dallas” must remain our aspirational calling card. It is aspirational. We aren’t there yet. No city ever truly gets there. But a deep belief in the potential of neighborhoods, communities, and the ties that bind, for all of us, is the fundamental building block—it’s the fi rst step.

MIKE ABLON

Mike Ablon is past chairman of The Real Estate Council and a founding partner of PegasusAblon, a commercial real estate development, investment and management company based in Dallas.