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Dallas, TX
Save downtown Dallas building destroyed by squatters? No, thanks
Summer was just getting started when Dallas City Council member Jesse Moreno set off alarm bells about a vacant city-owned building that had been vandalized and ravaged just blocks from City Hall.
That this happened under the noses of city leaders was embarrassing, but even worse, it was expensive. The building at 711 S. St. Paul St. was no longer suitable for public use, covered in graffiti, with its plumbing and wiring ripped out and its rooms reeking of feces and urine. It required a cleaning company to remove the biohazards throughout.
By Aug. 28, after intense debate, the City Council voted to sell the building at auction.
If you interact with City Hall regularly, you know that glaciers move faster. By those standards, the council’s decision to liquidate the property three months after the squatting and the vandalism came to its attention is, well, progress.
So we couldn’t help but sigh in frustration when Dallas preservationists stepped in to say this building that no one but squatters paid any mind to for so long — not city officials, not the preservationists — is in a historic district recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Wouldn’t it be a shame if it were demolished? The leader of a preservation group suggested the city advertise the availability of state and federal preservation tax credits along with the property.
Why complicate the matter? The city was right to stick to a basic advertisement for an auction Oct. 2. Find out what the market wants and sell off the property. Take care of this nuisance to residents and business owners.
Under the council’s chosen two-tier bidding process, potential buyers will offer a price for the property as-is and one for just the land, with the understanding that the city would demolish the building before transferring the property.
As for this historic building, we’re not talking about John Neely Bryan’s original cabin here. The low-slung structure was built in 1947 and served as a regional plant for American Optical, an eyewear company. Not exactly the stuff of postcards (or city manager recruitment brochures).
Perhaps there is a developer out there who would pay top dollar for an anonymous building that has been stripped of the infrastructure that made it functional — maybe someone who is passionate about the history of American eyewear manufacturing. That developer would have to apply for and agree to the strings attached to preservation tax credits, which require that properties be rehabilitated according to meticulous federal standards. That seems unlikely.
The city’s economic development department is right when it says that a one-story building is not the highest and best use for the land. This is an area that is set to be transformed by the redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and where higher density is planned.
We often lament how the city doesn’t take care of its history, but the drama with 711 S. St. Paul St. is a chapter that City Hall should be eager to close.
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Jeff Kolb and Sam Gannon welcome Cowboys insiders Clarence Hill (All City Dallas) and Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) for a hilarious breakdown of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Giving insight, arguments, and plenty of laughs as two of the best Dallas Cowboys writers in the business go head-to-head on what Dallas should do next.
Dallas, TX
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The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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