Valley View Summary
The Dallas International District is a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform an aging area into a vibrant, live, work and play community. Brining new amenities to surrounding neighborhoods, such as a new 20 acre park, restaurants, retail, office space and a new DISD STEAM Academy. Click Here to learn more about the Dallas International District vision.
Residents are rightly frustrated at the lack of progress on the demolition of the old Valley View Mall. Since we elected Jaynie, she has worked to expedite the process, using city’s legal authority when necessary to end the delays.
City staff has been working diligently to ensure the demolition of the mall, which was recently expedited due to another fire where two firefighters were injured. The City Attorney's office is upholding the letter of obligation and are prepared to sue, if necessary, the DPD is moving forward with the Habitual Criminal Property designation if the mall if not torn down, and Code Compliance is ensuring the trespassing and other issues are stopped. Jaynie Schultz is on top of this situation daily.
As a resource to residents, below is a summary of recent reporting on the process and additional facts.​
Valley View In The News
“You’ve got one or two really bad property owners there that are acting like it’s all about them. They’re just bad actors,” former Dallas City Councilman Lee Kleinman said in an exit interview last year. “But that northeast corner is just a wasteland. And that property owner owns the half-torn down mall and won’t complete the demolition of the mall, and just wants to blame their incompetence on everybody else.”
“Foot-dragging developer Scott Beck has the upper hand in this six-year battle. He’s sitting on a gold mine — one of the few remaining large and developable sites left in North Dallas."
​
"The City Attorney’s Office sent Beck a letter late last month demanding removal of the last hunk of the still-sorta-standing mall."
​
“We’re looking for partners, not opportunists” is how Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry assessed the state of things when he returned my call Sunday.”
“The former Valley View mall site caught fire and dozens of firefighters responded to the structure in Far North Dallas early Saturday."
"Developers bought the Valley View Center site in 2012 with plans to demolish the structure and turn the property into a mix of retail, apartments, office space and a park, but the process has dragged on for more than a decade. City officials want the site cleared by late July.”
“It’s true that Beck’s grand plans for its “Midtown” development, featuring shops, restaurants, office towers, a hotel and even a park, have fallen flat in the last decade. It’s less a beehive of activity and more of a rat’s nest and eyesore, and it’s been that way for years.”
​
“Two firefighters have been injured while battling a structure fire at the old Valley View Center in North Dallas on Thursday.”
“Finally, Former Valley View Mall Is Being Demolished”
​
Valley View Facts
-
The mall property has three owners, Beck Ventures, Seritage, Lifetime. Lifetime and Beck are in a partnership.
-
Chapter 212 of the State of Texas and pursuant to the City of Dallas Development code private developments often trigger the need for private developers to make public infrastructure improvements. This means that all of the property owners have known for years that they would be responsible for the sewer line, roads and other public infrastructure improvements unless they made arrangements with the city. The City of Dallas has made no such deals.
-
The delay in the sewer line was due to the owners in lawsuits over payment sharing.
-
The sewer line is complete.
-
As evidenced by the Seritage property which has roads and storm sewers, experienced developers can make a property shovel ready for new development.
-
Beck Ventures owns the mall.
-
The portion of the mall allowed to remain standing was because AMC Theatre was still in operation until January 2022.
-
In February 2022, the City of Dallas immediately began negotiations with Beck ventures to begin demolition of the remainder of the mall only to have those discussions come to an end when the City refused to pay the abatement costs.
-
When it became clear that Beck ventures could not adequately secure the property, on November 18, 2022 the City of Dallas issued a letter from the City Attorney’s office with expected deadlines for abatement and demolition.
-
Demolition was and IS to be completed by June 1, 2023 in order to avoid a lawsuit.
-
All expenses related to abatement, demolition and security were the responsibility of Beck Ventures.
-
State regulations require that notification be made to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) before beginning renovation projects which include the disturbance of any asbestos-containing material in a building or facility or before the demolition of a building or facility. On December 1, 2022, the demolition company submitted the required notice to DSHS. The notice provided an expected work schedule for demolition activity, including a start and end date of December 15, 2022, and March 15, 2023, respectively, for asbestos abatement; and a start and end date of March 16, 2023, and July 28, 2023, respectively, for demolition.
-
When a fire occurred February 14, 2022 the City of Dallas began pursuing Habitual Criminal Property Nuisance (HCP) designation which requires a meeting with the Dallas Police Department and significant security improvements. The letter of presumption was noticed February 22, 2022 and the owner had a chance to rebut the designation.
-
When the second fire broke out in the early morning hours of March 16th, the demolition was 90% complete.
-
Two firefighters were injured.
-
Councilmember Schultz was onsite and helped coordinate the demolition company, which held the master contract for abatement and demolition as well as the abatement permit with DSHS, and City of Dallas Departments, which issued the master demolition permit, to be able to expedite demolition despite abatement not being complete.
-
Environmental concerns regarding asbestos were mitigated due to the demolition being a “wet process” so asbestos will not enter the atmosphere and materials which mis with the remaining asbestos will be disposed in a hazardous materials dump, not the City of Dallas landfill.
-
Demolition began March 16 2023.
-
Due to an ongoing refusal to meet the demands of the HCP, the designation is final as of March 20, 2023.
-
There are no plans currently at the City of Dallas for ANY development by Beck Ventures.