Did 3525 Turtle Creek ever obtain Landmark Status?

What about that multi million dollar assessment to improve the interiors and exteriors?

What is the total number of units in the building?

What physical changes are proposed for the exterior elevation?

Has anyone agreed on anything?

Update: An earlier version of this post, and my interview on WRR, contained information that I had been given from a knowledgeable source who told me one reason why the Bushes bought their new home on Daria Place was that their neighbor, Tom Hicks, had agreed to give them access to his helipad. A spokesperson for Mr. Hicks tells me he does not have a helipad on his property.  While Mr. Hicks occasionally obtains a day permit to land a helicopter on his land, I’m now told there was never any official discussion about letting the President and Mrs. Bush “borrow the landing space”.

Or get me shot.

I thought the black Maybach outside was his, but was told it belongs to Gene Jones, also dining at CP.

My husband likes Scotch whiskey. My future son-in-law also likes Scotch whiskey. We were in Mexico this weekend, and Dr. V was intrigued by the value of the Scotch at the duty-free shops. (Get the connection? He’s part Scottish; not only does he like bargains on his liquor, he saves ketchup packets and will squirt them into the fridge ketchup container annually.) Told we could legally take home 4 liters of Scotch whiskey, he snagged 4 liters at the duty-free store in Cabo and hauled ‘em home on the plane. Imagine our surprise when we passed through customs, our purchases clearly marked on the travel forms, to learn that the state of Texas will not allow more than 2 liters of liquor into this state from Mexico — one liter per person. As the customs agent told us, if we were connecting on to another flight to another state, we would have paid a small tariff and gone on our merry. The agents further told me that TABC recently cracked down on them for not being tough enough on Texas liquor law violations. “Do you see any TABC officials here?” asked the customs agent. His message: Texas was asking the feds to do their work, and they did not like it. Well yes, I agreed, I’d certainly rather have you guys checking for drugs and bombs, the really bad stuff, not two liters of Glen Livet.  (So, um, can I have my booze and go home now?) Frustrated as they were, no shirking their jobs: $100 worth of Glen Livet was confiscated and poured down a sink at DFW. And we were not the only alcoholics dumb dumbs. Walking into the “serious” customs area, I saw piles of neatly packaged liquor bottles and knew we were in for it.

So I ask: why is Texas so weird about limiting liters of liquor? Why isn’t TABC policing throngs of tourists bringing home bargain booze from Mexico? Why force the U.S. Customs agents to diddle with dumping confiscated liquor down the drain at DFW and let them focus on TRUE contraband. And where do the drain lines at D/FW end up?

My best line during the fiasco: could you at least give it to a homeless person?

“Regarding volume of moves at the city level there are notable inbound numbers for Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Charlotte and Raleigh.”

National Moving Report Notes Continued Trend Away From Northeast

Nationwide Moving Service Releases Annual Moving Trends Report

(FORT SMITH, Arkansas, January 2, 2009) – An annual report released by ABF U-Pack Moving^® indicates that more people moved to Texas from within the U.S. than any other state in the union. Northeastern states, particularly in the Rust Belt, continue to lose residents to other states.

When looking at volume of moves, New York, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania represented significant outbound activity. Southern states continue to see a higher influx of interstate moves, particularly North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.

Each year ABF U-Pack Moving, a nationwide moving service specializing in out-of-state moves, reports on trends for those who moved with the company. “Moving long distance is a major ordeal for most people,” says Jim Ingram, ABF Vice President of Market Development. “It is interesting to pause and think about where people are moving from, where they are moving to and why.” Ingram notes several big events in 2008 which are discussed in the report and could potentially affect moving trends over the next year.  Headline events such as the housing foreclosure crisis and the struggling American automotive industry could have an affect on long distance moving. Ingram points out that these trends are socially significant. “Population shifts can have a ripple effect, determining things like the tax base for cities, thriving economies or how many Electoral College votes and representatives a state receives,” Ingram adds.

Regarding volume of moves at the city level there are notable inbound numbers for Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Charlotte and Raleigh. Heavy outbound cities include Oakland, Orlando, Las Vegas and Miami.

The report also looks at percentage of inbound to outbound moves. Once again several Southern states reveal high percentages of people moving in from other states. Hawaii, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Montana, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana make up the “Top Ten” list of cities with high inbound percentages.

Northeastern states top the lists for high percentages of outbound interstate moves including New Jersey in the top spot. In addition to “The Garden State” the top ten include Delaware, Rhode Island, Nevada, Michigan, California, Alaska, Connecticut, New York and Florida.

###

To receive a copy of the full report or specific information on your city or state contact: publicrelations@upack.com.

U-Pack^® is a service of ABF Freight System, Inc^®, an award-winning transporter of general commodities. In 1997, ABF^® began offering its shipping services directly to consumers via U-Pack Moving. In doing so, the carrier introduced an alternative means of moving residential and business belongings cross country. U-Pack combines the professional driver and equipment of a traditional full-service mover with the cost savings of a rental truck.

Contact: Kay Lynn Clay, manager of business development

Telephone: (479) 785-8686

Neal contacted me when he read about the Bush home purchase on this blog, and made plans to fly to Dallas and check out the President’s home turf. He asked me if I would spend some time with him, show him the new Bush digs, and Dallas homes in general. If you know anything about me, I jumped at the chance and spent about two delightful hours showing off Dallas homes December 20. His documentary will run January 19, Bush’s last day in office, and we hope to have a link on Dallas Dirt. It will be translated into 30 languages and beamed just about everywhere. I about choked on my peach mango iced tea with Neal this morning at Celebrity Cafe at Preston Royal when I learned of the world dignitaries he’s canvassed for reflections: the Dalai Lama, Hamid Karzie, Jacob Zuma, Desmond Tutu, Sherry Blair, Gordon Brown. He asked producers at all BBC bureaus to tack on questions about the Bush legacy on all interviews with high profile leaders.

His colleague, Justin Webb, BBC Washington correspondent, interviewed former Bush chief of staff Andrew Card. But Neal wanted to come to Dallas to poke Bush roots for himself, kick the tires in Crawford as well as get an inkling of where the President will soon be putting up his boots. Neal spent Sunday in Crawford, then returned to Dallas to interview future Bush neighbors on Daria Place. It’s always fun to interview a journalist, give us a taste of our own poison pen — or in this case, microphone. So I had to ask…

What has been the response from all those world leaders? Mixed, says Neal. He was particularly surprised that even African leaders did not focus on the President’s pouring billions of dollars into Aids research — instead, the first thing that came to every one’s mind: the Iraq war.

“For better or worse,” says Neal, “It seems that’s the first thing he will be remembered for.”

911 happened when he was in office, says Neal, Iraq was a choice — for better or worse. Bush and his supporters claim it’s way too early to judge if Iraq will be his crowned thorn legacy. But being in Dallas helped Neal understand the President has a lot of fiercely loyal friends here immensely proud of the leadership he showed post 9/11 despite the “I” word.

Then I had to gauge his reaction to Dallas real estate as a Brit, home of the world’s priciest real estate. Neal and his wife, a political theorist at the University of London, live in a 50 square meter flat — equivalent to about 500 square feet. In late 2006, as the world real estate market burned “white hot”, Neal and his wife attempted to qualify to buy a bit of London real estate north of the Thames. Like our Trinity River once red lined “good” and inferior neighborhoods, in London the Thames is the dividing line between prime and less choice properties. All Neal and he wife could qualify for north of the Thames was a parking spot in Chelsea.

Not that being north of the Thames insures any greater safety — London is quite the crime-ridden metropolis, regardless of where you live.

“When I am giving someone directions to our flat from the tube, I say we are three muggings south of Elephant and Castle.”

So it was very interesting to stroll this man through Highland Park, show him 3500 Beverly, the corner of Euclid and Highland where everyone thought Bush was building a fortress, meander up Preston Road (“this was where they drove the cattle?”) past Ralph Lauren and settle down the dusty country roads of Preston Hollow.

“Where are the sidewalks?” Neal asked me.

They don’t want them, I explained; it adds to the gentrified ambiance, as if we were about to go on a fox hunt. Oh and if you have one acre in Preston Hollow you can still have a horse — one horse per acre. Which mean yes, the Bushes may have one horse at 10141 Daria Place if they so desire.

Neal felt homes in Dallas were very generous. What I described as a water feature would be a natural park in Britain, he said. Do the British live very differently, I teased?

I don’t think Texans could possibly understand how small places are in London, he replied.

(Most London flats, he explained, are three and four bedroom Victorian homes turned to apartments – we figured the Bushes could get a good ten flats out of Daria Place.)

As for the Bush home, he believes it was a sensible purchase and quite understated compared to the neighboring homes. Dallas, he said, is lovely and loaded with warm, extraordinary people. However, coming from London, staying at the Adolphus, he could not believe how dead downtown Dallas was despite the construction.

“I wanted to go to a regular bookstore, but it was more than two miles away, and then it was a Christian bookstore,” says Neal. No lunch is served downtown after two p.m. because the restaurants are not busy enough to stay open all afternoon — face it: Dallas is not a 24/7 metrapolis like Chicago or New York. Nowhere near yet, anyhow.

“I felt I was a lonely pilgrim walking around.”

Well, nothing like a trip to Preston Hollow, Celebrity Cafe and Borders to get a pilgrim ming fellow journalist settled for his long voyage home. Looking forward to the report, Neal, and safest travels!

Update: We just finished the interview, and I love Karen, love Stewart! What a great interview — we wanted 15 minutes, we talked for 25. Am very excited about what they are doing and you will be, too! And as a housewarming gift, I am going to give Ribbit Wick’s Candy, Say It Ain’t So Joe, Heeeeere’s Johnny, Orange You On Vacation, Dooner and a host of commenters from the Dallas Dirt Comments Hall of Fame.  

Industry veterans pioneer new media about North Texas real estate

RealEstateRIBBIT.com targets booming Internet news readers

(DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX – Nov. 3, 2008) – Four North Texas industry journalists are introducing a ‘New Media’ Web site focused on residential real estate news and features for Dallas/Fort Worth’s $6 billion home-buying and homebuilding industry.

The Internet site – RealEstateRibbit.com – is slated to go on-line Friday, Nov. 21. It provides viewers comprehensive insight into the residential real estate market with daily news stories and features. It also offers a blog – called Frog Blog – to promote on-line discussions on the important issues of the market.

The name Ribbit, in honor of the esteemed frog, seemed appropriate in the Internet world populated by great companies with names like Google, Yahoo and now Ribbit, says partner Stewart Lytle. “Our target audience is the home-buying public and industry leaders – builders, Realtors, developers, mortgage lenders and suppliers. Anyone who lives in a home, builds,  sells, mortgages, designs or offers products and services for homes will find valuable news and information.”

Partners Karen Taylor, Beverly Smirnis, Steve Smirnis and Mr. Lytle are veteran observers and writers with extensive experience in regional real estate media. “We hope homebuilders, Realtors and their customers will turn to Ribbit every day for information about North Texas’ dynamic residential market,” Ms. Taylor said. “Interviews focus on a wide variety of news makers and it will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on RealEstateRibbit.com.”

Ribbit will link to other industry Web sites and provide news and features in an industry estimated at $6.6 billion by Residential Strategies. The site will provide in-depth information and analysis on trends, green building, new home construction, sales and marketing of pre-owned homes, remodeling, lifestyle issues, new products and services. It also will report on charitable activities by Realtors, homebuilders and others.

“An estimated 90 percent of buyers start their home search on the Internet. Ribbit will serve that North Texas market with independent news and features for consumers and industry leaders. It also is timely for the millions of people who get much of their news on the Web today,” Ms. Smirnis said.

Mr. Smirnis concurred:  “A recent study by Bridge Ratings, a resource for tracing radio and new media audiences, projects that by 2009 monthly Internet radio listening will reach 38 percent of the U.S. population. The Internet and the Web have revolutionized the way the global population accesses information.”

Partners are members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas as well as members of the Texas Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

Stewart Lytle is a long-time writer and broadcaster on home buying and selling, building, land development and innovative home products. He has interviewed and written about hundreds of D/FW industry leaders in print media including Scripps-Howard Newspapers in Washington, D.C., The Dallas Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News.

Ms. Taylor has written about the real estate industry and business in the Southwest for more than 30 years.  She was on the team that launched The Dallas Morning News’ Home section and has won numerous awards for writing, reporting and editing. She owns Southwest Ink Public Relations, a leading public relations firm specializing in the real estate industry.

Beverly and Steve Smirnis have published magazines for the D/FW homebuilding industry for more than 17 years.  They currently publish Building SAVVY Magazine® covering new and pending legislation, financial and legal issues, and sales and marketing tips for home builders and remodelers.

For more information, call 972.889.2800 or visit www.RealEstateRibbit.com.