No Building Inspections will be conducted the week of 12/23/2024 - 12/27/2024

791 Main St Project

Summary

The 791 Main Street property is a former bank on the corner of Main and Mill Street in historic downtown Dallas. Once home to the Dallas City Bank (later Oregon Bank), the site has been a cornerstone of Dallas History and commerce. Since the closure of Bank of America in 2019, the site has been a prime candidate for redevelopment. In 2023, the City of Dallas finalized the purchase of the site and began to move forward with its redevelopment plan. In early 2024, the City issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a qualified firm to conduct market analysis, perform initial design work, and assist in soliciting a private developer to redevelop the site in accordance with the community's preferences. In June 2024, demolition began on the site, and the city is still evaluating potential interim uses for the property.

Project Vision and Design Options

During the summer and fall of 2024, the consultant team worked with the city to conduct a survey, interview key stakeholders from across Dallas, and develop a vision for the property, site design features, and specific design options.

This is the vision that emerged after meeting with stakeholders:

Dallas’ vision for a future building at 791 Main Street:

A multi-story, mixed-use building, with restaurant or retail uses on the ground floor, and lodging (hotel) or housing above.
A timeless, high-quality, well-designed building that is compatible with the surrounding historic district.
Attract more people and activity downtown, and continue to revitalize downtown Dallas.
An economic asset, for example, by generating tax revenue on the site and catalyzing investment elsewhere in downtown.
An iconic gateway into downtown.
A place for both locals and visitors.

The consultant team provided four design options for the site, which can be viewed in their November 4th presentation here. Both options include a multi-story building with retail and commercial uses on the ground floor, with the uses on the above floors being short term lodging (hotel), or long term lodging (apartments). The designs shown in the presentation are preliminary and conceptional only. The actual design of the building is expected to be finalized by developers and architects yet to be selected by the City of Dallas.

Community Survey

From August 21, 2024 to September 18, 2024, the City and consultant team hosted an online survey about the 791 Main Street Project. The purpose of this survey was to solicit the public's opinions about various aspects of the project, included the project vision (above), specific uses within future buildings on the site, design concepts, design features, and other issues.

Key themes that were found in the survey were:

In general, the public agreed with the vision for the site.
The public preferred a hotel use on the site, preferably four (4) stories.
The public would like to see more retail space on the bottom floor, as well as restaurant options and a rooftop deck.
The public would like to see the project's design compliment the design of historic downtown Dallas.

To read the full survey results, you can click here.

Site Engineering Analysis

The City of Dallas engaged with PBS Engineering and Environmental to evaluate engineering and environmental conditions on the 791 Main Street site, which has been commercially developed since the late 1800s with a variety of uses. A summary of their findings can be found here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Is the site going to be used for a new city building?

A: No, the site will be sold to a private developer who will develop the property based on the feedback from the city and community.

Q: What businesses will move into the building?

A: This is not yet determined – the market analysis will provide more insight into what types of businesses would be successful in this location.

Q: How tall will the building be?

A: This is yet to be determined – the market analysis will help us best determine how large the building should be to maximize its value to the community.

Q: Why couldn't a new business move into the former bank building?

A: The current building was built for one use, a bank. This limits the design potential of the site. Constructing a new multi-story building on the same site would allow for a wider variety of uses, enhancing the site's value and maximizing community benefit.