We know the what: AT&T has decided to relocate its corporate headquarters from downtown Dallas to a new campus in Plano. For the city of Dallas, understanding why is crucial.
From where we sit in a downtown Dallas headquarters, a big part of the answer rests in how the city managed downtown in the years leading up to and following the opening of AT&T’s beautiful Discovery District in the heart of the city.
For too long, Dallas’ elected officials and city management refused to acknowledge that public safety and quality of life had declined to the point that the central city felt dangerous and often was dangerous.
Former City Manager T.C. Broadnax and former Police Chief Eddie García did not aggressively address the unpleasant and sometimes frightening behavior of some of the city’s homeless population, and council members didn’t push the issue. Sidewalk encampments became semi-permanent and the stink of marijuana was unavoidable, even during a short walk to lunch.
Opinion
The perception was accompanied by too many actual incidents of assault, at times by suspects known to police and to homeless advocates as troubled individuals.
In short, downtown felt neither safe nor inviting to office workers, visitors or residents, and city staff and elected officials were unpardonably slow to respond to the challenge.
That situation improved last year, with the launch of the Safe in the City campaign. It stepped up enforcement against encampments, loitering and threatening behavior. Downtown Dallas Inc. and Housing Forward have worked to move more unsheltered homeless people into housing, and to identify the most troubled homeless people and move them into intensive services. The tougher enforcement may have come too late to keep AT&T downtown.
Our hope is that the current reality of downtown becomes the permanent reality and that perceptions change.
Meanwhile, we are now in a time of great uncertainty and transition. The city is building a new, $3.7 billion convention center. Deferred maintenance and functional obsolescence have left City Hall’s future unclear. The owners of the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars are agitating for new arenas, in Dallas or beyond, and seem to expect significant public contributions to their cause.
Many floors of downtown office towers are unoccupied today and vacancy rates will increase as AT&T empties out.
The central business district has assets that city leaders could only yearn for three decades ago: new and attractive parks, new public schools and thousands of residents. Downtown may be struggling, but we hope the news about AT&T will encourage reflection and renewed engagement from civic and business leaders and local residents.
What won’t help downtown is defensiveness or mindless boosterism. What matters is how the city responds. Downtown still isn’t pedestrian friendly; property owners need to better maintain sidewalks. Street construction projects often frustrate drivers and promote dangerous behavior; police need to diligently enforce traffic laws. A downtown that is safe, clean and welcoming for those who live and work here will survive the loss of a single employer, even one as important as AT&T.
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