Well kids, I live directly behind Casa Linda, as I drove by this morning, it looks like the old interior is being gutted. I am not certain what has been saved or drywalled over. I am very afraid the Art deco furnishings, althought in disrepair, may be gone. I also ran across this piece in the DMN.
Revamp to take Casa Linda back to its roots
East Dallas: Developers aim to restore 1940s plaza’s original flair
08:39 AM CST on Saturday, January 6, 2007
By ELIZABETH LANGTON / The Dallas Morning News
The cylindrical tower will remain, and so will the Spanish tile roof.
But decisions about what else stays and goes at Casa Linda Plaza depend largely on what patrons and neighborhood residents think.
“We want this to be a community-driven restoration,” said Steve Hefner, vice president of AmREIT, the real estate company that purchased the shopping center last month.
Mr. Hefner will attend a community meeting Jan. 16 about the plaza’s appearance and tenants. AmREIT plans to spend $5 million on renovations.
REX C. CURRY / Special Contributor
Plans for the plaza include a pedestrian-friendly design with more landscaping, lighting and signs, said Steve Hefner of AmREIT real estate, which recently purchased the center.
“We want to restore it the right way,” he said. “The right way really means in our minds a more cohesive design, an enhanced pedestrian-friendly design with more landscaping, lighting and signs.
"We want to bring the center back to its original flair.”
Casa Linda Plaza, built in the late 1940s, sprawls across three corners of the Buckner Boulevard-Garland Road intersection. Neighbors so revere its signature red tile roof and pink stucco exterior that Wachovia Bank agreed with requests to copy the style when it built there last year.
The shopping center’s sale came just weeks after other developers purchased the Casa Linda Theatre, which has sat vacant for eight years.
Neighborhood residents feel optimistic that both new owners can improve the properties and attract upscale retailers, said David Baillif, a board member of the Casa Linda Estates Neighborhood Association.
“We’re delighted,” he said. “It’s a center that we have our hearts around. As long as they don’t change the character and nature of the place, I don’t see any negatives.”
Clay Evans with SC Companies, which manages the theater property, said the interior is being gutted and converted into retail space. But the exterior â€" including the signature tower, marquee and signs â€" will be repaired and left intact.
Mr. Evans expects to finish the renovations in 60 days.
“It’s going to look like the old Casa Linda,” he said. “I think that’s very important.”
The theater opened in 1945 and closed in 1999. Preservation Dallas listed it on the group’s first most endangered properties list in 2004. Several attempts to revive it as a movie house failed.
“It’s unfortunate that the building can’t be used for its original purpose, but sometimes that’s not practical,” said Katherine Seale, interim executive director of Preservation Dallas. “I’m pleased to hear they are keeping the exterior. It’s part of what makes that neighborhood special and unique.”
Barbara van Pelt, also a Casa Linda Estates board member, said neighbors had hoped to see a theater like the Magnolia or Inwood occupy the Casa Linda site.
“We’re kind of sad about that,” she said. “I think the neighborhood would have supported it.”
Mr. Hefner said his company is committed to giving the community a voice when planning Casa Linda Plaza’s future. He has already received e-mails from people outlining their desires.
We’re not anywhere near our final design for the center; it’s just too early,“ he said. But "we want to make this center a place with lots of character, give it a sense of place.”
Mr. Baillif said the ownership changes are the latest in a string of improvements at Casa Linda Plaza. New owners of the Albertsons grocery store have transformed operations there, and Wachovia proved itself a good neighbor with its new building. And the Texas Department of Transportation incorporated residents' requests into its plans to renovate the Buckner-Garland intersection this year.
“That corner’s going to look really neat by 2008,” Mr. Baillif said. “It’s going to be breathtaking.”
Well kids, I live directly behind Casa Linda, as I drove by this morning, it looks like the old interior is being gutted. I am not certain what has been saved or drywalled over. I am very afraid the Art deco furnishings, althought in disrepair, may be gone. I also ran across this piece in the DMN.
Revamp to take Casa Linda back to its roots
East Dallas: Developers aim to restore 1940s plaza’s original flair
08:39 AM CST on Saturday, January 6, 2007
By ELIZABETH LANGTON / The Dallas Morning News
The cylindrical tower will remain, and so will the Spanish tile roof.
But decisions about what else stays and goes at Casa Linda Plaza depend largely on what patrons and neighborhood residents think.
“We want this to be a community-driven restoration,” said Steve Hefner, vice president of AmREIT, the real estate company that purchased the shopping center last month.
Mr. Hefner will attend a community meeting Jan. 16 about the plaza’s appearance and tenants. AmREIT plans to spend $5 million on renovations.
REX C. CURRY / Special Contributor
Plans for the plaza include a pedestrian-friendly design with more landscaping, lighting and signs, said Steve Hefner of AmREIT real estate, which recently purchased the center.
“We want to restore it the right way,” he said. “The right way really means in our minds a more cohesive design, an enhanced pedestrian-friendly design with more landscaping, lighting and signs.
"We want to bring the center back to its original flair.”
Casa Linda Plaza, built in the late 1940s, sprawls across three corners of the Buckner Boulevard-Garland Road intersection. Neighbors so revere its signature red tile roof and pink stucco exterior that Wachovia Bank agreed with requests to copy the style when it built there last year.
The shopping center’s sale came just weeks after other developers purchased the Casa Linda Theatre, which has sat vacant for eight years.
Neighborhood residents feel optimistic that both new owners can improve the properties and attract upscale retailers, said David Baillif, a board member of the Casa Linda Estates Neighborhood Association.
“We’re delighted,” he said. “It’s a center that we have our hearts around. As long as they don’t change the character and nature of the place, I don’t see any negatives.”
Clay Evans with SC Companies, which manages the theater property, said the interior is being gutted and converted into retail space. But the exterior â€" including the signature tower, marquee and signs â€" will be repaired and left intact.
Mr. Evans expects to finish the renovations in 60 days.
“It’s going to look like the old Casa Linda,” he said. “I think that’s very important.”
The theater opened in 1945 and closed in 1999. Preservation Dallas listed it on the group’s first most endangered properties list in 2004. Several attempts to revive it as a movie house failed.
“It’s unfortunate that the building can’t be used for its original purpose, but sometimes that’s not practical,” said Katherine Seale, interim executive director of Preservation Dallas. “I’m pleased to hear they are keeping the exterior. It’s part of what makes that neighborhood special and unique.”
Barbara van Pelt, also a Casa Linda Estates board member, said neighbors had hoped to see a theater like the Magnolia or Inwood occupy the Casa Linda site.
“We’re kind of sad about that,” she said. “I think the neighborhood would have supported it.”
Mr. Hefner said his company is committed to giving the community a voice when planning Casa Linda Plaza’s future. He has already received e-mails from people outlining their desires.
We’re not anywhere near our final design for the center; it’s just too early,“ he said. But "we want to make this center a place with lots of character, give it a sense of place.”
Mr. Baillif said the ownership changes are the latest in a string of improvements at Casa Linda Plaza. New owners of the Albertsons grocery store have transformed operations there, and Wachovia proved itself a good neighbor with its new building. And the Texas Department of Transportation incorporated residents' requests into its plans to renovate the Buckner-Garland intersection this year.
“That corner’s going to look really neat by 2008,” Mr. Baillif said. “It’s going to be breathtaking.”