Reply With QuoteThe article says it won't reopen I guess this one will be demolished!!! I wonder when.
Design District: Bill Decker Jail / Old Cabana Motor Hotel
I always wondered what this building was, and thought it looked like an old hotel...
Overflow jail is emptied as Dallas County prepares to open new tower
10:13 PM CST on Wednesday, December 31, 2008
By KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News
kkrause@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...r.370e733.html
Dallas County's jails are running so far under capacity that the Sheriff's Department has moved all prisoners out of one jail building for the first time in years.
The Bill Decker jail, an overflow facility off Interstate 35E that has been open for more than 20 years, was emptied of its prisoners Monday, sheriff's officials said. County officials cannot remember the last time the jail was "depopulated."
The minimum-security jail will remain operational until the county's new $65 million jail tower opens in February at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center complex. At that point, the Decker jail will be shut down.
The new south tower jail will house up to 2,300 inmates. Its opening will also allow another jail, the Suzanne Kays jail on Industrial Avenue, to close.
...
The Dallas Central Appraisal District values the building at $11.8 million.
"I don't ever see it reopening," Mr. Price said.
Keeping inmates out of the jail saves the county $100,000 per floor, Mr. Price said.
...
About the jail
•Decker was built in 1962 as a luxury hotel, once owned by actress Doris Day.
•The Beatles stayed in rooms on the fourth floor in 1964 during their first American tour.
•Dallas County bought the 297-room hotel, then known as the DuPont Plaza Hotel, for $9.2 million in 1985.
•The county spent about $5 million to convert it into a jail for 1,080 male and female inmates. The jail opened in August 1987.
•The Dallas Central Appraisal District values the building at $11.8 million.
•It was named after Sheriff James E. "Bill" Decker (1898-1970), who rode in the presidential motorcade when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.
•In 2005, the county temporarily housed evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the building.
The article says it won't reopen I guess this one will be demolished!!! I wonder when.
Scott Dorn
Hitting the streets with the cam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70886669@N00/
http://homepage.mac.com/sdorn/dallas_shots
http://www.myspace.com/177586541
Here is a distance shot I took back in November when I was taking photos of the old Goat Hill billboard I think I have another on flickr as well
The jail is circled.
Scott Dorn
Hitting the streets with the cam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70886669@N00/
http://homepage.mac.com/sdorn/dallas_shots
http://www.myspace.com/177586541
Here one taken in 2006 when Baby Does was just torn down
Scott Dorn
Hitting the streets with the cam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70886669@N00/
http://homepage.mac.com/sdorn/dallas_shots
http://www.myspace.com/177586541
I used to work there. Never been in the jail, but the office areas are absolutely depressing. I'll fight for the old Dallas Grand any day of the week, but this one is not worth saving, IMO.Originally Posted by SDORN
When we would go to motor pool to get our GPS units downloaded, we would all look at VP, which was only a hundred or so yards away, and joke about how long it would be until the county flipped the property. Personally, I like hope they consolidate as much criminal justice facilities near the jail and court house as possible.
SPJZ Thanks for the story. This miht might be the last older landmark in that area of Dallas that will most likely disappear The old Leviz building is is gone I see as well. dad Bought my bunk bed there. Looks like exciting new development could go in there. I never really liked that building either.
Scott Dorn
Hitting the streets with the cam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70886669@N00/
http://homepage.mac.com/sdorn/dallas_shots
http://www.myspace.com/177586541
That's where my sister goes to visit her probation officer...
Nonprofit wants to use two more downtown Dallas buildings for housing
12:00 AM CST on Tuesday, January 20, 2009
By ROY APPLETON and KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...1.4e7cf59.html
...
The nonprofit Central Dallas Community Development Corp. also wants to convert the Dallas Plaza Hotel just south of downtown into a 316-unit complex.
And corporation officials have been talking with Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price about acquiring the now-vacant Bill Decker jail on Stemmons Freeway to create more than 200 apartments.
"We're committed to providing high-quality housing to some of the poorest people in Dallas," said Larry James, chairman of the development corporation board. "It's affordable housing, workforce housing, permanent supportive housing for the formerly homeless."
County officials emptied the Decker jail in late December and say they intend to sell the building. They and the corporation board are seeking separate appraisals of the property, a former luxury hotel west of downtown, but have had only "conceptual" discussions about its future, James said.
"The only thing we can do is get it appraised and put it out to bid," Price said. "A number of people are talking to us" about the property.
...
Here's the Decker Jail, formerly 1960s Cabana Motor Hotel:
Future affordable housing which includes an outdoor sports court?
There's an old menu from the hotel on Ebay:
Last edited by dfwcre8tive; 03 February 2009 at 08:48 PM.
Why is this building so hideous?? Can we start here?
Screen Shot 2012-06-04 at 4.21.20 PM.png
"I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."
The building is classic but the parking garage must go. Doris Day used to own this hotel back in the 70s along with one in Palo Alto and Atlanta. They were sold in a lawsuit.
It used to be slightly better before turning into a jail.
I wonder if they could turn it back into a hotel... and keep the jail chic thing going. Love the signage.
There has already been proposals to turn it into apartments but it's a jail which seems to be operating just fine so not many proposals have been successful getting it released from its current use case. After all until we figure out how to eliminate the need for so many jails in our system they have to be somewhere and anywhere you put them everyone protests.
^ County has closed it, supposedly permanently.
Was doing some research on this building, and came across this thread. Sdorn I am sorta surprised you would be cool with blowing this down. I think it is a cool old building. Granted not what it was in the day but I think has a ton of possibilities, especially in light of the movement of things to the river. I pitched it to a few investors and all were a bit interested. I just can't seem to get anyone at the county to much talk to me about it. I know it was up for sale last year for 6 mil, yea right, that aint happening, but I'd give 2 mil, maybe more, for it in a heartbeat.
On a side note, this was one of my first projects when I became a junior Project Manager in construction was doing this conversion, it killed me wrecking out the inside.
^ It's a cool building, and reminds me a little of the Statler. I wonder how difficult it would be to convert to residential. What was the inside like prior to renovation?
Is the Decker jail finally closed?
It was supposed to have closed already: http://www.dallasnews.com/incoming/2...e-for-good.ece
Tighten the female dog!
As I remember it was pretty cool although outdated as one would expect. unfortunately, I wasn't in a photo taking mode at that point in my life so I have no pics of the project. What I do remember was the curved staircase that was trimmed in actual gold leaf that was just ripped out with no thought, the restrooms for the staff were still set up as segregated in the basement, I don't think they were in the common areas, There was a ballroom that was very much a showroom style with a slightly sloped floor and banquet seating. I remember also finding an odd hallway that ran from one side to the back between the Hotel and Cabana that did nothing but exit out the back.
Running some costs at a really high level and depending on sell price it could make sense. Great Photo by the way!
^ It's a cool building, and reminds me a little of the Statler. I wonder how difficult it would be to convert to residential. What was the inside like prior to renovation?
Last time I was inside of it was 1999 or so. I volunteered(briefly) to help at their halfway house for awhile. I cannot remember the name of the facility next to Decker, it's a low slung building in the photos on the south side. It had a corny name like the "wayback house". It was some odd setup where inmates were allowed to work during the day in society but had to be back in their jail cells at curfew hour and then were locked up all weekend. I think most were hard case drunks with multiple DUIs. The main building looked like a jail with the lobby turned into some kind of parolee offices where caseworkers(maybe they were parole officers) met with people. I saw more than once, people chained to the floors, I guess they screwed up and were being sent back. Never made it on the upper floors but the lower floors was a jail. Lots of steel doors, cameras, mirrored glass one way windows.^ It's a cool building, and reminds me a little of the Statler. I wonder how difficult it would be to convert to residential. What was the inside like prior to renovation?
The backside of the jail had a basketball court as seen in the photos a few posts above.
Casper - that was the Cabana part of the hotel and in the center was the swimming pool which was filled in with dirt.
For whatever reason, the county seems to have no interest in talking to people as I have had a buyer willing to buy it for over a year, at a good price, no TIF money or credits wanted from the city which everyone else will want and would probably be about 3-4 million. I have left phone calls, sent emails to both the people in purchasing who is supposed to handle it as well as the commissioners office but no one will respond to me. They put it up for auction 2 years ago and received no bids. I began reaching out a couple months after so I guess it's been 2 years now. If anyone has any contacts or can help let me know!
I imagine the Trinity Trust folks would want this property sold and could point you in the right direction. Gail Thomas is the president: gail@thetrinitytrust.org
If that doesn't work, I would go on LinkedIn and start connecting with anyone working for the county. If there's something fishy going on, I would go to the press to see if they can write a story on it.
Been there done that on contacting people at the county, as well as others, as for something fishy ...... ummmmmm no comment. But I will say I will be on the lookout for some lowballoffer from someone who then goes to them for tons of TIF and Tax abatement money
^You can also get your friend to commission a nice watercolor rendering of what the development would look like. Our city and county leaders love a good rendering.
Good idea. This could be a cool 'hipster' hotel edition to the Design District.
It's kind of like a mini statler Hilton
Especially in a weird post-war architecture kind of way
I know there is more than one facility down there, but I can't keep them straight. But wasn't the county considering moving that halfway house operation else where, but they were having difficulty finding locations without the nimby's. Perhaps the county is not interested because they have no where else to put the occupants.
Nonetheless, it's a neat old building.
Last edited by txdore; 04 June 2013 at 06:29 PM.
What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets.
Let's hope this one gets redeveloped soon.
For $7 million you can buy the Dallas County jail that used to be the ‘super-plush’ hotel where the Beatles stayed
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2...s-stayed.html/
914_001.jpg
Last edited by lakewoodhobo; 02 September 2014 at 04:04 PM.
I love that car in the foreground of the picture in the article. Anybody know what that is?
My guess is a 1963 Dodge or Chysler. You can google them for some pictures.
Perfect, thanks
After further review, it is a 1961 Dodge with the reverse tailfin.
Cool, thanks
Coming down?
Dallas County is close to sealing a deal to sell the old Cabana Motor Hotel, but is the buyer going to tear it down?
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2...-it-down.html/
^Would not be opposed to tearing it down, despite its history. That front cladding looks like it was horrific from the day it opened. A nice mid-rise condo/apartment tower there would have amazing views...
"...Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."
How ironic it would be if this excellent mid-century building is torn down and replaced by a building with the currently popular contemporary version of mid-century architecture. The mid-century style is all over new buildings....
The mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart.
Destroying the Cabana Hotel Would Not Be So Bad
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfa..._destroyed.php
I would rather see a higher density project go in its place instead of keeping this just to keep it.
Funny how the façade is one of the most architecturally significant features of this building... and yet its also the most annoying/ugly IMO. lol
It shows how diverse peoples take on architecture can be, and also highlights the complexity of creating a truly attractive building. Making something too bland... may not offend anyone, but certainly won't win any awards cause any head turning. Going too far can earn both praise and criticism at the same time.
Take it down and go up 30 floors. Awesome views!
I've always been intrigued with the design of this building, but it's going to be a harder sell for renovation/restoration. Unlike the Statler which faces an expansive park/green space, this building gets the view/noise of the freeway and is sandwiched between the Greyhound maintenance facility and electrical substation. Perhaps the majority of rooms could be oriented to face the Design District and balconies punched through the rear brise soleil, but even then it would take a lot of work.
8 foot ceilings? And how many apartments could they make out of this? Seems difficult to make the numbers work.
While its not done yet of course but is in progress and I realize wasn't a slam dunk from the beginning but a lot of the same things were said about the Staler. Low ceilings are not a deal killer as some people think and historical buildings do take a different approach than slapping up some studs and a for lease banner with "Live Work Play" but the value of history is more than many realize. Besides the idea of maybe a return to some form of a hotel also seems valuable since nearby the new Continental bridge park is there, a revitalized Riverfront Blvd is beginning, already lots of art galleries on Dragon street and restaurants in the Design District and Victory Park just steps away. The time it takes to do this kind of project as well means by the time it starts to open a lot of new stuff will be opened and on its way. A boutique hotel that works with the Art Gallery crowd will pull in some money for all kinds of events as well. All they would also want to do is maybe do a Hotel tied Art Studio residency program and events space.
^agreed. The "not fancy" buildings are a must for filling up the affordable housing parts of the market. It can't all be perfectly renovated, sitcom-ready giant pads, there's a reason people joke about living in unfashionable or tiny units in real cities. The city makes up for it.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks