Westmount Realty hopes to name neighborhood ‘SoCo’

PARK CITIES PEOPLE

Downtown Dallas got another boost last month when Westmount Realty Capital announced plans to convert the Santa Fe Terminal building into the SoCo Urban Loft Condominiums.

The 205 loft apartments in the 300,000-square-foot former warehouse, which was built in 1924 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be converted into condominiums. Offering two-story penthouses with private roof decks as an optional floor plan, the condos’ prices start at $95,000.

The conversion has already begun and limited time up-front discounts and special financing will be available to existing residents until Sept. 8, at which time units will be available to the general public.

“Property owners have the highest commitment to their dwellings and to the nearby surroundings.” said Cliff Booth, Westmount Realty president. “By changing the residents of the Santa Fe Terminal from renters to owners, we increase their stake in the neighborhood. Over the long run that attitude shift can only support the revitalization of the entire downtown area.”

To do its part in accelerating the redevelopment of the neighborhood surrounding the Santa Fe Terminal building, Westmount Realty has devised a name for the area – south of Commerce Street, or SoCo in its shortened form.

The SoCo locale extends west to Interstate 35E, east to U.S. Highway 75 and Interstate 45, and to Commerce Street on the north, while its southern boundary is undefined.

“SoCo can be the gateway neighborhood that leads downtown redevelopment precisely in the direction it is most needed – south,” Booth said.

Westmount Realty has even developed a special SoCo logo that it will offer to the city of Dallas to adopt its street signage and other visual media, such as banners.

SoCo is also due south of the burgeoning Main Street District, where some $95 million has been spent on revitalization since 2000 with another $55 million in investments expected by 2006, according to the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“The SoCo Urban Loft Condominiums will provide a cutting-edge urban lifestyle that cannot be matched in Dallas anywhere today,” Booth said.