Once-Vibrant Former Valley View Mall Finally On The Road To Redevelopment... Maybe

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The once-vibrant former Valley View Mall in North Dallas may finally be on the road to redevelopment. The renderings of the future Dallas Midtown show a sparkling city-within-a-city, complete with restaurants, shopping, entertainment venues, hotels, parks, condos, and more.

"You got to imagine that, in terms of the size, we're talking about something that's almost three times the size of Uptown and the West Village area," said Scott Beck of Beck Ventures.

But the reality is that the former Valley View site has looked like a ghost town for seven years. First lawsuits and then the pandemic caused delay after delay. But Beck said they recently resolved a critical piece.

"The main thing that's always been causing an issue for the Dallas Midtown project is we do not have an upgraded sanitary sewer line. The city has never upgraded the sanitary sewer line on the 635 access road," he said.

Beck, who owns 90 of the 450 acres, said he and the other developers decided to do the upgrade themselves, and the installation of the line began about a month ago.

"The sanitary sewer line is in fact the critical component that allows the entire project to start," he said.

Next, he said they'll begin pulling permits to start building Dallas Midtown. First up is an apartment complex, which should be under construction early next year.

The only building still standing at the old Valley View site is the AMC movie theater. It's actually still open but will be closed and demolished over the next few years.

Newly-elected district 11 City Council Member Jaynie Schultz said the project will ultimately be a game changer, not just for North Dallas but for all of North Texas. Beck is hopeful that process starts now.

"We can work with the City Council, elected officials and staff to really make this project sing and Dallas Midtown really be able to put that on the map," he said.