Nathaniel Barrett
@ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
830 followers 680 following 690 posts
Dallas developer, urban orchardist, cargo bike rider, parking reformer. Building a better Dallas, one lot at a time.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Nathaniel Barrett
ebwhamilton.bsky.social
The ways that Texas NIMBYs are finding to make apartments more expensive to build are are funnier than what coastal NIMBYs come up with reason.com/2025/10/14/t...

by @christianb.bsky.social
Reposted by Nathaniel Barrett
kellixsmith.bsky.social
Headlines in the last month portray the city of Dallas in chaos. We've had killings outside an ICE facility, a nightclub, a shopping center, a beheading at a motel. A story that isn’t being told: Dallas is on pace for one of its lowest murder tallies in a decade.

I dug into the data in my latest.
The Perception and Truth Behind Violence in Dallas
Despite numerous high-profile murders and violent crimes, the city is on pace for its largest decrease in homicides since well before the pandemic.
labreportdallas.com
Reposted by Nathaniel Barrett
txnewsprincess.bsky.social
Hey, teacher friends, I am conducting the first of what may be several surveys meant to gauge the state of teaching in Texas. If you wouldn't mind taking this survey, it would help me better craft stories through the next year.
1/2
forms.gle/5m8yRooGujsM...
Teaching in Texas
This survey is designed to help us better understand how teachers in Texas feel about their jobs. Your responses will remain anonymous to the public unless you agree to be contacted, and even then, on...
forms.gle
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
I see the number is $500 million now for just deferred maintenance.
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
As is their wont, the Dallas Morning News now carrying water for the absurd "tear down City Hall" grift.

These folks won't be satisfied until downtown is one giant convention center/entertainment district/sports venue (all taxpayer funded of course).

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/edit...
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Ok now I'm sold. Anything that reduces blockages is worth a lot of trouble.
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Del's, coffee milk, and hot wieners all weekend long!
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Anything TOD related is probably not going to get traction, but we'll find another way to get the same goal
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Definitely not here for the weather or great hiking.
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Tenant and Owner nightmare: water line burst on the 20th floor. No power, no elevators working, 1 stairway and everybody has to move out immediately. Yowza.
fox4dfw.bsky.social
After a severe flood and electrical short, residents of a downtown Dallas high-rise were told their leases are terminated and they must permanently vacate the uninhabitable building within 30 days without the use of elevators or power.
Mercantile Building residents evicted: Building unsafe for prolonged period
After a severe flood and electrical short, residents of a downtown Dallas high-rise were told their leases are terminated and they must permanently vacate the uninhabitable building within 30 days without the use of elevators or power.
bit.ly
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
As the saying goes "Show me a poor politician and I'll show you a poor politician."
stevanzetti.bsky.social
During his speech in Lubbock this week, Ken Paxton told the audience he didn't have any money when he faced impeachment. But he became a multimillionaire on a $150K salary, and @wsj.com got Paxton's tax returns and other financial documents that show how.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Exclusive | How Ken Paxton, a Rising MAGA Star, Got Rich as a Texas Politician
The state’s attorney general, who is vying to be the GOP nominee for a U.S. Senate seat, became a multimillionaire as a public official.
www.wsj.com
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
I heard statements from protestors (including ardent death penalty supporters) who described this as a miscarriage of justice.

It gave me a little hope that, in a brutal state that still lacks air conditioning in most prisons, there is a line somewhere before "fry 'em all and lot God sort 'em out".
Reposted by Nathaniel Barrett
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
This would include Dallas, too. What in the absolute hell.

dallasvoice.com/the-rainbow-...
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Dallas wants to recoup its $6.5M it spent on the not-really-that-old hospital in Oak Cliff. I saw the rough property condition report from years ago and the roof has probably been leaking ever since. Work cut out for you on this one.

www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
Vacant Oak Cliff hospital in Dallas once tapped for homeless services is now up for sale
The City Council voted in June to put the property up for sale. However, the city will sell only if it gets the minimum price it sets and is able to recoup...
www.dallasnews.com
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Absolutely, it was barely a year ago that the Council stripped out $28M of maintenance for City Hall from the bond program. Leaks don't go away for ignoring them.
txnewsprincess.bsky.social
Like I wrote last week, the real story is how much money the city wastes by waiting until a building has catastrophic needs before addressing its maintenance.
We could build a new City Hall, but in 50 years would it need to be torn down too?
www.dmagazine.com/micropost/ci...
City Hall’s needs may bring on its demise
Earlier this week, the Dallas Morning News published a story about the ever-increasing costs of maintaining Dallas City Hall, a brutalist building and
www.dmagazine.com
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
"The average nightly cost per individual averages $91"

So...$2,700 a month to house folks in a city where the average rent for a studio apartment is $1,249?
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
All respect to you: you're just reporting on Dallas' nonsense. Keep up the good work!
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
I love Dallas and Dallas City Hall. I continue to believe this is real-estateurs trying to will demolition into being with a credulous press as it makes no economic, cultural or any other kind of sense.
kissphoria.bsky.social
NEW: I wrote about Dallas City Hall. Designed by I.M. Pei, it's an incredible feat of architecture that was meant to embody progressivism and a new start after the JFK assassination. At the end of the month, city leaders could vote to tear it down: www.chron.com/culture/arti...
One of Texas' architectural masterpieces could soon face demolition
The building was designed by foundational architect I.M. Pei.
www.chron.com
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
I came across the pauper's cemetery while doing industrial leasing. I thought it was so wild to find this nestled among some of the seedier Dallas warehouses.

I'm so glad there is someone who takes time to honor the lives and history of the least of our society's past.
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
I'm a fan of the project (mostly) and Ablon and Hoque, but hearing from Cothrum on this is like asking a real estate agent if it's a good time to transact.
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Not really a podcast person, but for the first time, I have enjoyed one so much that I actually became a paying subscriber...what have I become?
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
Yuck. Love to add parking garages on top of my parking garages (there are 1,500 underground spaces there already).
ncoxbarrett.bsky.social
The biggest skill I picked up working as an auditor: how to persistently, but nicely, ask for things you have to have to do your job while gradually ratcheting up the pressure.