Highland Park Village Owner Wants To Keep Theater

By Sarah Scott / People Newspapers
5/21/2009

Ray Washburne wants Park Cities residents to know that the new Highland Park Village is going to look a lot like the old one.

The real estate investor and restaurateur said he wrapped up negotiations to buy the Village this week. As this article went to press Wednesday, Washburne said he was hammering out final details at a title company.

Washburne had a lot to say about the future of the Dallas’ oldest and most valuable shopping center. Its taxable value has been reported as being $80 million.

Washburne — who bought the center along with his wife, Heather; her sister, Elise Summers; and her husband, Stephen — emphasized that all four are lifelong residents of Highland Park and graduates of Highland Park High School.

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Dallas' historic Highland Park Village changes hands

By MARIA HALKIAS / The Dallas Morning News

Like an expensive heirloom, Henry S. Miller Interests has sold Highland Park Village to another extended family that hails from the wealthy neighborhoods surrounding it.

Two sisters and their husbands, all 1970s and 1980s graduates of Highland Park High School, formed a partnership that is paying $170 million for the 250,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style center built in 1931.

Ray and Heather Washburne and Stephen and Elisa Summers, daughters and sons-in-law of Dallas oilman Al Hill Jr., have acquired the center from the families of Henry S. Miller Jr., his sister Carmen Miller Michael and husband Ludwig Michael and the Miller's longtime investment partners, the Polchow family of New Orleans.

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Judge declines Larry North's attempt to block Highland Park Village sale

A deal to sell the venerable Highland Park Village is scheduled to close Wednesday, despite a last-minute challenge from one of the center's high-profile tenants.

At a court hearing late Friday afternoon, a judge declined to grant a request for a temporary restraining order filed by fitness guru Larry North, a longtime tenant. He was trying to block investor Ray Washburne from purchasing the complex.

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Dallas designer's Sartel label building its repertoire

The first time we visited Dallasite Matthew Earnest's store, SARTEL, there wasn't a piece of the label's clothing in sight – save for the crisp, navy organza blouse worn by his co-designer, Lily Atherton Hanbury. But chic things come to those who wait. The Shops at Highland Park boutique now holds a small, tightly edited collection of the duo's highly refined wardrobe staples.

"We're establishing who Sartel is," says Earnest, noting that London-based Hanbury serves not just as co-designer, but as the prototypical Sartel woman, a highly polished someone who "goes to work, goes out, has a kid."

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Dallas luxury hotels reduce rates, focus on service

By SOPHIA DEMBLING / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Luxury? In this economic climate? Are we nuts?

No, really. Everyday luxury is a thing of the past for most of us, but even so, if you have a special occasion warranting a luxury break, now is a great time because luxury hotels are feeling the pinch, too, and they want you.

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Real Estate Agencies Are Friending Facebook

How can social networking benefit your business?

By Josh Hixson
Real Estate Editor / People Newspapers

Facebook has officially invaded the world of North Dallas real estate.

Firms such as Ebby Halliday and Virginia Cook found it hard to ignore the allure of Facebook’s hundreds of millions of active users and recently took the plunge into the world of online social networking, while Rogers Healy and his 2,000-plus members have been veterans of the scene for quite some time.

None of the agents we talked to could say they sold a home soley because of Facebook, but they did indicate the website’s ability to reach potential clients is what drew them and their companies to the social networking site in the first place.

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