Sitting just northwest of Downtown Dallas, Victory Park has completely transformed in only two decades’ time, becoming a major residential and retail destination for the city. The space attracts young professionals with its brand-new apartment complexes, top-line amenities and geographical convenience, with the West End Historic District, Uptown and the Design District all within walking distance of the $3 billion development.
The Founding of an “Urban Lifestyle Destination”
Looking at Victory Park today, you wouldn’t know that in 1997, this now-vibrant space was nothing more than an old power plant, rail yard and grain elevator. What kicked off its redevelopment was one of the many longstanding drivers of Dallas’ economy: sports. The city wanted a site for a new sports arena, and Victory Park was chosen as the perfect destination for what would become the American Airlines Center, home to the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars.
The Dallas Mavericks were then owned by H. Ross Perot, Jr., son of billionaire businessman Ross Perot. Perot, Jr., envisioned the space as a new “urban lifestyle destination,” and a year later, plans were unveiled for a mixed-use development that included retail, residential and business components. Victory Park officially broke ground in 1999 with the construction of the multi-purpose, $420 million arena, which opened to the public two years later.
However, Victory Park saw setbacks in its early years, mostly due to economic downturns. In the late 2000’s, new offices, restaurants and stores were just beginning to open right as the United States entered the Great Recession. This time of economic struggle eventually led to a big change that would ultimately shift the identity of the area. Though Victory Park was to originally house a significant number of office buildings, apartment projects were constructed instead and led to the residential area we know today.
The Many Amenities of Victory Park
Victory Park is now a bustling, rapidly developing area of the city and home to some of Dallas’ top amenities. Aside from the American Airlines Center, which continues to draw in thousands of visitors each week for games, concerts and other world-class performances, Victory Park is also home to another major institution: the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The museum is one of the most visited museums in the city and was made possible by a $50 million gift from the five adult children of Margot and Ross Perot, keeping the Perot name forever alive in Victory Park.
Aside from the AAC and the Perot Museum, Victory Park also houses the W Dallas-Victory Hotel, the House of Blues Dallas and One Victory Park, a large office building that’s home to some of the biggest businesses in the city, including global accounting firm Ernst & Young. Currently, Victory Park is also home to 2,000 residences—four large apartment towers opened in 2017 alone—plus over 23,000 square feet of retail space. Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Victory Park, a new luxury movie theater experience that offers push button waiter service and fully reclining leather seats, is one of the most recent openings. Victory Park is also conveniently located within walking distance to the Katy Trail, the DART commuter rail and the Trinity Rail Express, which offers service to Fort Worth.
Another great amenity to Victory Park is that it’s a quick walk over to the West End Historic District, which will be home to West End Square, our .78-acre park. Learn more about West End Square and all the green space we’re creating for Downtown Dallas.
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