The Dallas City Council voted unanimously today to rezone a tract of land near the corner of Greenville Avenue and Belmont Avenue. This is the site where the U.S. Post Office has been located for many years. The post office property was put up for sale in June.

Many residents of nearby M-Street neighborhoods are relieved by today's vote because of concern in the neighborhood that the land might be redeveloped for retail use similar to the restaurants and nightclubs on "Lowest Greenville." (The land is just a block away from the new Walmart Neighborhood Market that opened about a week ago.) While many neighbors cherish the hip urban image Greenville Avenue contributes to this part of town, most folks seem to think it's best to keep these noisy, high-traffic uses confined to the strip of land facing Greenville.

Mark Rieves, President of Vickery Place Neighborhood Association, said, “We are thrilled with today’s City Council decision, especially for Vickery Place’s friends and residents at Vickery Towers who live directly across the street. By ensuring residential use of the property, we have proactively protected the residential integrity of our neighborhood as well as protected our neighbors' quality of life.”

The City Council voted yes to a plan backed by the City Staff, which modeled the zoning to be a near-duplicate of the tract next door. That tract is populated with high-quality moderate-density townhouses built a few years ago.