It took just 20 seconds for 553 pounds of carefully placed explosives to turn the former ACS/Xerox building on Dallas’ Central Expressway to a pile of rubble earlier this month. By all accounts, the demolition process was a success (unless you ask the poor old building). Apparently, the site will be cleared and a shiny new Sam’s Club will take its place. So, a former high-tech headquarters is cast aside to make room for a warehouse that sells everything from box wine to bubble bath … a bit of irony is hidden in that somewhere.
I didn’t get to watch the implosion in person, but it was the first video to hit my news feed the following morning. Watching the video brought back one of my favorite father-son moments.
It was June 25, 1994, and my oldest son was a very busy 3-year-old. I remember that the morning was actually cool, which is a complete godsend in June. A buddy of mine had offered front row seats, on the 21st floor of KPMG Centre (it was called Maxus Tower at the time) in downtown Dallas. After years of bankruptcy courts, failed banks, FDIC red tape, an asbestos scare, and a gutsy battle with the historical society, Maxus’ closest neighbor was finally scheduled for demolition by implosion. The old Dallas Cotton Exchange Building had lost its final appeal and the gallows were being prepared for its execution.
My boy had no idea what to expect, but I did my best to explain to him what was going to happen. Big boom, twisted metal, manmade earthquake, lots of smoke … the things all boys love. Something about the building’s impending death clicked for the little guy because the entire drive to the building, through the parking lot, up the elevator and into the viewing chamber…he sang Kumbaya (literally … without stopping … for 30 minutes, “Kumbaya my Yord, kumbaya …”).
We had the best seats in the house. From our perch we actually looked down on the Exchange, and we couldn’t have been more than 75 feet from its roof. A man with a bullhorn began the countdown: “Ten, nine, eight, seven …” then silence. But not a regular silence, this was the kind of dead silence that happens the split second between a loud bang and ringing in the ears. Where was six? Our adrenaline was in overdrive. Did they abort? Did the governor call in a last-minute stay? Some last-minute maneuvering could be seen street side, then … “Six, five, four, three, two …”
Out with the old, in with the new. Xerox comes down and Sam’s goes up, presumably to better serve the local constituents.
Data center developers seem to be on a similar path in Dallas. As the demand for data center space continues to rise, developers will continue to gobble up available acreage. T5’s anticipated expansion at its Plano Legacy location comes at the expense of the venerable old driving range that, until last year, was its next-door neighbor. Infomart Data Centers (a new offering within Dallas’ Infomart) is converting garage and surface parking into mechanical and electrical yards that will ultimately power and cool the company’s expansion.
And last year, Overland Park, KS-based QTS took an abandoned semiconductor plant and transformed the 40-acre campus into a world class data center. This building had been on the Dallas market for over five years, and all it took was a creative developer and some trusting capital to bring a new player to the Dallas data center market. Digital Realty is expanding again in Dallas, and CyrusOne continues to bring additional raised floor to the market. Dallas continues to be a vibrant data center market and as long as demand remains, expansion creativity will thrive.
“ONE!” Click, pop, crack! And then, with extreme prejudice, drama, and fanfare, the old Cotton Exchange did its best accordion act, and within a few seconds, it was gone. A cloud of dust enveloped our building. For a few minutes, we couldn’t see five feet into the haze. We were all stunned, silent, awestruck. I remember thinking that it took hundreds of carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, and a host of others years to plan and build the Cotton Exchange Building, and it only took 20 seconds to remove it from the Dallas skyline. W
hen the dust settled and we all came out of our funk, my son looked at me and said, “Do It Again!” Ha! I felt like saying, “Stick around a while, buddy. Someone will.”
