🏷️Neiman Marcus fantasies; World Series matchup beats odds; Hillwood's block-buster purchase

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📣NEWS OF THE DAY:

Neiman Marcus is out with its annual Christmas Book, merging retail and fantasy, wish fulfillment, and if-only dreams. The book dates to 1926, when it was sent out as a Christmas card to invite customers to shop. Fantasy gifts 2023 include Make Your Wish Come True, a partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios to transform you into an animated character. See more details on the Fantasy Gifts here.

Developer Hillwood has purchased from Oncor Electric a downtown Fort Worth block between 6^th and 7^th streets, and Calhoun and Jones streets for development. It's a premier location, adjacent to the Tarrant County Convention Center remodel and the Texas A&M expansion. It is Hillwood’s first real estate play in downtown and officials said they will evaluate a variety of possible developments. Hillwood is one of Fort Worth’s biggest developers and investors; it's AllianceTexas development in north Fort Worth is home to 560 companies and 66,000 jobs.

Dallas developer Alpine Start Development is constructing a 261-unit apartment community in Saginaw called Range West. The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2025. It will will include a resort-style pool, fitness center, pickleball court and dog park.

Fort Worth-based Vertess, a healthcare mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, closed on five deals during its third quarter with a value of $75 million. The verticals were pediatric-focused home medical equipment and service providers, home health care services, custom rehab, durable medical equipment and retail pharmacy. Bradley Smith is Managing Partner.

The U.S. economy grew at 4.9% last quarter, the fastest pace in two years, despite higher prices, rising interest rates, and forecasts of a recession.

Unreal real estate: The modern Highland Park home of actress and celebrity chef D’Andra Simmons of The Real Housewives of Dallas is on the market for $5.25 million.

Sports memorabilia? Real estate investment? Yes, and yes. Mickey Mantle’s boyhood home in Commerce, Oklahoma, is available through Rally, a platform that sells fractional shares of collectibles. For $7 per share, investors can own a piece of baseball history and preserve the property that has been valued at $329,000. The home is a time capsule of Mantle’s life and legacy.

Renters rejoice: As the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates, mortgage rates have more than doubled and existing home sales in some markets have fallen off dramatically. The average US mortgage cost is 52% higher than average monthly rent, per a CBRE analysis cited by The Wall Street Journal. The cost differential is the highest since 1996. Meaning, on average, it is considerably more expensive to buy a house than it is to rent.

🍽️Restaurant roundup:

• Acquario Italian Seafood has opened in Keller at 8849 Davis Blvd. Described as fine-dining seafood with an Italian twist, the restaurant’s partners are veterans who recently operated an Italian restaurant in New York. The menu consists of seafood, house-made pasta, and steak. Acquario is Italian for “aquarium”, which was the name of the first restaurant operated by Executive Chef Fredi Plaku in Venice. (menu)

• Salt Seafood and Steak House has opened in Weatherford, just steps off the town square. The fine dining establishment is housed in a 155-year-old home and serves lobster, scallops, and steaks. (menu)

• Bricks and Horses, the indoor/outdoor dining venue that anchors the new Auberge Resorts’ luxury hotel Bowie House at 3700 Camp Bowie Blvd., is slated to open December 1. The new iteration of a classic chop house will serve dry-aged beef and be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Check the hotel’s website in the coming days for a link to restaurant reservations. (more)

A study from non-partisan and nonprofit Tax Foundation ranks Texas #13 in the country for business tax climate. The study was conducted before Texas enacted favorable property and franchise tax legislation, which should result in improvements. Wyoming topped the list and New Jersey was ranked 50th.

The future belongs to Texas. That’s the conclusion of a study by relocation technology company moveBuddha, that predicts by 2100, D-FW, Houston, and Austin will replace NYC, LA, and Chicago as the country’s most populous metros.

We’ll drink to that: It takes months to organize but it’s over in 2 seconds. It’s the annual competition between the ski resort towns of Park City and Breckenridge to see who claims the title for the world’s longest shot ski. Participants simultaneously swig a shot of whiskey (or apple cider) from shot glasses that are attached with rubber holders to a single shot ski consisting of 850 standard skis bolted together. This year Park City prevailed with 1,363 shots taken simultaneously. (more)

👟PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

• UTA: Hires Tim Jacobbe as Dean of the College of Education

• JTaylor: Promotes Haley Adams to Partner, Consulting Services

• The Mom Project: Adds Diana Jones as Project Manager

• Texas Wesleyan: Names Maiya N. Hollie Interim Director of Communications Strategy and Public Relations

✂️SNIPPETS:

• The most popular Halloween costumes of 2023 ranked. 

• Every October, hundreds of witches trade in their brooms for paddles to spread Halloween cheer while paddle boarding. It’s a wicked scene playing out in several states. (NYT gift article)

• Nothing to do with business: Patrons in Wisconsin go to this restaurant to save a buck, not to see one. But that’s what happened when a deer crashed through a window and exited through the kitchen. (video)

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