Downtown Dallas is perfect for new Texas stock exchange

There is a lot to like in the well-capitalized plan to open a new stock exchange in dallas, and a big part of it is the plan to have a strong presence downtown.

Great markets have long had great histories in the beating hearts of cities, from the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street to the old Chicago Mercantile Exchange, just off the Chicago River.

Of course, modern exchanges don’t need the sort of brick and mortar buildings that were home to the trading floors of the old days. But it still matters that a city and an exchange are connected. The choice of downtown’s central business district as home to what will be known as the Texas Market Center is the right choice for the Texas Stock Exchange. That site is not intended to serve as a trading floor; the exchange is electronic. But it is expected to be something like a center of branding, trade reporting and conferences.

Pardon the pun, but we’ve been bullish on downtown Dallas for a long time and for good reason. In the last decade, the central city has undergone a lasting transformation that we believe is going to ensure it is a center of commerce for generations to come, while also being a great home for thousands of residents.

Time to go nuclear in Texas?Texans are supposed to be optimists. So what has turned us so glum?

Not so long ago, that wasn’t the story. There was little in the way of real parks. Residents were few and far between and life drained from the streets after 5 p.m.

That is not downtown Dallas today. We have stunning parks in every quadrant. Residential growth has been on an upward trajectory for years. There are great places to eat. There are good schools. And after 5 p.m. things are often just getting started.

That’s not to say there aren’t serious challenges. We have to get the design and development of the new convention center on the southwest side right. We need to address the reality that vacant office space is going to be an ongoing struggle. And City Hall needs to ensure that we keep the businesses and residents we have by protecting quality of life in the central city. That means ensuring that homeless camps particularly are addressed quickly.

These aren’t challenges unique to Dallas. We think the leaders of the TXSE and their investors understand that Dallas is up to overcoming them.

What becomes of the planned exchange, we don’t know. We think its investors are right that companies are looking for ways out of the onerous regulatory environment that has taken root in the major exchanges.

We look forward to the exchange becoming an integral part of the impressive business and financial center that downtown is.

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