We're not statisticians, but we see a trend: just about all of our CRE buds in North Texas love the outdoors. From fishing and hunting to running and cycling, if it's outside—you're there. | | |  | There's gar in them there waters! Last fall, this 24-pound, LEED-Gold, spotted gar was caught by Lee Goggin (who broke at least one pole in the process) as part of the aptly named Carpe Diem on the Trinity River. Cushman & Wakefield exec director Mike Wyatt(in orange) came up with the event seven years ago with the goal of bringing a Ferris Bueller?s Day Off atmosphere to the Trinity. The idea (born from Mike, his sister-in-law Mary Wyatt, and Transwestern's Riis Christensen—who won the tournament three of the last six years) was to create awareness for the CRE community of the bountiful Trinity (don't laugh, Mike?s serious) and to act as a fundraiser for the Trinity Commons Foundation. | |  | ?People look at it as a cesspool and a dump; if you're looking for that, you can find it, but the reality is there is a lot of beauty there, too,? Mike tells us. Last year, 25 anglers participated in Carpe Diem (we think it means "seize the fish") paddling down the river, fishing, and schmoozing. We assure you Mike didn't catch the barracuda in the Trinity (but you're welcome for planting the Heart song in your head). The Trinity has carp, spotted and alligator gar, striped bass, and some large channel and flathead catfish, he says. | |  | In the long-run, Mike says, we're going to see an extraordinary amount of development once the Corps of Engineers approves the city's levee plans (anticipated next month, we hear from city officials). Developments like the $117M Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge(slated for March 2012 completion) designed by Santiago Calatrava, which connects Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas across the Trinity River to Woodall Rodgers in downtown, will be a boon to Dallas, he says. ?We're creating one of the most dynamic skylines in the US, providing more reasons to come to Dallas as a tourist destination and for conventioneers.? | |  | Mike sees a more pedestrian friendly city, plus hike and bike trails, the Arts District, Woodall Rodgers Park (rendered) and all of those things coming together to create a live, work, and play city. By cleaning up the river, he says, we'll have future development along its mighty banks. The next Carpe Diem event will be in October, and Mike?s already looking for sponsors and participants. He's hoping for an eight-mile paddle through downtown with a landing near the Audubon Center. There's a lot of cool wildlife (think great horned owls, hawks) and we've got the largest urban forest of any metro area in the nation along the Trinity, Mike tells us. | |
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