The Terminal is Bringing a World of Unique Wellness to the Katy Trail in Dallas

Since the development was first announced in 2019, The Terminal at the Katy Trail has taken on an almost mythical air. The plot of land at Fitzhugh Avenue and Buena Vista sat quiet for some time (the luxury mixed-use project was originally slated to open in 2021), with nothing but a couple of glorious renderings to keep the dream alive. Then, as buildings are wont to do, the rendered image seemed to spring to life overnight, as did the buzz around what tenants Dallas would find beyond its grand, glass-encased arches.

Of course, the years that felt quiet were actually quite eventful for The Terminal team, Laurie Sands Harrison and Capitol Peak Ventures’ husband-and-wife duo Blake and Lindsay Bayer Shipp, who saw the real estate opportunity as a true community development project. They sat in countless living rooms gathering honest feedback, all while drafting plans to remove power lines, plant trees, and put development standards in place for Fitzhugh Avenue moving forward. The project spent two years in the design phase with Austin architect Michael Hsu (Uchi, South Congress Hotel, Walden Retreats), who incorporated community feedback as he worked on The Terminal.

“When we went to City Council, we had unanimous support,” Blake says. “We wanted everyone in the neighborhood to feel like they had their fingerprints on this.”

Constructed with handmade bricks imported from Europe, the building is essentially split into two parts. On top, notable designers are quietly working with buyers to craft The Terminal’s 16 unique luxury residences (starting at $3 million). As for the base, the PaperCity team was invited to tour the space mid-construction, and finally discover which carefully-picked tenants would get to execute their vision beyond the 25-foot-tall windows.

“We had a lot of interest from national brands, but we wanted the tenants to feel more localized,” notes Blake.

The result is a mix of lesser-known retailers and locally owned restaurant concepts, but the focus of The Terminal’s public areas is largely on wellness, with unique, holistic offerings that fully embrace the adjoining Katy Trail.

02 Aspen in Dallas

A fixture of the tony mountain town for nearly two decades, O2 has never opened a second location outside of Aspen. But when owner Brittany Van Domelen was approached about an opportunity at The Terminal, she was quickly convinced.

Opening in late 2023, O2 Dallas will offer the same caliber of class and product the Aspen location is known for. A retail section resembles a Bandier or Carbon 38, with a thoughtful selection of high-end activewear and beauty products. The studio will offer Pilates, meditation, and breathwork classes, with a focus on power yoga (occasionally heated by infrared panels). A single treatment room, a partnership between O2 and New York-based Knockout Beauty, will offer micro-current focused facials.

O2 special programming in Dallas will build on the Aspen studio’s penchant for hosting celebrity instructors such as Tracy Anderson or Melissa Wood-Tepperberg. Names like Anna Kaiser (AKT Fitness) and Megan Roup (Sculpt Society) are already being bandied about for the opening of The Terminal studio.

“We plan on having a celebrity instruction every month to every six weeks,” shares Van Domelen. “We have the chance to bring even more people to Dallas than Aspen.”

Alive and Well

The Austin-based concept, founded by husband and wife team Liz and Michael Swail (whose family runs the People’s Pharmacy), will open a second location at The Terminal in early 2024. Another wellness-minded multitasker, the aptly named Alive and Well will take over the majority of the building’s second floor with a compounding pharmacy, a functional medicine clinic, holistic therapy options, and treatment rooms for things like massages, facials, and acupuncture.

Enjoy an infrared sauna and a cold plunge pool, take in the pain-relieving effects of red light therapy, get your fill of antioxidants with IV vitamin therapy, or grab some headphones for meditation in Alive and Well Dallas’ tranquility-inducing domed room.

Given the lengthy list of Alive and Well services, the lounge area, where you can order lunch or a drink from the downstairs Rose Café, is thoughtfully designed to keep the good vibes going.

“People spend hours with us during the day doing IV therapy, massages, sauna and cold plunges, or visiting their doctor,” Michael explains. “So it’s nice to have a space where they relax and can eat.”

Rose Café

Both food and beverage concepts at the base of The Terminal come from Stephan Courseau, the Dallas restaurateur behind Knox Street’s Le Bilboquet, Up on Knox, and Georgie.

“We wanted to stay with local people that knew the customers and understood what we were trying to do,” says Blake Shipp. (Courseau and his partner actually live on Buena Vista Street.)

The two new concepts from Courseau and chef Bruno Davaillon (formerly at Bullion) include Le PasSage, an upscale French-Asian fusion concept with a design inspired by the Orient Express, and the more approachable Rose Café, a breakfast, lunch, and dinner spot serving up espresso and a selection of wines throughout the day.

“[Courseau] wants the café to feel very casual, with people coming off the trail in workout clothes or grabbing a latté after an O2 class,” notes Lindsay Shipp. “He wants the menu options to be very affordable. It will truly be for everyone in the community to come visit.”

Both concepts are slated to open in early 2024.

Looking Ahead at The Terminal on Dallas’ Katy Trail

As their respective opening dates draw nearer, we’ll continue to learn more about Terminal tenants (including Wyld Blue, a stunning Montauk-based lifestyle boutique with outposts in Aspen and New York’s West Village) and wonder at the level of luxury in those one-of-a-kind condominiums, but you can trust the vision is in good hands with the Shipps.

“We want everything to feel really cohesive in the offerings and operations,” says Lindsay. “We want the lines to be really blurred about what space you’re in.”