To hear local realty execs tell it, Dallas-Fort Worth is the center of the real estate universe.

Well, for next week at least, the area will indeed be ground zero for the commercial property industry.

Almost 3,000 of the country's top real estate developers, brokers, lenders, designers and analysts will be in Dallas starting Wednesday for the Urban Land Institute's spring council meeting.

"It's been a long time since the ULI came to Dallas, so this is a big deal for us," said Dallas developer Jeff Swope, who's been working with other commercial real estate pros in North Texas to host the industry confab.

"We have 1,100 ULI district council members here in Dallas-Fort Worth."

The timing for the big real estate meeting – which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas – is pretty good.

The last time the ULI came to Big D was in 1990, during the depths of the regional real estate depression. Looking at the local property market back then was like a tour of the elephants' graveyard.

But now, while much of the rest of the country is sinking into recession, the D-FW area is one of the top employment markets.

And while commercial property activity is slowing here, it certainly hasn't run out of gas.

Even our housing market – while looking a little more ragged in recent months – is shining compared with other big-city markets.

While visiting Dallas, ULI attendees will hear about the housing market, the credit crunch and transportation issues.

And Roger Staubach and Emmitt Smith will be talking about their real estate business, and I suspect a bit about football, too.

There'll be plenty of real estate for the visitors to see as well, with tours planned that stretch from downtown's Arts District all the way to the 'burbs.

And I suspect there'll be some deal making done as well. Anytime you get that many real estate people in one place there's bound to be a few transactions that result. They just can't help themselves.

A McKinney Avenue block that prompted a big zoning brouhaha is on the market.

In mid-2006, SNK Realty got city approval to build a 24- to 25-story residential tower at McKinney and Fairmont.

The deal was contingent on SNK building a 1-acre park to buffer the high-rise from property owners who vehemently opposed the project.

Now real estate broker Newt Walker has been hired to solicit purchase offers for the property, which is one of the biggest development sites on McKinney.

The last time the property sold, it fetched close to $150 per square foot.

A suggestion for potential buyers: Don't even think about a zoning change.

The buzz in northeast Dallas these days is about the old Steakley Chevrolet property on Northwest Highway.

Recently operated as Bankston Chevrolet, the dealership is being closed and consolidated with the auto retailer's other operations.

A car dealership has operated on the property at Abrams Road and Loop 12 since the early 1960s, when John Steakley moved his downtown dealership there. Back then, the location was out in the boonies.

Now the neighborhood is getting a makeover with old apartments being torn down for new shopping centers and rental units.

The real estate partnership that owns the Steakley property says it doesn't have any plans for the tract. The real estate is leased long-term – including renewals – to AutoNation Inc.

"The land is still controlled by the lessee," said a representative for Well Stone Corp., based in Woodbridge, Va., who asked not to be identified. "There are no plans for the property.

"But we are getting lots of calls from real estate brokers."