Strait Lane Estate Needs Second Electric Meter
Richard J. Malouf, who apparently built his fortune through orthodontics, has a big house on Strait Lane. A really big house. A house so big that he wants to add a second electric meter to his estate, specifically a meter for three-phase power.
Dallas code allows only one meter per single-family property, so Malouf is asking the Board of Adjustment (scroll to page 38) for an exception to the rule. His request will likely be granted at Tuesday’s public hearing, because City Hall sent notices to a dozen of his neighbors — including Dirk Nowitzki, Phil Romano, and the parents of Luke and Owen Wilson — and none of them offered up any opposition.
When D Magazine last published its biennial list of the most expensive homes in Dallas, Malouf’s came in at No. 54. The blurb about the house said, “To the north, their neighbor is Dirk Nowitzki. To the south, it’s themselves. Their second house was on our list in 2009 but was reduced.”
That would be No. 67 on the 2009 rankings. I think we get an explanation for the reduction from an email that consultant Mark C. Webb sent to the Board of Adjustment on Malouf’s behalf.
“Two lots were platted into one lot, and the two houses are being connected into one house,” Webb wrote. “We don’t want the board to think we are asking for two houses on one lot, just two electric meters (one single phase and one 3 phase).”
