NEW YORK— The steel skeleton rising over Columbus Circle here almost certainly is destined for landmark status on the Manhattan skyline. When its completed next year, the AOL Time Warner Center will house the headquarters and television studios of a media giant along with a luxury hotel, performance halls, stores and restaurants— all which will serve as a guideline for a planned mixed-use development in Dallas. The New York City project is the signature work of developer Palladium Co. Run by President and Chief Executive Kenneth Himmel, Palladium was approached by Dallas businessmen Ross Perot Jr. and Tom Hicks in November 1999 to be the lead developer for Victory, the $600 million redevelopment project near downtown Dallas. The Victory plan aims to create a pedestrian- oriented complex with a critical mass of stores and restaurants, along with a W Hotel, office space, and apartments. “If you look at what [Himmel’s] done, hes the best in the country,” Perot told the The Dallas Morning News. “So few people have done true mixed-use successfully. Hes one of a handful of people to pull it off, the kind of developer we need in Dallas.” SOURCE: The Dallas Morning News