Train News

Dallas' largest transit-oriented development breaks ground in Carrollton

Rendering of Trinity Mills in Carrollton

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The City of Carrollton and its partners have broken ground on Eviva Trinity Mills, a mixed-use project going up at Trinity Mills Station, the train station that serves DART Light Rail's Green Line as well as Denton County's A-train commuter rail line.

Eviva will be a five-story mixed-use blend of residential, retail, and restaurant spaces, with more than 430 multi-family units and live/work spaces.

According to a release, it's part of the Trinity Mills Transit District, a 25-acre Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) made possible through a public/private partnership between the City of Carrollton, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), The Integral Group developers, and Koa Partners.

In a statement, Carrollton Urban Development Director Ravi Shah calls it a monumental milestone.

"The first milestone was the approval in April 2020 for a 125,000-square foot, six-story class A office structure to serve as the marquee building within the new development," Shah says. "The second was the three-acre green park esplanade."

That esplanade is now complete. It runs the length of the property and creates an area between the office buildings on the north side of the development, and Eviva, which will be located to the south.

Eviva is part of a plan by Carrollton and DART to create a sustainable mixed-use district with residential, office, and retail, along with a central public space that features pedestrian amenities and supports transit ridership.

They expect that it will eventually grow from Phase 1 - which is a 25-acre TOD - to a 300-acre hub.

Carrollton mayor Steve Babick calls Trinity Mills Station "the largest publicly owned transit-oriented development site in North Texas and the most connected."

"It is also the only transfer hub connecting the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) A-Train commuter service to Denton and the DART Green Line light rail service to Dallas," Babick says.

Babick says that its location - at the southeast quadrant of the President George Bush Turnpike and IH-35E interchange - could make it a gateway to Carrollton for not only the east-west traffic from PGBT, but also north-south commuters from IH-35E.

Highway and rail connections to Dallas Love Field and DFW International Airports can be made within 20 minutes, and DART’s Silver Line Regional Rail will be one stop away when completed in late 2025 to mid-2026.

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Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

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