HP Wants No High-Rise

Highland Park files petition against Dallas over Katy Trail high-rise apartments

Unhappy about a seven-story, multi-family apartment complex planned along the Katy Trail, the Town of Highland Park has filed a petition in a Dallas County court asking for an injunction to prevent it from moving forward.

The property is located at 4719 Cole Ave., which lies directly on the Katy Trail and within 200 feet of Highland Park, Abbott Park and several Highland Park residential properties. In August, the Dallas City Council changed the zoning restrictions to allow an increase in the height from 36 feet to 82 feet, and the number of units from 78 to 258.

According to the petition, the property is not compatible with the surrounding area; no buildings in the neighborhood exceed 36 feet in height. Aside from the quality of life, Highland Park does not want to set a precedent for high-rise development all along the Katy Trail.

In a release, Highland Park Mayor Joel Williams said that the combination of Katy Trail and Abbott Park make it a one-of-a-kind neighborhood. "A seven-story, multi-family, high-rise building does not fit this neighborhood and violates Dallas' own master plan," he said.

Dallas' Comprehensive Plan was created from citizen and business input in 2006 to provide a framework for economic development balanced with neighborhood preservation. Under §211.004 of the Texas Local Government Code, the plan must be amended by the Dallas City Council before any deviance from the plan's zoning restrictions can be considered.

Dallas city staff rejected the changes in zoning restrictions in May, saying the "proposed increase in height and density is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood because the scale of the proposed development is not consistent with the surrounding development." But the Dallas City Council ignored the city staff's recommendation and went ahead and approved the 133 percent increase in the size and density of the proposed redevelopment project.

The Town of Highland Park is seeking relief and recovery of all legal costs.

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GP News

Grand Prairie expands to the south with new master-planned community

Rendering courtesy of Provident

Goodland Grand Prairie

The City of Grand Prairie is growing fast and expanding to make way for a new master-planned development south of US Highway 287 and along Tollway 360, in Ellis and Johnson counties.

The community development, called Goodland, is the result of Grand Prairie’s recent 1,500-acre annexation extending its southern border toward Mansfield. Overall, with the added land, Goodland will be a 5,000-acre site featuring 15,000 residences including townhomes, custom homes, and gated communities for 50,000 residents.

According to a release, it will be a “city within a city” and a 45-minute drive from Dallas-Fort Worth. Beyond housing, there will be shops, restaurants, schools, public and private event venues, regional sports fields and complexes, dance halls, churches, trail systems, city parks, ponds, and preserved green spaces.

“This is a significant step in our city’s development,” says Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen in a statement. “Unlike many of our neighboring cities, we have the unique advantage of new development opportunities to our south that will drive the growth and prosperity of our city. We recognized the opportunity and took decisive action.”

Leading the development is Provident, a Dallas-based real estate firm that has created other master-planned communities across Dallas-Fort Worth, such as Preston Hollow Village and Hillstead in Collin County. Provident has plans to work nature into the space design with more than 1,600 acres of creek corridors and floodplain land.

Plans are ongoing for a centralized mixed-use walkable Town Center, complete with civic buildings and other commercial development. Further south on the property near Highway 67, light industrial uses and other private employment campuses are already underway, projects that will contribute vital tax dollars for city growth and future expansions.

“This level of placemaking is quite rare, and certainly not easy to execute, especially in a brand-new community," says Provident Managing Director Rylan Yowell in a statement. "We are committed to a long-term vision with a desire to be good stewards of the land."

A new four-lane road called Goodland Parkway will link Goodland to Grand Prairie at Tollway 360 and US Highway 287. It's set to open by December 2025.

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