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E-mail This StoryFar North Carrollton is where much of the city’s development is now taking place, according to city officials.
City and business leaders in the community heard from the economic development office about where the city is headed in terms of retail and restaurant development during Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce’s Retail Briefing on July 16.
“We’re substandard when it comes to retail and restaurant development,” said Brad Mink, director of economic development.
Mink explained that the city used to have ordinances that prevented retail and restaurant development, so chains and franchisees opened shop in neighboring cities. Thus, Carrollton has a lot of non-mainstream restaurants even though chain restaurants such as TGI Friday’s have headquarters in Carrollton.
“We’re in a constant game of catch-up. That’s the negative side,” Mink said. “It’s not all gloom and doom, but we can always be better.”
Development in far North Carrollton includes the Asian Town Center at Old Denton and the George Bush Turnpike, Shops at Prestonwood at Charles Road and Hebron Parkway, Mustang Park at Plano Parkway west of Hebron High School, Raiford Tract near Old Denton and George Bush, The Collection at 121 and Hebron, and Air Park at Plano Parkway and Park Boulevard.
Much of the development will consist of mixed-use properties, which includes residential, retail and offices.
“We acquired 113 acres and are now about to go to market with [Raiford Road],” said Peter Braster, transit-oriented development (TOD) manager.
Braster said that residents can expect to see single family housing, townhouses, apartments, retail, offices, and a hotel on that property. Air Park, which the city annexed in February, will contain high-end mixed-use development.
With the DART Rail riding into Carrollton in 2010, transit-oriented development is also on the horizon, with plans shaping up at stations to be located downtown and on Trinity Mills. Transit-oriented development in North Carrollton is moving slower because the city does not own the land.
“Transit-oriented development is living above the store,” Braster explained.
The city hired Trammel Crow to spearhead the development. Braster said that Main Street will be reconstructed, the square will be rehabilitated and the parking removed to make it more walkable.
“It will all be done and complete by December 2010,” he said. “Downtown will feel a lot more like Addison Circle feels when you walk under the trees. We’ll be turning the first shovel of dirt within the next six months or so.”
Retail specialist Elise Back explained how the city attracts and keeps retailers within its boundaries by providing training, e-bulletins, roundtables, property databases, a development and rehabilitation program, an online dining and retail guide, and a “Shop Carrollton” campaign.
“We want to get Carrollton residents and people that work in the city to shop locally,” she said.
The city is also working to improve its aesthetics through new signage requirements, which include architectural details, said Ravi Shah, director of urban development.
Mink said he is particularly concerned about hotel development and hopes attract higher-end hotels to the city.
“The few hotels we have here are embarrassing,” he said. “We are aggressively working to change that.”
Contact Senitra Horbrook at 972-628-4074 or shorbrook@acnpapers.com. Comment on this story at scntx.com.
