What's to Show for Revitalization Efforts?

Wendy Hundley of The Dallas Morning News has a story questioning whether there's anything to show for Richardson's revitalization efforts. Actually, she doesn't question it; she quotes some Richardson residents who question the efforts. Then she gives the mayor and city manager an opportunity to dismiss the criticism.

After the jump, unpacking the story.

One Step Closer to Restaurant Row

Source: Hermansen Land Development, Inc.

Richardson appears to be getting one step closer to building a row of 1980s-style suburban restaurants at Central Expressway and Floyd Rd where the demolished Continental Inn used to be. So much for any dream of mixed-use development between the freeway and the single family homes in the Heights Park Richardson Heights neighborhood.

Three years ago, the city held a series of meetings to gather stakeholders' inputs on the aims of redevelopment of the West Spring Valley Corridor, which includes the land in question here. What rated highest with the stakeholders were the pretty pictures of sidewalk cafes and strolling shoppers. The city had other ideas. It purchased the old Continental Inn, demolished it, and is now (presumably) in the process of acquiring the other parcels of land on the block. Once all the land is in hand, Richardson will likely sell its stake to Hermansen Land Development, Inc., for construction of, not sidewalk cafes with strolling shoppers, but a 1980s-style restaurant row.

After the jump, why that unimaginative development may be one step closer.

"Food-Only" is the new "Mixed-Use"

"Food-Only Project". That's what The Dallas Morning News called the construction of a row of up to seven restaurants on Central Expressway just north of Spring Valley Rd. There was no hint whether or not that was meant ironically.

The original vision for this property was a mixed-use environment with ground floor retail and office with residential uses above, perhaps including a boutique hotel. Instead of that, developer Kirk Hermansen told The Dallas Morning News what we're really getting: "We’re all restaurants, no retail by design."

Who deserves the credit/blame for this?

Elections Have Consequences, Richardson Edition

There are three new members on the City of Richardson's City Council. In a zoning case Monday night, they made their first mark on Richardson's future shape. In a 4-3 vote, the newcomers, Jennifer Justice, Joe Corcoran, and Arefin Shamsul, plus second term council member Ken Hutchenrider, voted to reject a special use permit for a conventional drive-through restaurant in the so-called Restaurant Park. That's right. Richardson's city council rejected a drive-through. It wasn't because they oppose all drive-throughs. It was because they oppose a drive-through restaurant in that particular location. Still, it's a new day in Richardson.

North South Divide In Richardson

The north gets CityLine and Palisades Village. (I've had some reservations about some of the details of these developments (ahem), but I do like their scale and density.) The south gets a restaurant row (maybe), a 7-Eleven gas station and now (maybe) yet another drive-through fast food restaurant.

File No./Name: ZF 14-39 / Drive-thru Restaurant
Property Owner: Jason Ricks / BH Dallas Portfolio LLC
Applicant: Jarrod Blake
Location: 811 S. Central Expressway (See map on reverse side)
Current Zoning: C-M Commercial with special conditions
Request: A request for a change in zoning from C-M Commercial with special conditions to PD Planned Development to allow a restaurant with drive-through service and other site modifications on property located at 811 S. Central Expressway, the northeast corner of Central Expressway and Spring Valley Road.

Source: City of Richardson.

After the jump, what's going on here?

The Long Road to Richardson Restaurant Park

What the Customer Wanted

Source: City of Richardson.

In 2010, the City of Richardson embarked on the long journey of revitalization of the West Spring Valley Corridor. It started with a series of community meetings. The residents were clear on what they wanted to see in southwest Richardson: Urban. Mixed-use. Walkable. Pocket parks. Think Parisian boulevard.

Richardson is Playing the Wrong Game

I have been frustrated lately by the direction that development/redevelopment in Richardson is headed. For example, see "Main Street/Central Expressway Study" for my criticism of redevelopment plans for old downtown Richardson; see "The Last, Best Hope for Richardson" for my criticism of development plans for the land around the PGBT DART station; and see "In Southwest Richardson, It's Always Friday" for my criticism of the planned restaurant row in the West Spring Valley corridor.

After the jump, I finger the common source of these frustrations.

Selling Richardson a Biergarten

Richardson is getting two more drive-through restaurants, this time not on the east side, where a Salad And Go was recently approved, but on the west side. If the City Council approves, they'll go in Richardson Restaurant Park, the catalyst project for the redevelopment of the West Spring Valley Corridor, a planned development sold to the residents with slides of fancy mixed-use buildings and sidewalk cafes. But the developer says that restaurants with drive throughs saw increased business during the COVID-19 pandemic and he predicts that isn't ever going away. I guess cities built in walkable form are now just going to shrivel and die. At least the City Plan Commission bought the sales pitch. We'll see what the City Council says when the project goes there.

In Southwest Richardson, It's Always Friday

Source: Hermansen Land Development, Inc.

Yesterday, I reported how I became owner of a hotel, namely, the aging Continental Inn in southwest Richardson, which the city bought (for $2.2 million) and has commenced tearing down.

After the jump, what the city plans to do with the property.

For Once, Let's Not Fill 'er Up

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times. What Richardson needs is more places to store your boats and campers while you're out shopping and dining. And more gas stations next to our DART stops.

I've been a champion of development at US75/PGBT, at Galatyn, at Eastside, at Brick Row, and eventually I hope, at old downtown Main Street and along West Spring Valley Rd. But that doesn't mean I'm all in favor of every cockamamie idea for new development anywhere in Richardson. Really, I do draw the line somewhere.

After the jump, examples of misguided development in Richardson.

Row Over Brick Row

Developers of Brick Row want to convert 300 unsold condos into apartments. You can imagine how that's going over with the crowd that never even wanted condos there, to say nothing of apartments (or any place else in Richardson, for that matter).

Me? I'm inclined to support the request. After the jump, why.

Repeat Tweets: Our Sophomoric State Senator

Repeat tweets from June, 2015:

• Jun 1 2015: RT @KonniBurton: "No longer Freshmen!" Now merely sophomoric. @DonHuffines
  
• Jun 1 2015: Headline: "RISD school bus involved in chase, recovered in Louisiana." Yikes! kltv.com
  
• Jun 2 2015: Headline: "Ratliff not seeking re-election to SBOE next year." No! Please don't let Creationist Don McLeroy back in. trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com
  
• Jun 7 2015: Is there a way the NBA could redesign their product so that bad officiating isn't an inherent part of the game? Or do they just don't care?
  
• Jun 8 2015: "The most informed voters are often the most badly misled." Why "citizens' town hall" meetings" will lead you astray. vox.com
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

If Not This, Then What?

On Wednesday, I blogged about my opposition to the Richardson City Council's approval of a zoning change request to allow the development of pad site restaurants on the old Richardson Square Mall property at Belt Line Rd and Plano Rd. My article was criticized for not offering alternative solutions. Alternatives weren't the subject of my post, but if you read it and my previous articles linked to, you'll see that I do address just that question. Maybe this standalone article on the question will help.

For Restaurant Row, Dessert is Served First

It appears that the City of Richardson is now the proud owner of a row of restaurants along US 75 north of Spring Valley Rd. Well, not actually owner. Instead the city is just putting up the money. Someone else will actually own the restaurants and make money off of them.

Hermansen was the recipient of a very generous deal with the city. Richardson gave him a grant for the full purchase price of the five-acre tract – $2.2 million. In addition, the city will provide up to $1.2 million in grants to pay for infrastructure costs.

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

Sears Redevelopment

Social media has a long thread about the meeting last week at the Richardson Civic Center about the Richardson Square Sears site. Everyone was drooling about the names of the potential tenants that the developer dropped as bait, among them Trader Joe's and Sprouts (he's good at public relations). Correction: there was one naysayer, but even he cared only about the tenants: "I say NO! to Jersey Mike's. I hate their sandwiches, 70% bread."

Bridging the Divides in Richardson

Source: City of Richardson.

A week or so ago, the City of Richardson announced they had bought the old Continental Inn and had begun demolition of it in anticipation (I presume) of reselling it to a private party for redevelopment. This week, the Richardson City Council reviewed plans for rehabilitation of West Spring Valley Rd, including designs for bridge renovations. This is all good news. After years of talk, this long-neglected part of our city is finally making visible progress towards redevelopment.

A back story to the bridge renovations also contains good news. The city appears to have engaged the neighborhood in the process. The result is a design that's modern and, more important, popular with nearby residents. The process for coming up with that bridge design highlighted a divide between city planners and local residents, a divide that's been bridged (pun fully intended).

After the jump, some of the divides that remain.

Repeat Tweets: Sports and Politics and Stuff

Repeat tweets from October-December, 2011:

• 2011 10 04 - The Island of Lost Maps, by Miles Harvey: Map thief's tale padded to book length with historical anecdotes, most lifted from other books. C-
  
• 2011 10 05 - Tea Party's choice in GOP primaries is down to this: Romneycare vs In-state tuition for illegals. Hold your nose and pick. #letdown
  
• 2011 10 06 - Headline: "Perry Campaign Says Economic Specifics Can Wait." Really? Campaign tanking, all focus on n-word, & his best argument can wait???
  
• 2011 10 06 - Headline: "Bachmann: Perry used jobs fund to reward backers." Really? Earth to Bachmann: Perry already sinking. Time to swing aim to Romney.
  
• 2011 10 06 - Go Caltech! #1 in the world according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
  
• 2011 10 06 - Kasra Persian Restaurant got a score of 82 from RIchardson Health Dept this week. Low end of "Good" but I know they can do better.
  
• 2011 10 06 - BBQ beats Shawarma. This week's matchup of Dine Smart Dine Local restaurant health scores: Sonny Bryan 91, Afrah 89.
  
• 2011 10 06 - 2010: A-Rod strikes out. 2011: A-Rod strikes out. Last out for the Yankees two years in a row. Rangers face Tigers in ALCS!
  
• 2011 10 07 - Did Harry Reid pull the nuclear option in the Senate Thursday night? Well, yes, if by nuclear option you mean... http://t.co/UGMHgFBo
  
• 2011 10 07 - Weekend NFL tip: Count on the Cowboys' Tony Romo to have a mistake-free Sunday this week. http://t.co/hoKAN817
  
• 2011 10 07 - Brewers beat Diamondbacks in extra innings! Dare I hope for a Brewers/Rangers World Series? http://t.co/9FxrNVzj
  
• 2011 10 07 - Final. Sunset 6, Lake Highlands 37. #txhsfb http://t.co/aUniWMd9
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Restaurant Row: Now Serving

Monday night, the Richardson City Council approved a rezoning request to allow the construction of four restaurants on land previously occupied by the demolished Continental Inn on Central Expressway.

I've had my say on this well-conceived but mismanaged project many times before. Now that the rezoning is approved, I'll just say that the City Plan Commission ought to be feeling both good about themselves and disrespected at the same time. It was the CPC's rejection of the first submitted (unpopular) plan that led to the (less unpopular) plan that was ultimately approved by the city council Monday night. Good for the CPC. But then, the council took up the revised plan without sending it to the CPC for their expert consideration and advice. Bad for the city council. Why have a CPC if you're not going to draw on their experience in a matter such as this, the so-called catalyst project for the whole West Spring Valley Corridor Planned Development?

OK, I've said more than I intended to already. What I meant to say is that two people closer to the matter than I am have already said pretty much all that needs saying. After the jump, Cottonwood Heights NA President Jason Lemons and Richardson Heights NA President Richard Dotson. Both were speaking in an individual capacity and not for the associations they lead.

Alcohol and Coffee are your Friends

Wick Allison, publisher of D Magazine, bemoans the lack of amenities in the Dallas Arts District for people to "sit and settle, to imbibe an adult beverage, enjoy brunch, or just people-watch over a cup of coffee." Even the addition of the Klyde Warren Park hasn't changed that. Allison pleads with the City of Dallas:

Oh, beloved Arts District people, how many times do I have to say it: alcohol and coffee are your friends. Embrace them. Use food and drink as welcoming arms to invite people to your mini-fortresses of Art. Klyde Warren Park has given you the gift of people. Open up your gates to them!

Source: FrontBurner.

After the jump, lessons for Richardson.

Main Street Mixed-Use

The City of Richardson announced that it had approved a mixed-use development in old downtown Richardson.

A proposed mixed-use development at the northeast corner of Central Expressway and Main Street was approved unanimously by the City Council Monday. The 14.5-acre development will include residential, commercial and restaurant space. It is the first significant private sector development in the downtown area since the adoption of the Main Street/Central Expressway Form Based Code last year...A highlight of the development is the mixed-use portion planned for the corner of Main and Interurban streets. In addition to 15,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, it will have multifamily units located above the retail space, surrounding private courtyards, and a 700-space parking garage, which will be shared with tenants from the Chase Bank building. Immediately to the north of the mixed-use area will be townhomes with private yards and garage parking. The for-lease units will be two or three stories each and average 1,800 square feet per unit.

Source: City of Richardson.

After the jump, why I am cautiously optimistic.