Carrollton, Farmers Branch already planning for DART arrival

09:32 AM CDT on Friday, June 6, 2008
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

More than a century ago, railroads transformed Carrollton and Farmers Branch from sleepy farm towns into growing communities.

Now a new railway – DART's Green Line, which is under construction – promises to kick off a big wave of redevelopment in the two Dallas suburbs.

True, the first DART trains won't roll into Farmers Branch and Carrollton for another two years.

But developers and city officials are already gearing up for development around four planned train stops.

"We really don't have a downtown like most towns," said Farmers Branch City Manager Gary Greer.

"So this is our chance to do that with some urban-style living and shopping facilities."

DART's station in Farmers Branch will be east of Interstate 35E and just south of Valley View Lane.

The city has planned an adjoining town center that includes civic, recreational, commercial and residential space.

Plans also call for a combination of apartments and townhouses, with ground floor retail space and some offices mixed in. Farmers Branch has tied up almost 20 acres for the developments.

"We are going to try and get development going before we get the rail line in place," Mr. Greer said.

"My hope is to have the first phase of the development in full swing by this time next year."

Farmers Branch is working with developer Icon Partners, which is set to construct the first apartment and retail buildings.

"It will put that area on the map and make it a destination point not only for Farmers Branch, but the broader community at large," said Icon president Paris Rutherford.

"Farmers Branch has been waiting a long time for this to happen, and finally DART is under construction."

Mr. Rutherford said Icon hopes to have its first project near the station done by the time the passengers arrive.

Transit-oriented developments are catching on all over the country.

And in North Texas, developers are building near DART stations in Dallas, Richardson, Plano and Garland.

DART officials are expecting a similar response from builders in Carrollton and Farmers Branch.


Carrollton has picked High Street Residential – a subsidiary of Trammell Crow Co. – to coordinate development at all three of its transit stops.

All of the proposed developments could add as much as $1 billion to the city's tax base, according to Carrollton officials.

"We are now trying to figure out what can be built and line up with the DART line opening in 2010," said High Street president Arthur Lomenick. "We are looking at what product types will make the most sense."

High Street is studying the station that serves Carrollton's historic downtown district on Belt Line Road, one at State Highway 190 and one on Frankford Road.

"The city of Carrollton has already done a lot of planning," Mr. Lomenick said.

"We are looking at what makes sense to spend money on today versus out in the future."

Carrollton officials say they are fortunate to get the new DART line. And proposals for future commuter rail lines could make the city a crossroads for mass transit.

"We are extraordinarily lucky to have three stations," said Peter Braster, Carrollton's transit-oriented development manager.

"Carrollton was there originally because it's where three rail lines joined."

As DART doubles its rail network in the next few years, cities will be vying to bring in capable developers and projects, predicted Brad Mink, Carrollton's economic development director.

"There are going to be a bunch of new stations coming on line," Mr. Mink said. "The question is, Is there enough development and capital to make development around them all successful?

"The aggressive cities and the ones putting it together properly will do fine."