ARLINGTON -- Senior living, loft-style apartments and a food truck plaza are among 16 projects that consultants have recommended that the city promote among developers to help boost downtown revitalizations efforts.
Since November, Arlington has been working with consultants and downtown stakeholders to develop a strategy on how best to beautify the aging area along Division Street and make it more pedestrian friendly, increase property values and create new jobs.The $93,745 initiative, which the City Council is set to vote on in October, was funded largely by a $75,000 grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments."Downtown is a healthy place," Paris Rutherford of Catalyst Urban Development told council members during an update last week. "There is just a lot of open areas and a lot of older infrastructure. There does need to be new private investment."The focal point of the study is a 124-acre, 1-mile stretch between Cooper and Collins streets and North and Front streets. The area, which has 178 parcels, is cluttered with aging buildings, too many utility poles and large patches of asphalt parking lots, city leaders say.Consultants have met with business owners and community leaders more than 20 times since January to generate ideas. Based on the stakeholder feedback, the top three development opportunities the consultants recommended the city begin marketing are a senior-living facility near First United Methodist Church of Arlington, residential lofts near Front and Mesquite streets, and a plaza near the Levitt Pavilion where food trucks could set up to draw crowds.Having more people live downtown and not just come for a brief visit is key to creating a vibrant atmosphere there, consultants said."One thing we see missing in downtown is a nighttime population," Paris said. "It's a huge opportunity for some quality investment to occur in there."Aesthetic concernsAnother possible project the city should market is a new pre-owned car auto mall that could allow several smaller car lots along Division to consolidate, which would free up their land for new development."We are not saying that businesses necessarily need to go away," Paris said. "We are saying there are more efficient uses for the parcels in the corridor."Community and city officials are interested in making Division Street, a key corridor between downtown and the entertainment district, more visually pleasing. Though it would be too costly to bury the utility lines, consultants said the city could work with utility companies to consolidate their lines onto fewer poles.Limited right-of-way availability along Division could also make it difficult for the city to add sidewalks or other amenities, said Wendy Shabay, a consultant from Freese and Nichols."The aesthetic concerns are a really big deal. There are some real challenges with just going in and making it look better," Shabay said.Realistic strategyOther proposals in the draft strategy include new restaurants or mixed-use developments that would feature lofts, office space and retail. The city could make its own investment by adding or repairing sidewalks, financing a parking garage, adding new park space and working with businesses to replace aging signs with new neon or eclectic signs that are visually interesting and promote the street's history."Division is not the prettiest street," Rutherford said.Councilwoman Lana Wolff called the strategy realistic and said she was thrilled so many downtown property owners participated in its creation."The city is not prepared to write everybody checks," Wolff said. "What we have to do is create the market out there and encourage those property owners to come together and make those decisions about their businesses."The City Council is set to hold its first public hearing on the proposed strategy Oct. 30.Susan Schrock, 817-709-7578Twitter: @susanschrock
Take a look
To review the draft Division Street Corridor Strategy, visit www.arlingtontx.gov/planning/divisionstreet.html
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