Southlake's next big gathering place in the works, and it's European-style

Imagine strolling past a meat market where people are eating steak dinners, stopping at a coffee shop for a warm beverage while you listen to water cascading from fountains or catching the waft of fresh bread from a mom-and-pop bakery.

That’s the vision developers have for the retail portion of Carillon, a mixed-use development taking shape about two miles west of Southlake Town Square. Plans for the next phase of the development, which already features million-dollar homes, were recently filed with the city of Southlake.

The Village at Carillon Parc, planned for 42 acres at the northeast corner of White Chapel Boulevard and Texas 114, has the potential to become the next big destination in Northeast Tarrant County, said Southlake Mayor Laura Hill, who recently toured a similar development called The Pearl in San Antonio.

“I think this Carillon idea is the future of retail,” Hill said. “It’s more of a European-style center with smaller rental spaces that allow mom-and-pops to open a bake shop or a candy store or a small specialty bookstore. The kind of businesses that really can’t afford to be in bigger spaces.”

The plans, if approved by the city’s planning and zoning commission and city council this winter, include a new city library, two hotels and 9.5 acres of parks, trails and fountains. There would also be 45 to 60 lofts located on the upper floors of buildings that will all be owner-occupied.

“They will be very high-end,” said former Southlake mayor John Terrell, who is part of a team of developers working on the project.

Carillon Parc will be complementary to the popular Southlake Town Square rather than trying to directly compete, he said.

“We’re not going to be focused on national retailers,” Terrell said. “We want to be unique. I want to do what the city of Southlake envisioned for many years on this site.”

It’s been a long time coming for residents who bought homes in Carillon years ago with the hope that the French-inspired mixed-use project would follow. Originally, it was planned by Hines, the developer of Carillon, but it fell by the wayside when the recession hit a decade ago.

“We completely bought into it,” said Mary Lee Alford, who bought her home in 2014. “We are big proponents of making sure that this development is completed. That’s why so many of us in Carillon moved here was for the promise of that.”

The new design borrows themes from all of Europe, not just France, Terrell said. Developers didn’t want a typical design where everything looks sterile and brand new.

“We want it to look like it was developed over time rather than a project that looks brand new,” Terrell said.

To that end, they’ll take measures to preserve as many trees as possible.

“It requires retaining walls but we also look at it as giving the entire project a lot of character,” he said. “We’ll be looking at an established site almost from the beginning.”

The zoning change for Carillon Parc is scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission in November and then to the City Council in December and January.

If approved, construction could start in the spring and the first phase could open by the fall of 2019.

A buffet of experiences

Eighteen years ago, Southlake Town Square put the city on the map as an example of how to create a walkable commercial district from raw land. It has become a regional destination.

That success became contagious. The Shops at Southlake, Park Village and Kimball Oaks followed along Southlake Boulevard, retail centers that focus on traditional big box anchors and chain restaurants.

Southlake is ready for something different, Terrell said.

“We are saturated for national chain retailers,” he said.

With Carillon Parc, Terrell said they’ve reduced the size of the tenant spaces.

“What we need are different and unique places that add to the selection,” Hill said. “It’s a buffet of retail experiences. I think if we can offer a lot of those in Southlake, we’ll keep people coming back and keep the people who live here entertained.”

The walkable design will touch all the senses, with slabs of meat hanging in the butcher shop windows to bells — the namesake for the Carillon development — ringing at various towers.

Brian Massie, a Las Vegas chef, plans to open the butcher shop and a wine and cheese-centric restaurant called Corked — Tapas & Cocktails.

“It’s going to keep us healthy and active,” Alford said. “You can sit in the park and visit with your neighbor. You can just walk over and enjoy your evening with appetizers, dinner and a beverage.”

The project will also have parking for golf carts so residents don’t have to drive a vehicle to shop or dine.

More than reading

Carillon Parc could also be the future home of Southlake’s library.

The city’s library is in the basement of Town Hall at Town Square, where it’s often difficult for parents to park nearby, Terrell said. Not to mention the library is out of space and needs more room for programming.

Just as Town Hall was instrumental to Southlake Town Square’s success, a new library would be important for Carillon Parc. Details are still being worked out but Terrell said Carillon Parc could build the library and lease it back to the city.

Eventually, the city could buy it.

“We can build the library less expensively and faster than the city could,” Terrell said.

City officials remain open to the possibility but it’s still early in the process, city spokeswoman Pilar Schank said.

The library proposal shows a building that opens to the outdoors where people could step outside to read a book, looking out over the piazzas, fountains and trees.

There would be covered access from the parking garage to the library.

The Carillon Parc project also envisions two hotels, one with 200 rooms along the Texas 114 frontage road and a smaller 70-room boutique hotel in the heart of the mixed-use area.

The hotels would add hotel occupancy tax dollars for the city, which is exploring the possibility of having a free trolley service connecting the city’s hotels to job centers, retail shopping and restaurants. The city has hired a consultant to explore the issue.

This story was originally published August 26, 2017 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Southlake's next big gathering place in the works, and it's European-style."