Southlake mayor says city is now a ‘destination’

The mayor of Southlake says the city is prospering, thanks to good planning done decades ago.

Mayor Laura Hill, elected last year, said she took the mayor’s office at “the right place at the right time,” crediting the city’s current and past leadership, including previous mayor John Terrell, for the city’s bright outlook.

“When you have a great Council, you can get a lot done,” Hill said. “It’s all starting to come to fruition. (Southlake) was planned to stand the test of time.”

Hill said much of the city’s groundwork has been completed or is in the works: it’s in a “great location” in the middle of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and next to the DFW International Airport; property values continue to rise, and the city has established itself as a high-end shopping and entertainment location, among many other factors that are helping to take Southlake to a new level.

“Now, people are starting to look at us as a destination,” Hill said.

Recently, the city approved plans on a new high-end hotel; it’s further improved Bicentennial Park; it’s completed the first phase of The Marq, a facility for events, meetings, recreation and more; several offices and corporations are moving into town, on top of continued retail and restaurant growth, high quality schools and a “great City Council,” Hill couldn’t be much happier about the city of Southlake’s future.

In October, the investment brokerage company TD Ameritrade bought land near the Solana Business Park along Texas 114 to relocate its 1,200-employee facilities at Alliance in north Fort Worth to Southlake. Hill said the future offices buildings, which will break ground this year, are a huge deal to the city.

“Next to Town Square as our retail hub, TD Ameritrade is probably the best thing to ever happen to Southlake, from an office standpoint,” Hill said.

Residents will see a bunch of “little projects add to the quality” in 2016, Hill said, as the city aims to continue what it’s been doing: attracting quality commerce and “sustaining” the progress that’s been made.

“They’re not big snazzy projects,” she said. “But each of those projects adds a little to our quality of life here.”

As far as challenges, Hill said traffic flow appears to be the biggest one for Southlake.

“We have to face the fact that we have a downtown now,” Hill said.

She said the road projects, especially adding roundabouts and turn lanes and giving residents more options to drive around town, are a priority for the city. But, those projects wn’t be completed immediately.

Another challenge is that there isn’t much undeveloped land left in the city, and Hill said she wants to have some plans or ideas for the best ways to utilize it.

Hill said she’d like to get started a free, eco-friendly trolley system that would circle around high-traffic areas, such as the Gateway Church, current and under-construction hotels, TD Ameritrade offices, Town Square and possibly The Marq Southlake.

“We need a way for people to park their car at the office” and get around to stores, restaurants and other destinations while leaving “their car in one spot.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 10:08 AM with the headline "Southlake mayor says city is now a ‘destination’."