The streetcar effort is picking up steam, and is starting to get more coverage in the local media (besides here, that is, where I’ve been writing about this for over a year now). The latest bit of coverage is over at the Weekly’s unfortunately named blog, Blotch, where Gayle Reaves passes along this bit of discussion during her Monday roundup:
If public transportation rather than gas drilling is your issue du jour, you may want to check out the streetcar plans that another group is whipping up: the Modern Streetcar Study Committee will hold its first meeting next Mon., Aug. 11, at 3 p.m., in the pre-council chambers at city hall. They’re studying three possible streetcar lines, from downtown to the Hospital District and Texas Wesleyan University; from downtown to the Stockyards and beyond; and from downtown west to the Cultural District. The city council wants a final report on funding and possible routes by the end of the year.
And this time, it looks like the streetcar system stands a good chance of actually getting approved: on the panel, 11 of 15 members have been vocal supporters of the idea, and city council members have privately told some streetcar folks that funding won’t be a problem, especially if special taxing districts are set up to help with parts of the expected $150-million-plus price tag.
Apart from my concerns over member Glen Whitley, which I expressed yesterday, I have been pleased at the support the streetcar committee has been expressing for the idea. The funding bit echoes things I’ve been hearing as well, and is encouraging.
Thanks to Andy from North Texas Historic Transportation for pointing me to Gayle’s quote.
Kevin -
I didn’t know how else to communicate this to you…
I assume the grocery anchor is the Whole Foods?
GlobeSt.com Last updated: August 5, 2008 11:09pm
Legacy Closes Key Deal for $60M TOD Hybrid
By Connie Gore
FORT WORTH-Legacy Capital Co., marking its second year of working the plan, will break ground in mid- to late 2009 on an estimated $60-million hybrid transit-oriented development after selling 11.5 acres of its 100 acres to the Fort Worth Transit Authority. Still to come is a right-of-way land sale to the state, opening the door for Summer Creek Station to be parked on the doorstep of a new toll road and new T line.
The transportation lines will bisect Summer Creek Station, envisioned as a mix of residential, office and roughly 250,000 sf of retail in South Fort Worth. “It’s a challenge to try and design around the Southwest Parkway and new rail,” says Peter M. Aberg, partner in the Dallas-based development company, “but we’re very excited that the T committed to us.”
Aberg tells GlobeSt.com that Legacy’s partners will decide in early 2009 if they will sell sites to other developers or build on their own or joint venture partner to build out the site. In all, Legacy is holding 75 acres of developable land at the future junction of Southwest Parkway, Sycamore School Road and Summer Creek Boulevard. Toll road construction is slated to start in early 2009 and wrap up in 2011.
Legacy plans to deliver Summer Creek’s phase one in 2010, keeping its project marching in step with the parkway’s construction. “We believe that parkway is going to be incredibly significant. We’ve been investing in the area in anticipation of that,” Aberg says.
Aberg says the plan is so preliminary that it’s not yet been decided how large the components will be and which one will be the first to rise. Good Fulton & Farrell Inc. of Dallas has mapped out the site plan and is designing Summer Creek Station, factoring in hike and bike trails as part of the incentive package. Transwestern Dallas principal Steve Williamson and Tyler Sorenson are preleasing the retail component, which calls for a grocery store anchor, restaurants and service retail. If all goes as planned, the acreage, which is about four miles south of Hulen Mall, will have five hard corners to build out.
Because it’s the suburbs pure and simple, Aberg says the design will be a hybrid TOD and definitely not high density. “We are in the suburbs and we need to acknowledge that,” he says.
The Legacy site was the first property to be acquired by the T for the line’s expansion. And Summer Creek Station is the first TOD on the drawing boards for the Southwest-to-Northeast Rail Corridor. With the deal out of the way, Aberg says “now we’re really going to start rolling up our sleeves.”
Sounded promising until the next-to-last paragraph… If it’s not dense, it’s not going to be very successful as a TOD.
It’s not really a Transit-Oriented Development if by “not high density” they mean that it’s still going to have parking lots in front of everything. If that’s the case, it will be a Toll-Road Oriented Development That Just Happens To Be Near A Transit Stop, though I guess TRODTJHTBNATS doesn’t roll off their marketing-speak tongue quite as easily as TOD.
The New York Times had an interesting piece yesterday on the resurgence of streetcar systems … here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/us/14streetcar.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=streetcar&st=cse&oref=slogin
(You’ll probably have to register, but it’s free … )
Also, there’s an accompanying slide show:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/14/us/20080814STREETCAR_index.html