CTroyMathis
03-30-2002, 01:15 AM
It's a winner, but park isn't Victory
AAC neighbor Harwood builds plaza as part of its office site
03/30/2002
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
Landscape crews are dodging cars on Field Street to finish a new park just east of American Airlines Center. Some commuters and visitors to the towering sports arena think that the two-block public plaza is part of the adjoining Victory project. It's not. Harwood International, developer of nearby office buildings, decided to create the plaza out of its own pocket for the public to enjoy. "People will be able to walk through it on the way to the arena and will be able to look at it when they drive by," said David Williams, director of marketing for Harwood, which owns the nearby International Center office park.
"This is one of our office building sites, and – because we aren't going to develop it for a while – we had an opportunity to do something special there. "This is our neighborhood, and we want it to look the best," he said. While the developers of Victory have haggled with City Hall over who will pay for "amenities" such as public plazas, decorative street lights and new sidewalks, Harwood International has quietly gone ahead and done its park – albeit on a small scale. It's already a standout in the neighborhood. Much of the area immediately around American Airlines Center is occupied by vacant lots and blue-fenced construction sites.
Mr. Williams said it doesn't frazzle his company's officers that most passers-by think it's part of Victory. "Last summer, when we landscaped the medians near there, we had plantings in the shape of an H," he said. "I'm sure some people thought that stood for Hillwood," Ross Perot Jr.'s development company, which is the lead partner in the Victory development. And whereas all the engineering, planning and architecture for the 65-acre Victory complex is costing millions and taking years, Harwood International did its park in a hurry and on the cheap. "We sketched it out ourselves and worked with our landscapers to design the park," Mr. Williams said. "It's costing less than $100,000."
And that includes the irrigation system and decorative lighting along Field Street. When completed, the block will have a grid of bushes, landscape plants and manicured crushed limestone paths. Harwood International is still studying plans for a piece of sculpture or some other art for its plaza. "We put artwork in all of our buildings," Mr. Williams said. Harwood International has built four high-rise office buildings in the area along Cedar Springs Road and McKinnon Street. The international investor and developer owns 13 blocks in the area.
During the early 1990s, Harwood International heavily landscaped a vacant block at McKinnon and Payne Street. The site is now occupied by the two office buildings connected by a public plaza with fountains and gardens. Installation of the groves of trees and bushes before the office towers were built caught the attention of Dallas' legendary developer Trammell Crow. Mr. Crow called Harwood to find out what was going on at the vacant lot near the Crescent, Mr. Williams recalls. "Usually the landscaping is the last thing done after the buildings are finished, and we were doing it before construction," he said. "The Trammell Crow Foundation presented us with an urban beautification award for that first planting. We've kept it going since then."
AAC neighbor Harwood builds plaza as part of its office site
03/30/2002
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
Landscape crews are dodging cars on Field Street to finish a new park just east of American Airlines Center. Some commuters and visitors to the towering sports arena think that the two-block public plaza is part of the adjoining Victory project. It's not. Harwood International, developer of nearby office buildings, decided to create the plaza out of its own pocket for the public to enjoy. "People will be able to walk through it on the way to the arena and will be able to look at it when they drive by," said David Williams, director of marketing for Harwood, which owns the nearby International Center office park.
"This is one of our office building sites, and – because we aren't going to develop it for a while – we had an opportunity to do something special there. "This is our neighborhood, and we want it to look the best," he said. While the developers of Victory have haggled with City Hall over who will pay for "amenities" such as public plazas, decorative street lights and new sidewalks, Harwood International has quietly gone ahead and done its park – albeit on a small scale. It's already a standout in the neighborhood. Much of the area immediately around American Airlines Center is occupied by vacant lots and blue-fenced construction sites.
Mr. Williams said it doesn't frazzle his company's officers that most passers-by think it's part of Victory. "Last summer, when we landscaped the medians near there, we had plantings in the shape of an H," he said. "I'm sure some people thought that stood for Hillwood," Ross Perot Jr.'s development company, which is the lead partner in the Victory development. And whereas all the engineering, planning and architecture for the 65-acre Victory complex is costing millions and taking years, Harwood International did its park in a hurry and on the cheap. "We sketched it out ourselves and worked with our landscapers to design the park," Mr. Williams said. "It's costing less than $100,000."
And that includes the irrigation system and decorative lighting along Field Street. When completed, the block will have a grid of bushes, landscape plants and manicured crushed limestone paths. Harwood International is still studying plans for a piece of sculpture or some other art for its plaza. "We put artwork in all of our buildings," Mr. Williams said. Harwood International has built four high-rise office buildings in the area along Cedar Springs Road and McKinnon Street. The international investor and developer owns 13 blocks in the area.
During the early 1990s, Harwood International heavily landscaped a vacant block at McKinnon and Payne Street. The site is now occupied by the two office buildings connected by a public plaza with fountains and gardens. Installation of the groves of trees and bushes before the office towers were built caught the attention of Dallas' legendary developer Trammell Crow. Mr. Crow called Harwood to find out what was going on at the vacant lot near the Crescent, Mr. Williams recalls. "Usually the landscaping is the last thing done after the buildings are finished, and we were doing it before construction," he said. "The Trammell Crow Foundation presented us with an urban beautification award for that first planting. We've kept it going since then."