gc
22 June 2004, 01:16 AM
City in talks to buy land near rail sites
Officials want increased control, larger parcels for redevelopment
06:44 PM CDT on Thursday, June 17, 2004
By SCOTT STAFFORD / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/northwest/stories/061804dnnwdstationland.6b7c8.html
Carrollton is in negotiations to buy three more properties near planned DART light-rail stations in an effort to have tighter control, and more appealing land packages, when redevelopment occurs. City officials say that the most successful developments around train stations have occurred with the city playing a crucial role in combining smaller land parcels into larger, more appealing tracts that developers can use in more profitable ways. "If you look at the larger transit facilities around the country – large mixed-use districts and transit hubs – there has always been a fairly consistent role that the city has as a partner in development," said John Webb, Carrollton's director of urban development.
One of the three properties under negotiation is at 1435 Trinity Mills Road, next to the Home Depot property. It is a half-acre of unused land next to the former Arby's and the old Home Depot parking lot. It is assessed at $174,200 by Dallas County. The other two are on Belt Line Road. The former Philippine Community Center at 1205 Belt Line sits on a half-acre and has a 5,120-square-foot vacant building. Dallas County set the value of the land and building at $150,000.
The unused 0.92 acres at 1209 Belt Line is assessed at $200,630.
Once the purchases are complete, said officials, the city may join the two properties and then possibly add to the parcel. Last year, the city bought the 12.5-acre Home Depot property on Trinity Mills Road for $3.5 million. The building is being leased to a furniture store, although city officials see that land as a prime location for offices or a hotel once the rail line and station are completed.
Purchase of these parcels, said Assistant City Manager Marc Guy, "is a big step, part of that concept of making long-term investments. We have no expectation that they're going to generate immediate value to the community. The value is going to be four or five years from now as light-rail transit gets closer to Carrollton and development interest continues to increase." Mark Witte, Carrollton's right-of-way agent, said the city is trying to "direct the redevelopment of property around those future DART stations" by acquiring various tracts. "We don't have a lot of say-so unless we own the land," he said. The city has the power to use eminent-domain if necessary to procure the land, although City Manager Leonard Martin said that is unlikely.
But the power of eminent domain can have an underlying effect on the purchasing process anyway. According to commercial property broker Jim Peddy, who represents the owners of 1205 Belt Line, even the specter of eminent domain has a chilling effect on a property's commercial appeal. "It immediately puts a cloud on the property, and nobody else is interested in buying or leasing the property because the city has the right of eminent domain," Mr. Peddy said. "Once they express that interest, nobody else would want it." Other strategic properties could be sought by the city as it identifies future development strategies, Mr. Webb said.
Development around the Old Downtown Carrollton station could include high-density residential development mixed with retail and office space – as many as 50 to 100 living units per acre, Mr. Webb said. The concept is to have buildings with four or more stories that incorporate retail on the bottom floor and residential on the upper floors. Some buildings might incorporate parking structures. "What is difficult to imagine is the amount of land that will be needed for structured parking," Mr. Webb said. With 1.5 to 2 parking spaces per residential unit, 400 units could require more than 600 parking spaces.
Some parking could be incorporated into the building, behind the building, in a courtyard, or "some of it might be off-site, a separate structured facility that a parking management company owns and operates," Mr. Webb said. City officials agree that to see the concept become reality, the first step is to assemble smaller parcels into larger properties. "The more land you've assembled to make it simple to aggregate several parcels, the better the chance that you'll get the really high-quality development," Mr. Martin said.
Said Mr. Webb: "We have the ability to start the process and send the signal to the development community that the city is taking a leadership role in that and ultimately can work with them in some type of a public/private partnership."
Officials want increased control, larger parcels for redevelopment
06:44 PM CDT on Thursday, June 17, 2004
By SCOTT STAFFORD / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/northwest/stories/061804dnnwdstationland.6b7c8.html
Carrollton is in negotiations to buy three more properties near planned DART light-rail stations in an effort to have tighter control, and more appealing land packages, when redevelopment occurs. City officials say that the most successful developments around train stations have occurred with the city playing a crucial role in combining smaller land parcels into larger, more appealing tracts that developers can use in more profitable ways. "If you look at the larger transit facilities around the country – large mixed-use districts and transit hubs – there has always been a fairly consistent role that the city has as a partner in development," said John Webb, Carrollton's director of urban development.
One of the three properties under negotiation is at 1435 Trinity Mills Road, next to the Home Depot property. It is a half-acre of unused land next to the former Arby's and the old Home Depot parking lot. It is assessed at $174,200 by Dallas County. The other two are on Belt Line Road. The former Philippine Community Center at 1205 Belt Line sits on a half-acre and has a 5,120-square-foot vacant building. Dallas County set the value of the land and building at $150,000.
The unused 0.92 acres at 1209 Belt Line is assessed at $200,630.
Once the purchases are complete, said officials, the city may join the two properties and then possibly add to the parcel. Last year, the city bought the 12.5-acre Home Depot property on Trinity Mills Road for $3.5 million. The building is being leased to a furniture store, although city officials see that land as a prime location for offices or a hotel once the rail line and station are completed.
Purchase of these parcels, said Assistant City Manager Marc Guy, "is a big step, part of that concept of making long-term investments. We have no expectation that they're going to generate immediate value to the community. The value is going to be four or five years from now as light-rail transit gets closer to Carrollton and development interest continues to increase." Mark Witte, Carrollton's right-of-way agent, said the city is trying to "direct the redevelopment of property around those future DART stations" by acquiring various tracts. "We don't have a lot of say-so unless we own the land," he said. The city has the power to use eminent-domain if necessary to procure the land, although City Manager Leonard Martin said that is unlikely.
But the power of eminent domain can have an underlying effect on the purchasing process anyway. According to commercial property broker Jim Peddy, who represents the owners of 1205 Belt Line, even the specter of eminent domain has a chilling effect on a property's commercial appeal. "It immediately puts a cloud on the property, and nobody else is interested in buying or leasing the property because the city has the right of eminent domain," Mr. Peddy said. "Once they express that interest, nobody else would want it." Other strategic properties could be sought by the city as it identifies future development strategies, Mr. Webb said.
Development around the Old Downtown Carrollton station could include high-density residential development mixed with retail and office space – as many as 50 to 100 living units per acre, Mr. Webb said. The concept is to have buildings with four or more stories that incorporate retail on the bottom floor and residential on the upper floors. Some buildings might incorporate parking structures. "What is difficult to imagine is the amount of land that will be needed for structured parking," Mr. Webb said. With 1.5 to 2 parking spaces per residential unit, 400 units could require more than 600 parking spaces.
Some parking could be incorporated into the building, behind the building, in a courtyard, or "some of it might be off-site, a separate structured facility that a parking management company owns and operates," Mr. Webb said. City officials agree that to see the concept become reality, the first step is to assemble smaller parcels into larger properties. "The more land you've assembled to make it simple to aggregate several parcels, the better the chance that you'll get the really high-quality development," Mr. Martin said.
Said Mr. Webb: "We have the ability to start the process and send the signal to the development community that the city is taking a leadership role in that and ultimately can work with them in some type of a public/private partnership."