(EMAILWIRE.COM, September 13, 2001 ) DALLAS - RTKL, an international multi-disciplined design firm, working with the City of Irving, TX and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), has completed a comprehensive land use plan that includes light rail alignment through the Northwest Corridor. Dart has defined the area as being critical to the agency’s vision for an integrated and extended transit system for the Greater Dallas region. The five mile corridor extends from the intersection of State Highways 114 and 183, beyond Northwest Highway to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. It is bounded by the Trinity River to the East and State Highway 114 to the west. This area encompasses major developments including Texas Stadium, the University of Dallas campus, and the nationally-recognized Las Colinas Urban Center.
“The Northwest Corridor is a critical link in the effort to establish rail connections between DFW International Airport and Downtown Dallas. Further, it represents the City of Irving’s single largest opportunity for both qualitative and quantitative development over the next 30 years,” said Paris Rutherford AICP, RTKL’s Dallas-based vice president-in-charge of the project. “Our goal was to fully incorporate light rail alignment through the corridor and direct a truly optimum solution that maximizes economic development through infrastructure investment. Our recommendations are designed to guide the city in the best use of land that is immediately affected by light rail. We have also identified development opportunities that promote synergies of use and activity, and provided the city with a critical path to implementation. The involvement of key entities – the City of Irving, DART, corridor stakeholders and the general public – has been central to creating a plan that is certain to serve as a model for other cities.”

Recently, the City of Irving committed to close a $60 million cost delta between the rail alignment recommended by RTKL and that proposed by an earlier study. Significant engineering efforts have been completed to refine the alignment of DART throughout the corridor. The City of Irving has also retained RTKL to further define the overall concepts of the land use study into development guidelines that will serve as the basis for formal regulation of the plan.

The Northwest Corridor masterplan addresses land use, rail alignment, station location and overall identity of place. Land uses support higher densities that are active during the day and into the evening to promote sustainable development in which the potential for sharing resources such as parking and amenities are maximized. Land use patterns around all stations are mixed-use and dense in nature, relying on a strong, pedestrian-friendly street system to define the development itself.
The plan creates four distinct sub-areas – the sports/entertainment district, corporate/residential campus, transit mall and transit village – each offering identifiable districts, diverse environments and unique attractions to avoid “cannibalization” between areas.
The sports/entertainment district, adjacent to Texas Stadium at the southernmost end of the corridor, is a major mixed-use development with entertainment retail and restaurants at the base of urban loft residential and office space. The overall district is defined by striking public spaces, interesting streetscapes experiences, shared parking and direct access to light rail.

To the north is the corporate/residential campus where the complementary uses of office and residential are combined with extensive landscape to create a high quality setting for both live and work. Some retail uses are added to the mix to enhance the district synergies, particularly around the light rail station. Two proposed multi-family properties, presently under design development, are following the guidelines established as part of the land use plan.

The transit mall, located within the Las Colinas area, combines vehicles, rail and pedestrian traffic into an integrated urban environment defined by small setbacks and streetscape activity. Uses along the transit mall are a mixture of office, residential, retail and service, enhanced by memorable open spaces around station areas. Currently in design development, the roadway portion of the transit mall is being funded through the City of
Irving’s Capital Improvement Program and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2002.

Located north of Northwest Highway is the transit village, where the light rail station anchors a mid-rise, mixed-use district with office, residential, retail and service uses. The transit village concept offers the highest and best use of land, maximizing the potential benefits of light rail and drawing on the market trend toward mixed-use, live/work pedestrian-scaled environments. Buildings with a mix of uses are arranged in compact settings around a village green, located at the heart of the district. A defined view corridor connects the village green with Lake Carolyn.

RTKL’s scope of work for the Northwest Corridor included the land use plan, design guidelines, economic benefits and feasibility analysis, and location of stations. The planning team included Paris Rutherford AICP, vice president-in-charge; Dave Robbins AICP, project manager, Livia Franca, senior planner; and Erich Dohrer and Rawan Husseini, planners.

RTKL’s planning and urban design group focuses on creating sustainable places that are based on financial, political and social success through a solution-oriented approach grounded in creativity, market reality and client/stakeholder input. The group’s expertise is broad in its scope, extending to transit-oriented development, mixed-use projects, urban and suburban revitalization, neighborhood repositioning, retail and commercial centers, and resort and residential communities.

Founded in 1946, RTKL is one of the world’s premier providers of integrated creative services. Partnering with a diverse client base, RTKL has amassed a global portfolio of work that surpasses 1 billion square feet and extends to 60 nations. Additional information is available at www.rtkl.com.
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