HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ Item 01 - Dallas Road Corridor
MEMO TO: PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
FROM: ERICA MAROHNIC, PLANNING SERVICES DIRECTOR
MEETING DATE: MAY 17, 2022 WORKSHOP
SUBJECT: RECEIVE A REPORT, HOLD A DISCUSSION, AND PROVIDE
STAFF DIRECTION REGARDING PREFERRED DESIGN
SCENARIOS ALONG THE DALLAS ROAD CORRIDOR WITHIN
THE TRANSIT DISTRICT OVERLAY (TDO).
BACKGROUND:
The Dallas Road corridor from Ball Street to Texan Trail was identified as an area of
special significance and direction was provided to City of Grapevine staff on October 25,
2021, to review, analyze and provide preferred development scenarios for consideration
by City leadership. This area comprises approximately 47.79 acres in size including
existing lots and parcels with frontage on the north and south sides of Dallas Road. This
corridor is part of a larger 174.61-acre Transit District Overlay (TDO) study area whose
purpose is to promote an alternate and progressive means of development within the
Transit District keeping in mind the varied existing and potential land uses. Since the
September 2019 adoption of the TDO, the city’s public-private partnership led to
completion of the Grapevine Main TexRail station, Hotel Vin, and Harvest Hall
development at the northeast corner of S. Main Street and Dallas Road. Dallas Road
streetscape improvements have been completed from Ball Street to Dooley Street.
Interest in the area has increased from developers seeking to redevelop and current
property owners wanting to improve their properties, however, only one small
condominium project has gained approval.
During the October 25, 2021 joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission
(Commission) workshop, staff informed attendees that applicants seeking approval of a
new development within the TDO lacked clear direction of what uses and intensities would
be supported by the Commission and Council. City staff was asked to collaborate and
study the area, coming back with several design scenarios for consideration. To this end,
an internal staff workshop was held on December 3, 2021 where two groups were formed
and staff engaged in mind mapping exercises as a means for brainstorming ideas. The
ideas were then organized into concepts, tasks, and subjects and linearly pieced together.
The result of these exercises can be found in the Preferred Design Scenarios section.
ISSUES:
Impact of Remaining Significant Infill Properties on The Future of Grapevine
A portion of the subject corridor which loosely follows the C/MU – Commercial/Mixed Use
future land use designation boundaries was identified as “Study Area 2” within the Impact
of Remaining Significant Infill Properties on the Future of Grapevine report completed by
Gateway Planning in 2016. This earlier report identified Dallas Road as one of the key
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corridors that acts as a transition from the City’s submarkets, entertainment/hospitality at
the City’s northeast core to retail destinations along State Highway 121 and State
Highway 114 at the City’s southwestern boundaries. This report emphasized the need to
not appraise the study area in a vacuum, but to understand its larger function in a regional
market which includes nearby industrial development at DFW Airport to the east and the
Southlake/Colleyville markets to the west.
The report mostly summarizes existing conditions, but provided the following three goals:
Ensuring that the rail station is not just a commuter depot; but that it also
functions as a destination in and of itself;
Relating and seamlessly transitioning the various redevelopment opportunities
along Dallas Road east-west and Main Street north-south; and
Achieving a cohesive scale and branding of the station area that complements
and enhances the historic core of Grapevine.
Within the General Development Potential subsection of the report, the authors did not
tackle what future uses could or should be considered and at what density or intensity but
instead focused on the design quality, scale and visual aesthetic of future development
and redevelopment. However, some guidance was proposed:
Multifamily development should be sited contextually in locations that do not
seem out of scale directly adjacent to the single-family fabric northwest of the
study area and which take advantage of the future rail station.
Transitional scale of townhomes and narrow lot single-family homes are
appropriate between new urban multifamily and in-fill areas west of Main Street
adjacent to Ira E. Woods Avenue and Hudgins Street.
Retail profile indicated that retail needs to be very carefully sited and
programmed with regard to context and specialty focus.
Quality, well-executed retail that takes advantage of a cohesive and active
urban context, requiring significant evening and weekend residential activity
after work hours, should be encouraged. This retail should be encouraged to
take advantage of tourism visits on Main Street to the north as it is perceived
as “too far” north and disconnected from the train station area.
Potential for micro-offices and maker-spaces
Industrially hip aesthetic (e.g. chic, modern, contemporary, etc.)
Foster a growing innovation economy
The stated strategies for the study area included the redesign and reconstruction of Dallas
Road, adoption of an urban design overlay for the area, and a comprehensive
development strategy for the Dallas Road/TexRail station area. These three strategies
have been completed.
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Preferred Design Scenario
Food or Entertainment Experienced-Based Destination
The City of Grapevine is known nationally as a top visitor destination centrally located
between Dallas and Fort Worth. The Grapevine community features a Historic Main
Street with local retail, restaurants, art galleries, large full-service hotels and resorts, a
range of family-oriented activities, wine tasting rooms, world-class festivals and
events, and a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities. The Experienced-Based
Destination as a preferred design scenario is a logical continuation and investment in
Grapevine, providing guidance for the redevelopment along the Dallas Road Corridor.
Preferred uses, their density and intensity, need to be determined as part of any preferred
development plan if the Experienced-Based Destination scenario is selected for further
consideration.
Staff identified five use categories and then found more specific types of business or
“destination” examples:
Food or Entertainment Experienced-Based Destination
Food-oriented retail Specialty Restaurants
Small to mid-sized Interactive or Interactive Retail
Immersive Entertainment Venues
Boutique Hotel Some Combination of all uses
Food-oriented retail – open air markets, farmer’s markets, artisan’s markets, and sales
of craft beers, cottage foods, and distilleries. Illustrative examples include Pike’s Fish
Market (Seattle), Ferry Building (San Francisco) and Magnolia (Waco).
Specialty restaurants – high-end and international restaurants, culinary incubators,
partnerships with educational institutions such as school districts, community colleges or
four-year universities with an area of concentration in the culinary arts or hospitality.
Small interactive or immersive entertainment venues – live community theater, black
box theater/flexible performance space(s), small movie theater, interactive and/or
immersive museums, broadcasting, and e-sports.
Interactive retail – includes technology such as virtual reality. Retail operators provide
customers with an experience to engage, interact with, learn about, and test products
before purchase.
Boutique hotel(s) - small hotel with less than 100 guestrooms in settings with unique
and individualized accommodations.
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Planning Obstacles to Implementation
The TDO’s Figure 3: Preferred Use Matrix divides the study area into low-, medium-, and
high-intensity sub-districts. Most uses identified within the Food or Entertainment
Experienced-Based Destination preferred design scenario would be allowed within the
medium- and high-intensity sub-districts. However, Entertainment and Attractions are not
preferred uses within the medium-intensity district and Educational/Vocational Institution
uses are not preferred in the high-intensity sub-district. The City would need to be clear
on where these uses would be appropriate and if certain uses should not be co-located
within the same sub-district.
Transit-Proximate Development
As mentioned in the 2016 Gateway Planning Study, a three-pronged approach was
recommended and completed to activate the S. Main Street and Dallas Road Corridor
including the redesign and reconstruction of Dallas Road, adoption of an urban design
overlay for the area and a comprehensive development strategy for the Dallas
Road/TexRail station area.
Traditionally, a transit center or hub is located within a radius of 1/4 to ½-mile from a
central transit stop and the development surrounding it maximizes residential, office, retail
and recreational space in a dense, urban, compact form. The linear nature of Dallas Road
does not lend itself easily to a “hub” but identifying this area as transit-proximate
development because it is physically near a public railway node would encourage the use
of public transit. These areas are typically quite dense nearest to the station and become
less dense further away from the station.
Staff identified six use categories and then found more specific types of business
examples:
Transit Hub
Residential for purchase: Condominium or Class “A” office space
townhome preferred
Retail Restaurant
Educational Intra-city transport (shuttles)
Residential for purchase - variety of housing types including small single-family
detached houses, narrow rowhouses, townhomes, and multi-story condominiums.
Class “A” office space – professional office space with rents above average for the
area.
Retail – sale of goods and services but limited in total building area per lease space and
potential limitations on formula retailers (chain stores or businesses).
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Restaurant – Sale of food and beverage prepared and consumed onsite. Drive-through
lanes, windows and designated take-out or delivery parking spaces would not be
appropriate in a more dense, urban building form.
Educational – Post-secondary educational opportunities focused on providing certificate
or degree programs that prepare students for in-demand jobs of a key subject or focus
area.
Intra-city transport (shuttles) – a shuttle bus, van or ridesharing service similar to
ZipZone managed by Trinity Metro to address the “last mile” problem from transit station
to the rider’s final destination.
Planning Obstacles to Implementation
The uses identified within the Transit-Proximate Development preferred design scenario
would be allowed within the medium- and high-intensity sub-districts. However,
Educational/Vocational Institution uses are not preferred in the high-intensity sub-district.
The City would need to be clear on where would be appropriate and if certain uses should
not be co-located within the same sub-district.
DIRECTION:
The next step is to determine a preferred design scenario and to that end, Planning
Services staff has prepared a presentation centered on the Food or Entertainment
Experienced-Based Destination option.
We would appreciate feedback from the Commission regarding what uses would be
appropriate where. As an example, the existing TDO ordinance states that residential is
appropriate and identifies high-, medium-, and low- options. It would be best to highlight
the suggested areas where residential is most appropriate and easily supported such as
described in the Impact of Remaining Significant Infill Properties on the Future of
Grapevine, and better define the types of housing appropriate for the area.
1. Ask Planning Services staff to do nothing.
2. Ask Planning Services staff to study a specific design scenario further and bring
back more information at future date.
3. Ask Planning Services staff to prepare an agenda item to be discussed at a future
joint workshop with the Commission and City Council.
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