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West Dallas, located immediately west of downtown, is a neighborhood that comprised mostly lower-income residents and manufacturing businesses. The neighborhood was neglected from the 1930s through 2000, serving as the site for much public housing and a lead smelter.
In the 2000s, however, the area's proximity to downtown and the Trinity River has made it of greater appeal to developers. Yet nearby residents wanted to see the are develop in a sensitive and orderly manner, not the norm for Dallas.
Elettore was hired to facilitate two brainstorming charrettes that convened nearby property owners to help plan the future of portions of West Dallas.
The first charrette focused on Fort Worth Avenue, a major thoroughfare that is the boundary between West Dallas and the more affluent Oak Cliff section of Dallas. The second charrette focused on planning for that chunk of West Dallas closest to downtown.
West Dallas has a tough reputation in Dallas – one of two neighborhoods you just don't go to if at all possible. As a result, residents have low expectations, so getting them enthused about a charrette, and envisioning attractive options, was not as easy as it might be in other locations. Also, there is a small but persistent subculture within the area that wants the area to stay exactly as it has been for decades.
With the Fort Worth Avenue charrette, we helped convene some 100 area stakeholders, as well as top architects, urban planners, etc., who volunteered to help guide the charrette process. The participants represented every ethnicity and income level found in the area. We facilitated both the series of short lectures and group activities that made up the session.
The day-long event resulted in participants choosing a very new-urbanist vision for the corridor that emphasized bike paths, pedestrian amenities and bus traffic more than cars and residential options above street-front retail.
The West Dallas charrette had a similar turnout and participant base. However, it focused more on how to draw people from other parts of Dallas into the neighborhood once the Santiago Calatrava-designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge over the Trinity River was completed. In addition to a new-urbanist design, stakeholders identified recreational and shopping options that would be attractive to the rest of Dallas.
Development is flourishing in West Dallas and along Fort Worth Avenue. More important, the development mirrors what those attending the charrettes said they wanted.
The city of Dallas implemented a planned-development district along Fort Worth Avenue in 2005 and a tax-incentive financing district in 2007. In addition, much of West Dallas next to downtown has been identified as a beta site for a new-urbanist planning program overseen by internationally renowned urban planner Larry Beasley of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Since the Fort Worth Avenue charrette took place, the boulevard has become home to a Home Depot, a boutique hotel (the Belmont) a meeting center (Salon Las Americas), a restaurant/outdoor music venue (Jack's Backyard) and a contemporary art gallery (the Haley Henman). Soon to come is LaReunion Towncenter, a multi-phase condo/apartment/retail village and Sylvan|Thirty, another new-urbanist shopping and retail destination.
Since the West Dallas charrette, a world-class wakeboarding park has been announced, as have NBA-regulation basketball courts, a series of baseball diamonds, and a new west campus of El Centro College.
Read about the success our efforts generated for:
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