Rendering of the planned towers at Preston Road and Royal Lane in Dallas’ Preston Hollow neighborhood. The tallest building will be 240 feet.
GFF Design
The hotly debated zoning case for a proposed $800 million high-rise development at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane will appear before the Dallas City Council in mid-October after another hearing delay.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Sept. 9 but was postponed until council’s Oct. 14 meeting following a request from a nearby property owner who is a member of Preserve Preston Hollow, a nonprofit group opposed to the development. Qualifying property owners within 200 feet of the site can delay a hearing by paying a $150 fee and submitting a request.
Dallas developer Leland Burk and partner Gerald Stool’s Greenway Investment Co. are seeking to increase the maximum allowable height at the site to 240 feet. Current zoning allows buildings up to 54 feet tall.
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The group seeks to build a 19-story hotel-condo tower (240 feet) and an 18-story apartment tower (210 feet). The heights have been reduced multiple times in a bid to compromise with neighbors, the developers said.
Under the new plans, the project would include:
50 or fewer condos and no more than 150 hotel rooms
Roughly 175 apartments
A 12-story office tower
Multiple restaurants and retail space
“The postponement provides additional time for Preserve Preston Hollow and area residents to review the proposed zoning change, supporting documents and other information related to the case,” the nonprofit said in a statement on its website.
Under current plans, the high-rise development would have a 50-foot setback from nearby homes on the south side. The height would be capped at 54 feet for the development’s first 50 feet before gradually increasing. The nearest structure on that side is 175 feet away.
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The project’s tallest structures would be closer to Royal Lane on the north side.
The development would include a public half-acre green space, and the developers plan to plant at least 200 trees on the site, which was heavily damaged by a 2019 tornado.
The Preston-Royal project, as neighbors call it, has been one of the closely watched zoning cases in Dallas this year, and it could have wide-ranging political implications.
Last month, neighbors frustrated with council member Gay Donnell Willis formed the D13 Together Coalition. The group threatened to recall Willis if she did not oppose efforts to relocate Dallas City Hall and seek 120-day delays on three major zoning cases, including the Preston-Royal case. The recall threat is similar to the one former council member Jaynie Schultz faced after the rezoning of Pepper Square, a Far North Dallas shopping center.
Willis has not said how she’ll vote on the project.
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“We’re still working with the applicant,” she told WFAA in a recent interview. “I’m still having meetings with residents. We are still in a listening mode.”
The city’s planning and zoning commission recommended approval of the project in a 10-4 vote during its Aug. 6 meeting. The vote came after hours of debate, with commissioners Joanna Hampton, Alicia Serrato, Jack Kocks and Kathy Coffman opposing.
Neighbors have opposed the development. Of the 283 property owners notified by Dallas officials ahead of the city planning commission vote, 261 said they opposed the project. Eight said they supported Burk’s proposal.
Preserve Preston Hollow delayed the zoning case in June, preventing city plan and zoning commissioners from hearing the case then. The group said it made a formal legal request for the delay.
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The nonprofit has hired attorney Austin Smith to represent it. Smith previously represented residents who sued developers and city officials over the proposed redevelopment of Pepper Square.
More than 4,600 people have signed the Preserve Preston Hollow petition opposing the proposed zoning change.