A generated rendering of a proposed $800M mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane.
Courtesy of GFF
A key city vote for a proposed $800 million high-rise development at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane is now expected to take place in November as the developer works on an enhanced traffic improvement plan.
Developer Leland Burk has committed to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund traffic signals and other related infrastructure upgrades around the site without city dollars.
Representatives for Burk and Dallas Council member Gay Donnell Willis told The Dallas Morning News that a request will be made to postpone the vote until Nov. 10 as details of the plan are worked out. The project was originally scheduled for a vote on Oct. 14.
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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.
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 twice in a bid to compromise with neighbors, the developers said.
Under the 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
Now, Burk and his team are working with consulting firm Kimley-Horn and the city of Dallas to make multiple changes to intersections near the site in an effort to mitigate traffic impacts.
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“If this application had not even been filed, people would still be complaining about the traffic,” Willis said. “This is about what I can do to represent the concerns of [my] residents, and this traffic concern is what I hear most about.”
While final details are still being worked out, Burk has committed to three major traffic improvements. The first is using updated detection technology at Preston Road and Royal Lane to improve light signal timing to prevent traffic jams. The technology would be similar to what’s used at the Preston Road and Forest Lane intersection.
Technology in use at the intersection now is outdated and was installed quickly by city officials following a 2019 tornado that severely damaged portions of the Preston Hollow neighborhood.
The second is installing a signal control system allows Fire Station 41 along Royal Lane to temporarily interrupts normal traffic light cycles to grant their fire trucks immediate right-of-way in case of emergency. The third is a timing modification study and reprogramming that would cover traffic lights at Royal Lane from Midway Road to Hillcrest Road. Two adjacent signals, north and south of the Preston Road and Royal Lane intersection, will also be included.
Representatives for Burk compared the changes with traffic signal re-timings on Walnut Hill several years ago that saved drivers nearly 150,000 hours in delays.
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The tweaks come after Willis held meetings with the development team and residents who live near the proposed project site. Burk said he does not object to the requested delay.
“We were grateful for the resounding support for our current plan from the Dallas Plan Commission and we have continued to meet with neighbors about the merits of our project. We remain committed to working with the neighborhood on collaborative solutions. Councilwoman Willis has been a tough negotiator, challenging us to work with the City Of Dallas transportation department to identify and fund meaningful traffic enhancements. We are firmly committed to Preston Hollow, this project and the City of Dallas,” he said in a statement.
Traffic has been a key part of the vocal opposition to the project. A Kimley-Horn study done on behalf of the developers shows the tower project is projected to produce 5,000 one-way vehicle trips a day. A development allowed by right under the site’s current zoning could generate more than 9,200 daily one-way trips.
This picture shows traffic study data for Leland Burk’s proposed Preston Hollow development
Courtesy of Kimley Horn
The project’s tallest structures would be closer to Royal Lane and away from nearby homes. That tweak to the plan was made months ago. On the project’s south side, there would be a 50-foot setback. 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. The development would include a public half-acre green space, and the group plans to plant at least 200 trees on the site.
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Residents opposed to the project have made their voices heard, and the case could carry significant political weight.
Those opposed to the project have formed Preserve Preston Hollow, placing yard signs and donning shirts that sport the group’s “no skyscrapers, no rezoning at Preston & Royal” catchphrase.
Nearly 92% of property owners notified by the city of Dallas before a planning and zoning commission vote said they opposed the project. Dallas’ zoning commission voted 10-4, with Joanna Hampton, Alicia Serrato, Jack Kocks and Kathy Coffman opposing.
In August, neighbors frustrated with 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.
A Nov. 10 vote would be a 96 day delay, Willis said. Willis told The Morning News Friday that she would be “far more inclined to support” Burk’s project if the traffic improvements were made.
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