{"id":311423,"date":"2026-05-27T21:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/311423\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T21:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:51:11","slug":"richardson-commission-oks-solow-garage-permit-as-city-considers-edgy-interurban-redevelopment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/311423\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson commission OKs Solow Garage permit as city considers \u2018edgy\u2019 Interurban redevelopment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpecialty auto repair shop Solow Garage<\/a> is on track to stay on Richardson\u2019s Interurban Street as the city considers long-term redevelopment plans for the area.<\/p>\n

The City Plan Commission recommended approval 4-3 for a special permit request May 19<\/a>. Several commission members advocated against the special permit and said the city should prioritize the Interurban district\u2019s long-term development goals, \u201cchanging course\u201d from auto businesses to other uses in the district.<\/p>\n

Property owner Stephen Graham with Simple Development Partners also presented plans to transition the Interurban area from a predominantly automobile-centered corridor into a design district.<\/p>\n

The overview<\/p>\n

Solow Garage is an authorized BMW collision repair center that has operated in the building under previous owners since 2012. In 2024, Clay Cooley VW received approval from the city for the motor vehicle shop to stay on the premises, but ended up putting the property back on the market, meaning Solow Garage now needs a new special permit in its name to continue operating.<\/p>\n

\u201cSolow Garage is not a new business coming into the corridor,\u201d owner Salvador Govea said. \u201cThe business represents years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment to serving customers the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Govea said Solow Garage is one of four BMW collision centers in the Dallas area, a certification that requires advanced training, specialized tools, manufacturing oversight and high repair standards. The repair shop\u2019s services include repairing minor dents and scratches, body and chassis work, painting, powder-coating and customized vehicle restorations.<\/p>\n

The property also includes an adjacent vehicle storage lot with twenty parking spaces enclosed by a security fence. The lot will be used by the garage as a parking lot for vehicles awaiting repair or pickup.<\/p>\n

The garage is part of a zoning sub-district around Interurban Street of single-story commercial buildings that house a mix of office, retail, commercial and light industrial uses. According to city documents, there is currently a significant share of motor vehicle businesses in the district.<\/p>\n

Senior planner Derica Peters said the city\u2019s long-term vision for the Interurban sub-district is to move away from the auto businesses and establish an \u201cedgy and eclectic district with a focus on adaptive reuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

Commissioner Michael Keller said the commission should take the opportunity of the special permit case to move forward on the long-term, mixed-use vision for the Interurban area and move away from the automotive businesses like Solow Garage that don\u2019t \u201cfit the idea of the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI respect the businesses that have been here a long time, but I do think this is one of those moments when we have to take a stand, and if we\u2019re going to change the character of the district, we\u2019ve got to start at some point,\u201d chair Bryan Marsh said.<\/p>\n

Marsh said he opposed the special permit because the existing automotive businesses, which also include Chevrolet and Clay Cooley centers, make it harder to attract the desired restaurant and retail uses to the area.<\/p>\n

Considering the number of auto businesses in the area, Commissioner Joe Quirk said he doesn\u2019t see the Interurban area significantly changing enough to justify the city removing a stable business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t see any developer coming in there and buying that and trying to put in the kinds of things that [are for] the edgy mixed-use district,\u201d Quirk said. \u201cIt would be nice to have, but I just can\u2019t see us kicking out a stable business for a \u2018nice to have.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

City staff also noted that there are currently several vacant buildings around the garage, which can be used for new mixed-use development.<\/p>\n

Zooming out<\/p>\n

Graham and Simple Development Partners recently acquired several sites in the Interurban district, including the building that houses Solow Garage, with the aim of transforming the area into a defined design district. The area would focus on home design professionals, building materials and contractor and supplier businesses.<\/p>\n

Despite the planned shift away from auto businesses, Graham said he supported Solow Garage staying in its current location.<\/p>\n

\u201cResponsible redevelopment should allow businesses to coexist with long-term corridor transformation,\u201d Graham said. \u201cBusinesses like Solow Garage help provide the stability and character during the transition of the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham plans to bring a special permit request to the commission in a few months for the first phase of his planned development, which will eventually include six new buildings and an additional 52,000 square feet of new industrial and retail space.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval of the special permit. The request will be considered by City Council at a later date.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Specialty auto repair shop Solow Garage is on track to stay on Richardson\u2019s Interurban Street as the city…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[86731,112226,54023,16514,110,112225,160,162,161,17090,959,112224,112227],"class_list":["post-311423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-automotive","tag-car-repair","tag-city-plan-commission","tag-design-district","tag-development","tag-interurban-street","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news","tag-redevelopment","tag-richardson","tag-solow-garage","tag-special-permit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}