The Dallas Planning Commission voted resoundly in favor of a redevelopment plan for the West Dallas neighborhood, the product of a year of work by the Dallas CityDesign Studio that focuses on trying to balance new development and existing neighborhoods in an area that is about to welcome the landing of the Calatrava Sculpture-Bridge. Via Jerome Weeks’ report on Art & Seek:
The plan hopes to make “incremental” and “organic” the massive changes that may well hit the low-income neighborhoods north of I-30 and west of the Trinity River — now that the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge will be coming for a long visit. One of the prime goals of the plan is to “preserve, conserve, enhance” La Bajada, the mostly Hispanic community of older, single-family homes that exists north of Singleton and east of Sylvan. . . .
Instead of completely changing the nature of La Bajada and Los Altos, the CityDesign Studio’s plan hopes to re-direct the construction of high-density, residential and retail towers to the south, along the Trinity. It also seeks to develop new north-south corridors — turning Herbert Street, in particular, into a ‘High Street’ from Singleton to West Commerce that will help focus traffic, mass transit and commercial interests. It also includes specifications for street design, facade details, public parks and mixed-use areas that could feature artists’ work spaces.
You can view the CityDesign Studio’s plan here.