More on SouthPark

NorthPark developer Raymond Nasher is circulating a proposal through the city plan staff which outlines a large retail-office complex immediately south of NorthPark. Indications are that Nasher must move for approval this year, but that his course is fraught with obstacles.

Nasher’s preliminary plan details a retail complex with three major stores, an enclosed mall and a 400-room hotel. The retail development is adjacent to Northwest Highway, while the proposed office buildings are further south, bordering Central Expressway. The plan is strictly preliminary-no zoning change application has been filed.

Nasher’s first problem with any sort of development in the NorthPark area is traffic. The area is already one of the most congested parts of town, and in 1970, the plan commission turned down a similar plan because of traffic problems. Certainly the traffic has not subsided since then, and sources in the planning department indicate Nasher’s current plan must be modified considerably to bring the traffic down to acceptable levels.

Currently the State Highway Department is considering double-decking Central Expressway from downtown to NorthPark, but the project isn’t scheduled for completion until 1990.

Nasher’s other problems stem from a pledge the land’s owner, W.W. Caruth Jr., made some years ago. Caruth and his late parents promised the area’s neighbors that the Caruth land would be developed single family. Caruth can no longer keep that promise. The neighbors’ wrath became so fervent during the attempted 1970 zoning change that Caruth chose not to appear personally at the plan commission hearings. Instead, he sent a letter explaining why he could no longer keep his promise. That letter, coupled with some revelations during the recent WFAA-TV licensing hearings, explain why Caruth can no longer keep his promise and why Nasher must act quickly if he is to develop the area.

In the late 1950’s, Caruth’s mother bequeathed the northeast 36 acres of the family property to her daughter, the late Mrs. D. Harold Byrd, and Mrs. Byrd’s two sons. Mrs. Byrd and her sons signed a lease with Nasher calling for commercial development of their property.

Realizing that at least part of the old Caruth property is destined to go commerical, Caruth apparently decided to break his promise and go along with the development, while hoping to preserve the old family homestead just south of the the development. And indeed Nasher’s plans call for a major portion of the land bordering Southwestern Blvd. to be dedicated to the homestead and a park.

The reason Nasher must move this year on the project surfaced during the WFAA-TV licensing hearings, which involved Caruth Byrd, nephew of W. W. Caruth, Jr., and now half owner of the 36 acres. Testimony revealed that Byrd’s contract with Nasher calls for Nasher to apply for a zoning change on the 36 acres by October 31,1975.

Even if Nasher manages to gain acceptance of his proposal from the city planning staff, he undoubtedly faces a bitter fight from the same neighbors who fought him effectively in 1970. Such a fight could make the recent Turtle Creek zoning battle look like a mere skirmish.