A Dallas investment company is looking to bring restaurants, offices, shops and more than 300 apartments to Town Center, the largest project yet for the city's evolving downtown. Greenway Investment Co. has proposed building Keller Station, a 22-acre development designed for young professionals and empty nesters who want a place where they can live, work, dine and shop.
Some residents have voiced opposition because of the large number of apartments, although the project has not been considered by the City Council or the city Planning and Zoning Commission. The four-phase project calls for 81,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, 70,000 square feet of office space and 324 apartments on the northeast and northwest corners of Keller Smithfield Road and Keller Parkway, also known as Farm Road 1709.
Keller Station's design complements the urban design of Town Center but also fits in with surrounding neighborhoods, said Tony Callaway, development manager for Greenway Investment. The corner site is ideal because of town center's mix of businesses, apartments and condominiums, he said. Farm Road "1709 has been a successful street for a project of this type as it goes from Keller to Southlake," Callaway said. "We've talked to a number of quality restaurant chains."
Rental rates for the apartments -- one-, two- and three-bedroom units -- in Keller Station have not been set, Callaway said. But they would be comparable to those of Arthouse, another mixed-used development under construction in Town Center, he said.
Keller Station's 22 acres are in the city's Town Center Zoning District, which allows for a mix of uses, including apartments, shops, office and restaurants, Keller officials said. Greenway Investment, however, is asking the city to change building locations in the Town Center master plan to clear the way for the project, said Richard Luedke, Keller's planning and development manager.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to consider Greenway's request at its meeting Monday, Luedke said. The City Council must give final approval, he said. If approved, construction on the first phase of Keller Station -- all the apartments and some shops and offices on the northeast corner -- would begin in late 2008, Callaway said. The entire Keller Station project, estimated to cost between $50 million and $70 million, is projected to take three years to complete, he said.
Although the project has not been officially presented to the council or commission, residents and Councilman Jim Carson have criticized Greenway's project on Carson's Web log, Keller City Limits. Carson did not return several phone calls Wednesday and Thursday. Commenters on the blog suggested that Keller Station would overcrowd Keller schools and roads.
The current average home value in Keller is $251,881, compared with the county average of $143,120, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District. "We don't need more housing and more cars sitting at stop signs. We don't need another 310 families moving in and crowding the schools even more," a blogger wrote. Another wrote: "The demographics of folks that live in apartments are so different from the people that live in Keller, it is like mixing oil and water. Apartments packed full of people will cost the city more in increased infrastructure stress, police and fire calls for service than the property tax revenue will bring in."
Two other mixed-use projects are under construction in Town Center, a 352-acre site that includes Keller Town Hall. The $30 million Arthouse project is bringing shops, offices and 177 loft-style apartments on 5.6 acres and is expected to be completed in February. Keller-based Insight Builders Group is building Uptown, a $42 million mixed-use project, on 10 acres off Keller Parkway. Uptown will feature shops, offices
Source: Star-Telegram