The proposed plan for the high-visibility parcel within the 103-acre Preston Center development along Preston Road and Northwest Highway in Dallas includes parking changes, garden terraces and other tweaks.
Ramrock Real Estate LLC is adding an office and residential tower to the south strip of the block bordered by Berkshire Lane, Westchester Drive, Luther Lane and Douglas Avenue. The land also includes the Preston Center Pavilion, a retail building with tenants including Target, CVS and Marshalls, and its parking garage.
The Dallas Metropolitan Planning Commission on Thursday approved a zoning application that would allow the project to reach a height of 225 feet and include a mixed-income residential component.
During the meeting, Robert Dozier of Rumrock said the plan for the block is consistent with the vision of the Northwest Highway and Preston Road Regional Plan passed by the Dallas City Council in 2017.
“They were strongly encouraging all the property owners there to densify their sites. They wanted to see ground-floor retail. They wanted to see multi-family housing and offices in mixed-use. I wanted to see it as a component of,” Dozier said. “He was one of the visionaries that they wanted people to think of as a role model in the West Village neighborhood of Dallas.”
University Park resident William Tobel was the only community member to speak out against the project.
“Frankly, this area cannot handle the size and scope of this project with the traffic it already has,” he said, adding that he believes the number of accidents could increase.
“We're already having problems with Preston.” [Road]. We have a problem on the Northwest Highway,” Tobel said.
The plans have changed slightly since the application was first heard by the City Planning Commission in March, and after a community meeting hosted by District 13 City Councilman Gay Donnell Willis.
The most impressive additions include making office parking available to retail users after business hours on weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends and holidays, adding approximately 1,000 parking spaces to the area. Parking spaces are provided.Valet parking is also available after 5 p.m.
The application also calls for a 30,000 square foot landscaped rooftop terrace.
HKS will lead the design, and the southern portion of the project will include a 180-unit residential tower and a 265,000-square-foot office tower. The application shows his 40,000 square feet of retail space in addition to green space.
The project still needs approval from the Dallas City Council.
This isn't the only project looking to increase density in Preston Center.
The block just across Luther Lane from the site could one day be home to a pair of towers that currently house Hopdoddy Burger Bar and medical office space. The separately developed buildings will each be over 300 feet tall.
