Dive Brief:
- Construction crews have started work on a large transit-oriented development (TOD) anchored by a Dallas Area Rapid Transit station near downtown, according to Commercial Property Executive.
- The 8-acre complex, dubbed The Epic, will include a 14-story office building with 250,000 square feet of total space and retail on the ground floor; a 20-story, 300-unit residential tower with a first-floor, pedestrian "streetscape"; a boutique hotel; as well as an amenity deck with rooftop dining and a fitness center.
- The Perkins+Will-designed project, which Balfour Beatty is building, is scheduled for completion in 2019 and will be LEED Gold-certified for Core and Shell.
Dive Insight:
Other cities are also using TODs as a way to beef up development in certain areas and as a way to boost ridership for the local transit systems. In fact, the high-density projects that cause so much controversy and pushback from residents, as well as an often-lengthy rezoning process, in places like Miami and Los Angeles, tend to be more supportive of TODs.
Officials in metros like Phoenix, Denver and San Diego see high-density building near transit hubs as a way to provide economic benefit to surrounding businesses and neighborhoods while at the same time reducing gridlock on major roads and highways. This is because many TOD residents opt to utilize the mass transit now at the core of their neighborhood or even walk to work if their employer is located in or near the TOD. The Deep Ellum development should give a much-needed boost to DART, which has been heavily subsidized in the past due to low ridership.
In Phoenix, TODs have generated $9 billion of economic benefit for the city, Albert Santana, director of high capacity transit for the City of Phoenix, told Construction Dive last month. The city, he said, designs each TOD to blend in with the neighborhood, eschewing a one-size-fits-all strategy.
