Transformation will come to SH 26, also known as Colleyville Boulevard, following the completion of the SH 26 widening project, slated for spring 2020, as well as the summer opening of Grapevine Main, a destination offering a community plaza, a boutique hotel and a food hall.
SH 26 completion to bring landscape changes
The much-awaited completion of SH 26 construction will bring with it a changing scene for the corridor.In July, Texas Department of Transportation officials announced construction of the SH 26 widening project was delayed from its slated 2019 completion date to 2020.
SH 26, also called Colleyville Boulevard, serves as the city’s main shopping corridor. TxDOT has been working since 2016 to widen 3 miles of the road at a cost of $38.2 million. The road widening is expected to be completed in the spring.
“2020 is going to be an important year for SH 26,” Colleyville Mayor Richard Newton said in an email.
Once TxDOT has finished widening the road, the city will begin installing new decorative streetlights and then adding landscaping, Newton said. Drivers will experience minimal impact during median work, he said.
The city will add stones, colorful plantings and mature trees to the center medians of SH 26, he said. The first phase of this work is set to begin in late spring or early summer.
Following this, the city will add vertical gateway structures, masonry accent walls, pavers and decorative sidewalk posts to further enhance the corridor, Newton said.
“The metamorphosis to beautify this commercial corridor in 2020 will be exceptional,” he said in an email. “This transformation will benefit our community’s greatest assets—our residents and our businesses.”
Construction work on SH 26 is still on track for the modified timeline, TxDOT Public Information Officer Val Lopez said. Crews are on the west side of SH 26 finishing remaining sidewalk, driveway and retaining wall installation, he said. Additional work includes final striping and permanent traffic signal installation.
“We appreciate the patience of our residents and business owners as the construction phase of this project comes to an end,” Newton said in his email.
Grapevine Main development slated for summer opening
Coury Hospitality, in partnership with the city of Grapevine, plans to open its six-story boutique hotel, food hall and event center this summer on Main Street.Prompted by the TEXRail train station in the same location, which began operations in early 2019, the city decided to develop a traditional train station that serves the modern traveler’s needs. This includes an open courtyard, the Hotel Vin and the Harvest Hall food hall.
Much of the groundwork was laid last year for the train station’s development, said Tom Santora, chief commercial officer of Coury Hospitality and the managing director of the upcoming Hotel Vin. In addition to major construction work and the opening of the new parking garage, Coury Hospitality collected surveys from more than 600 people about the types of cuisines or entertainment they wanted to see in the food hall. With those responses in mind, Santora said three of the seven food hall vendors have been selected and will be announced in the near future.
He said he has already noticed the project resonating with the community.
“It feels like we’re sort of going back in time a little bit, and the architecture of the building fits into the city already,” Santora said. “It doesn’t feel like this modern building was plopped there, or some generic, standard hotel, if you will. ... They’ve really done a nice job.”
Near the train station is a plaza that will also serve as a key part of the development, Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow said. The plaza will feature a public art piece called the Peace Circle, capturing the moment an 1843 peace treaty was signed, as well as a fountain and seating, Rumbelow said. Community events could also be held there.
“We are truly excited about the Hotel Vin and Grapevine Main fully opening and being activated in the summer of 2020,” Rumbelow said.
Carillon Parc developers expect summer groundbreaking
Carillon Parc, which has been a decade in the making, is expected to turn dirt in late summer.The project site is located at the corner of North White Chapel Boulevard and SH 114.
The $290 million Carillon Parc plan from Hunter Chase Capital Partners was approved in July 2018, but was updated in September to add more parkland and to better use the land’s natural elevation changes, said John Terrell, a developer of the project and a former Southlake mayor.
He said the changes add at least $50 million to the project.
The plan comes with eight distinct districts that will include chef-driven restaurants, artisan shopping, and more than 10 acres of park space.
The city of Southlake also plans to partner with the developers to relocate the city library to Carillon Parc.
“We’re very excited about the economic impact that Carillon is going to have for our community,” Southlake Mayor Laura Hill said.
Developers closed on the land for Carillon Parc in November and expect to have a more finalized site plan for the project by mid-January, Terrell said. Following this will be six to eight months of engineering.
Once engineering is completed, major construction can take place, Terrell said.
Carillon Parc will take about four years to complete, but some of the first buildings will probably open two-and-a-half years into construction, he said. These will likely be the new city library and the performing arts center, with the hotel also taking shape around that time, too.
“The entire community has been waiting a long time, long before we ever got involved in this particular parcel of land,” Terrell said. “I think all of us are looking forward to the groundbreaking.”
