Finding an on-street parking spot in Southlake Town Square might seem difficult to find, which may cause visitors to feel like parking is tight. However, developers and city officials said there is a surplus of parking available—just not in the form of on-street parking.

Southlake Assistant City Manager Alison Ortowski said a parking study completed in June 2015 showed there are more than 5,300 parking spaces in Town Square and there is a surplus of approximately 484 spaces when applying the parking requirements for the current zoning in place.

“While the study indicates that there is more than the required available parking, the challenge we see for some [visitors] is the perception that the parking supply is limited because visitors tend to want to park directly adjacent to their destination,” she said.

Frank Bliss, president of Cooper and Stebbins, which developed Southlake Town Square, said because guests tend to not want to use parking structures, he often receives requests to add more parking in the places where it is most convenient, such as on-street parking and directly behind buildings.

However, he said when developing Town Square, a goal of his was to create a pedestrian-friendly environment that encourages people to get out of their cars and walk.

“Customers, employees and other regular visitors to Town Square typically walk no more than 300-500 feet from their car to reach the mixed-use district and begin enjoying the environment,” he said. “However, more and more people are discovering how easy it is to park in the covered garages.”

Evolution of parking

Over the years Southlake Town Square has evolved to feature many uses, including retail, restaurant, office, government, hotel and residential. Most recently it has changed to include Southlake’s first-ever condominiums and a seven-story Class A office building, which is expected to open by the end of the year.

With these new additions come changes to parking in the 130-acre mixed-use development.

In order to build the first of four condominium buildings, a parking lot that fronts Central Avenue—consisting of 100 spots—will be removed.

However, Bliss said there will still be adequate parking available in that area.

“The Parkview Residence condominium building is part of the long-term Town Square Master Plan,” Bliss said. “Knowing that this surface lot was ultimately to be developed, we made plans to replace the 100 parking spaces that would be displaced when we built the garage [next to it].”

Bliss said when building that particular parking garage in 2005, developers built an extra floor in the garage—which was not needed then—because they knew the surface lot would eventually be demolished for the condominiums.

“We will also be adding a garage underneath the Parkview Residences to meet the new residents’ parking needs,” he said.

The Granite Place project will be located just east of State Street next to the Hilton Southlake and is projected to bring in several new companies and more than 400 jobs to the community.

Bliss said a parking garage will be built and used to house the office employees and also serve as public parking.

“I understand that parking on the upper floors of that garage will be restricted to employee parking for [office building] tenants from 6 a.m.-6 p.m.,” he said. “However, the ground level will be open to all visitors, limited to a two-hour stay, during all days and hours. In addition, the upper floors will be open to the public nightly from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. and on weekends and on federal holidays, which will be a great benefit to Town Square during our higher-traffic periods, such as during Art in the Square and other traditional annual events.”

Bliss said for events there are also off-site options and shuttles available to help with parking.

Future parking changes

There are not many restrictions in Town Square when it comes to parking, aside from the designated zones for employee parking, permit parking around City Hall and a lot designated strictly for Del Frisco’s Grille customers.

“You may have noticed the blue lines in Town Square’s surface parking lots,” Bliss said. “Employees are directed to park behind the blue lines, or on the third and fourth levels of the structured parking garages. This is designed to free up convenience parking for customers, clients, guests and other visitors to Town Square. We also have designated loading zones and designated short-term parking spaces.”[totalpoll id="170939"]

However, in the future Bliss said Town Square will see a greater use of short-term parking strategies, such as 15-minute loading zones to two-hour maximum parking, which should in turn give businesses higher levels of visitation and turnover.

Ortowski said the city is also looking at ways to improve the convenience of parking for customers.

“Understanding that parking directly adjacent to Town Hall is sometimes limited, we are constantly analyzing ways that we can provide improved customer access,” she said. “For example, the city has provided remote library book return locations as well as a site for utility bill deposits to accommodate those customers who have business at Town Hall. We’ve also extended parking courtesies to voters by establishing voter-designated parking spaces during voting dates, which are heavily utilized.”