The project, which began in mid-2019, involves $21 million worth of infrastructure updates to about a mile’s worth of Main and of Greenville Avenue. The improvements are intended to be a catalyst for future development by public and private entities, Magner said.
The distinguishing feature of Richardson’s future downtown area is a tree-lined boulevard, with McKinney Street serving as the predominant pedestrian crossing, Magner said.
“We still believe that this boulevard ... will be very unique, if not the only one for a Main Street downtown area,” he said.
Anchoring the revitalized downtown area is Gateway to Core Richardson, a 14.5-acre development planned for the northeast corner of Main and US 75. Catalyst Urban Development is the team spearheading that project.
Catalyst will oversee improvements to Interurban and Greer streets, which border the north and east sides of the future development.
“It’s a real win-win as we invest in the public side, and the Catalyst team will be making those similar improvements from an infrastructure standpoint,” Magner said.
So far, the westbound lane of Main has been completely reconstructed up to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit line, Magner said. Other improvements include a new dedicated left-turn lane at the Interurban intersection and a new left lane approaching Texas Street.
“Property owners on the north side [of Main] really felt it would be important to have a turn into Texas Street to get into the public parking that is right behind their businesses,” he said.
The city has also moved the Greenville and Main intersection 18 feet north to fix a longstanding alignment issue. This will allow for the creation of dedicated right- and left-turn lanes as well as two thru lanes.
One of the major improvements is a complete reconstruction through the Greenville intersection from Polk Street to the entrance of the Richardson Public Safety Campus. Traffic signals will be installed at the exit of the campus onto Abrams Road, Magner said.
The northeast and northwest corners of the Main and Greenville intersection will be enhanced by two mini parks equipped with shade trees, picnic tables and benches.
Work east of Greenville up to Abrams is yet to be completed. Construction on the final phase of the public safety campus is slated for October, at which time the city will finish the Greenville intersection improvements. City officials expect the project to be mostly finished by March and the contractor to be fully demobilized by May.
For more information on the Main Street project, visit this link.
