Business vacancies present challenges, opportunities After years of construction, Phase 1 of the 30-mile 35Express expansion project was completed in early November, effectively unsnarling traffic in the Lewisville portion of the north-south road. However, the project has left Lewisville with many vacant businesses along the I-35 corridor. Although city officials see the closures as a chance for redevelopment, the situation could get worse before it gets better, according to Texas Department of Transportation future plans for Phase 2. City officials said creating a new and improved “front door” to Lewisville on the I-35 corridor is the ultimate goal. “Everybody sees Lewisville driving down I-35, so let’s reinvent [the city] into something more inviting, something that will make people pull off the highway,” Economic Development Director Nika Reinecke said. TxDOT identified about 300 properties to be affected by right of way acquisitions to make room for both phases of the widening project, Lewisville Planning Director Richard Luedke said. Lewisville restaurants, such as Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant, Frankie’s Sports Bar and Mimi’s Café, were among the businesses acquired and subsequently demolished to make room for the Phase 1 expansion. As TxDOT waits for funding for Phase 2 of the project—which is an estimated five to 10 years from construction commencement—more businesses are likely to be affected by right of way acquisitions throughout the next several years. Addressing vacancies During future Phase 2 acquisitions, restaurants including Olive Garden, IHOP, Waffle House and Braum’s Inc. will likely be forced to close or adjust their building layout because either the building or a majority of the parking lot will be acquired as right of way. The anticipation of Phase 2 is adding to the I-35 vacancy issue. When businesses close, property owners are not looking for a replacement business because they know the property is likely to be acquired or otherwise impacted when the next phase begins, Deputy City Manager Eric Ferris said. On Sept. 18, Lewisville City Council passed a new ordinance targeted at vacant buildings. The ordinance states that the owners, regardless if the building is to be occupied again, shall do mandatory city inspections, proper maintenance, have liability insurance and provide a criminal trespass affidavit to allow police to remove vagrants. However, the city has worked and continues to work with businesses to help them stay open and stay in Lewisville by being lenient with some of its building requirements—such as how much parking a business is required to have, according to Luedke. Ferris said some businesses have purchased the land around them or purchased adjacent buildings in order to stay in business. One such affected business, the La Quinta Inn & Suites, used the opportunity to buy additional property behind the existing hotel and is now building a new hotel, Ferris said. “These acquisitions are giving businesses a chance to redevelop and build a bigger and better version,” Ferris said. Others, such as Saltgrass Steak House, worked with the city to relocate within Lewisville. Redefining Lewisville’s identity Knowing that the acquisitions would affect many properties along the city’s 11-mile stretch of the roadway, Luedke said the city was proactive in coming up with plans to help redefine Lewisville after construction is done. “One of the plans we did was a corridor identity plan,” he said. “The identity plan focused on all of the new overpasses. The city spent an extra $5 million to enhance the different intersections and the retaining walls so that they reflect the Lewisville character. For example, at the FM 407 overpass there’s a mural of ducks, boats, fish and waterskiing.” Luedke said the city also came up with a redevelopment plan, which puts in place more guidelines and zoning regulations for new developments. Some of the development regulations pertain to enhanced landscaping, building design, building location requirements and architectural design. “A lot of the development on I-35 was developed 30, 40, 50 years ago, back when the city didn’t have a lot of the standards that we have in place today,” he said. “So [this plan is] going to raise the bar on development standards so that when things are redeveloped [along the road] it will reinvent and redefine the identity of Lewisville.” Luedke said the plans identify four nodes, or core districts, along I-35. The four nodes are the Southern Gateway, which is the Vista Ridge Mall area; Main Street; the Business 121 intersection; and the Northern Gateway, which is the lake area. Reinecke said the city is looking to utilize and capitalize its assets in the core districts and bring developments in that will help enhance what is already there. “We would love to attract more entertainment developments in the mall area,” she said. “In the middle, by Main Street, I would love to see us take advantage of the big hospital we have and Old Town and get research or medical-type facilities. And then for the north, things that will relate to the lake.” She said the plan helps identify the best and highest uses for properties along I-35. “There’s so many uses on the highway now that could be somewhere else—that don’t necessarily need highway frontage,” she said. “They are not retail, hotel or restaurant uses; they’re services. We would like to see a lot more office uses along the highway.”