When the city of Grapevine purchased a 185-acre tract of land, located north of Grapevine Mills, in 2013 from former Texas Rangers baseball player Rafael Palmeiro, City Manager Bruno Rumbelow said it was with the intent of focusing on attracting tourism and entertainment that could bring big dividends in terms of sales tax revenue.

So far the city has not been able to attract any retail or entertainment, but it has been able to close the deal with Kubota Tractor Corp. for a new headquarters and with Mercedes-Benz for a parts distribution center and a training facility.

The conversation among city officials and developers is now shifting to what are the best types of development to surround these commitments— including potential multifamily housing after a developer presented a plan for a multifamily community on the property.

“We have been focusing—from an economic development perspective—for years on hospitality, entertainment and retail in Grapevine,” Rumbelow said. “However, you can’t look at a large tract like this and think you can occupy every square foot of land with just those uses.”

Plans for multifamily units

Before the city purchased the Palmeiro tract, JLB Realty, a development company based in Dallas, contracted with Palmeiro in 2012 for the sale of 13 acres on the tract to develop a multifamily project. When the city purchased the land it assumed the JLB purchase and sale contract.[polldaddy poll=9347928]

JLB has developed two multifamily communities in the city —StoneLedge and Terrawood.

At the Feb. 16 joint Grapevine Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council meeting, JLB presented Grapevine Bluffs, a 472-unit multifamily project, for the tract.

JLB came before P&Z asking for variances to several city standards, including the amount of recreational open space, building height, building separation, density and off-street parking.

The development was denied by P&Z with a 6-1 vote, and unanimously by City Council.

Both entities said they think developers could do a better job in terms of the design and layout. P&Z also listed concerns with parking, lack of amenities and size of the community and the units.

Rumbelow said the project is expected to come back before the commission and city council in April.

Multifamily trend

Rumbelow said the city is still trying to attract retail to the Palmeiro tract and thinks a residential component would help.

“We want to attract [retail], but we need to make sure there is enough daytime and nighttime density to support those uses,” he said. “I think [a residential component] would be helpful for sure. I think [if you look at] the way that other developments have developed in the [Dallas-Fort Worth] Metroplex—that have happened on large parcels—you can see more evidence of that.”

In January Grapevine city staff and City Council received a report on the role of multifamily development as it related to the city’s remaining undeveloped tracts.

The report says that regional growth along with shifting urban living preferences by millennials and baby boomers has created a need for quality multifamily developments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Corporations looking to relocate to the area are increasingly looking at tracts that contain mixed-use developments, according to the report.

Mixed-use developments include elements of office space, retail and housing—such as Legacy West in Plano (future home of Liberty Mutual) and CityLine in Richardson (home of State Farm).

The report says that multifamily would be a good fit for a development when a combination of factors are met, including: quality construction; a site design that anticipates complementary adjacent uses; connectivity; and anticipation of redevelopment in future generations.

The report states, “For Grapevine, multifamily contextually designed and constructed can provide opportunities to remain competitive in the corporate and retail markets as the remaining undeveloped parcels are assessed for the highest and best use. Properly understood, the role of multifamily can play an important role in a sustainable future for the city.”

Need for rooftops

Council Member Chris Coy said he thinks the area near the Palmeiro tract is saturated with apartments.

“I believe we have a nice, clean plot of land that the city owns that we can do some really creative and interesting things with, so I guess I’m not ready to throw in the towel and build something that is comparable to what’s already across the street where we already have a large number of apartments already in the area,” he said.

Coy said within a mile of the Palmeiro tract there are nearly 2,000 apartment units in Grapevine and Flower Mound.

Council Member Darlene Freed said the apartments near the tract are near lease capacity, so therefore “looking at the numbers without looking at demand is only half of the story.”

She said rooftops are needed to help attract retail.

“There have been times before where a lack of rooftops—because of the airport being there—makes it difficult to get some of these retailers,” she said. “Grocery stores have a hard time looking at going into that part of town because there’s not enough rooftops.”

Grapevine Economic Development Director Bob Farley said Grapevine Bluffs would help support some of the housing demand that will come from Kubota and Mercedes-Benz.

“It’ll probably be a mix [of people] at the end of the day that lives there, if it is passed,” he said. “This area is 20 miles from all of the major nodes of activity in the Metroplex, so, therefore, it’s going to appeal to people who want to be centrally located because of where they are going to work or perhaps they are leaving out of [Dallas/Fort Worth International] Airport and need immediate access to the airport.”

Coy said the city’s multifamily units make up about 37 percent of the city’s housing—a ratio he said is high compared to surrounding suburbs.

“It seems to me that our general mix of housing stock already puts us in a place where we pretty much have something for anybody that wants to live here. It’s a popular place to live, and there is obviously more people moving in, but I think we would like to maintain that balance we have in terms of multifamily versus other housing options.”