Richardson officials OK commercial development set to anchor new 'Interurban Design District'

The space is currently an empty plot of land, and the area features a large number of automotive businesses.

Graham is marketing the corridor as the Interurban Design District and said developing all six buildings as one project would give developers the “runway to actually change the corridor.”

“Instead of tinkering at the edges of a single lot, one owner can sequence a whole block,” he said. “One owner can hold every building to the same design standard.”

He added that the footprint of automotive businesses has already decreased by 80% in the area, while “preserving the quality local businesses.” Collision repair center Solow Garage was permitted to stay in the area, per a council decision last month.

What they’re saying

Commission Chair Bryan Marsh and Vice Chair Jeremy Thomason voted against approval, citing parking concerns.

While the project meets parking requirements since its being developed as one lot, Marsh said that the two buildings on either end of the development would not have enough parking if individually considered.

“I would be concerned as an investor or as an owner, or buyer, or lender that my individual lot does not meet the parking requirements on its own,” he said. “I really am looking for a way to try to approve this, but ... what's before us tonight does not include any additional parking other than what you've shown us.”

Marsh also expressed concern that on-street parking in the area would not be sufficient to meet the demand.

“When I drove out there, there were about seven cars that were parked in front of the lot,” he said. “You have 21 on-street parking spaces, and one third of them were gone just from overflow from the businesses on the west side. So to me, that's the biggest challenge here.”

Richardson Director of Development Services Tina Firgens said that conversations on how to address parking in the area have already begun internally. Graham said he believes many of the parked cars on Interurban Street are overflow inventory from the area’s automotive businesses.

Commissioner Joe Quirk warned the commission against holding out for a “perfect plan.”

“I think we need to get the ball rolling here,” he said. “How long has this area been like this? We have got to get off the ground somewhere.”

The timeline

Graham also owns the property across the street and said that work is currently being done to improve roofs, landscaping, paint and other tenant improvements in the area.

He added that they just started pitching the lots to tenants three weeks ago and they’ve had a cheesecake company, a restaurant, a general contractor and other tenants tour the space.

The ultimate goal of the project, according to a presentation from Graham, is to extend the district to the southeast corner of Bishop Avenue and Davis Street.

Quote of note

“Everything around [the lot] moved, and we didn't see a problem, we saw an opportunity nobody has been able to unlock,” Graham said. “Every district you and I admire started the same way with one project that proved it could work and gave everyone else confidence to follow. ... None were built in a single phase, and none were created by regulation alone. They were created by investment, partnership and somebody willing to go first—I'm willing to go first.”