Battleground Preston Hollow: The Neighborhood Strikes Back!
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The following Zoning Update just went out today to every homeowner in the Preston Hollow East Home Owners Association the day after Transwestern filed its zoning case. You can read it all right here. Basically, the homeowners are concerned over –
-PEOPLE! They claim the development will add three times as many bodies to the area.
-Too Tall: the six stories is still twice as high as what is currently allowed by zoning
-Balconies Gone Wild: They do not like balconies on the north and west sides of the project.
-Too close for comfort: — they say these units will be 33 feet closer to the single fam residences.
-Parking: Not enough space provided by Transwestern.
-Green Me Up at Gunpoint: They say Transwestern is spinning the proposed green space as a park when really it is required open space.
-Too Much Traffic: studies have showed an increase in traffic.
-Luxury? What Luxury?The apartments aren’t luxurious enough for Preston Hollow
Here are all their points, read for yourself!
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I am really interested to see how Transwestern responds to this list of concerns. And I wonder what the outcome will be with the P&Z Board.
Pink Wall Fever! Again, the neighbors to the North feel as though they have some sort of legitimate standing in the Transwestern zoning request. This is a good plan that has been well researched, well presented, and well designed with the advantage of a huge budget, the finished product will be the best in the City. This is what Dallas needs now at this premier location! It is time to catch up on Preston Hollow density, as the neighborhoods to the North and West have some of the largest lots in the city. The fortunate few who live there are fully surrounded by huge lawns and and arbors of 60+ year old trees that insulate them from urban environment that most of us live in.
The loud small crowd of Homeowners to the North seem to think they have a special platform as if they were still residents of the Town of Preston Hollow. That independence and platform went away in 1946 when that small town of 785 became part of Dallas. This is a new day for all of those in Dallas who will benefit from the amazing benefits of new tax value that high-end, high density residential redevelopment will produce. New product at this location is long over due and a modern and progressive city such as Dallas must take full advantage of the opportunity! Our city is so blessed to have defined the words “Real Estate in its finest terms, as it is the home of many developers with sterling international reputations and many generations of progressive city leaders.
Peter, you are so right! How dare those people think they can have lots and a decent quality of life in Dallas! Everyone should be as miserable as the lowest common denominator. If someone has money and wants to live in DFW, they should move to Southlake!
Sorry Preston Hollow HOA’s. It really isn’t your business. You can build one of your McMansions 3 feet from the alley between Del Norte and Bandera and your windows can face all the condos and destroy their privacy and no one has said a word. You’ve changed the face of the neighborhood yourselves and no one tried to stop you from maximizing your return on investment. And because TWO houses on Del Norte may have a slight encroachment issue( not withstanding that both homes have tall trees which would obscure the proposed building), no one can have a balcony? Most of these condos are 50-60 years old and face multiple issues and costly repairs (no different than the house many of you tore down). Re-development is in the greater interest of those condo properties who may wish to sell out and it will create a better tax base for the City. As far as traffic, it will hardly affect any of you outside of the Northwest Highway/Preston Road intersection which for Transwestern has already agreed to fund improvements. And most of that is caused by University Park’s traffic light at Berkshire. Let’s face it, this is a big city and nothing is going to stay bucolic forever. As to the City being littered with low end one bedroom apartments, I had to laugh at loud at this. Preston Village sat untouched and unscathed for 50 years in this very same area and no one complained then. Did you protest the redevelopment of the property with The Drexel and The Edgemere and the other apartment complex which doubled the density or the new building where Il Sorrento once stood? Did all these developments drive your property values down? Hardly. And if you do not live on Del Norte which abuts this development, why do you even have a stake in this matter?
One of the great things about this city is the diversity in personalities of neighborhoods. I think it would cease to be a world class city if we paved over all of the 60+ year old trees and built highrises everywhere. We in Preston Hollow chose to live in this area for a reason. Of course the residents to the north have a say – it is required that they have a say in any request to change zoning if they are within a certain radius from the proposed project.
You would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t want to see the hard corner redeveloped. The question is, how much density? If the goal is to have urban, walkable neighborhoods, then this development does not achieve that goal. It is facing two major highways, which virtually no one crosses on foot. If it were on the other side of the highways, next to commercial and retail use, it might make sense. But plopping it down over two city blocks in the most desirable residential area in Dallas is a terrible idea.
Asking questions are actually nice thing if you are not understanding
something entirely, except this post provides pleasant understanding yet.