Transwestern and Kleinmann Host Final Town Hall Discussing Apartment Development at Northwest Highway and Preston Road

By the end of yesterday evening’s town hall meeting, the tenor of the discussion regarding Transwestern’s plans for a 220-unit luxury apartment complex at the northeast corner of Preston Road and Northwest Highway had become much more nuanced. After a brief presentation from Transwestern’s attorney, Bill Dahlstrom, outlining the development’s updated stats, Kleinman allowed nearby homeowners association leaders and other nearby residents a turn at the mic.

Of course, some people were angry and impassioned, including some that couldn’t wait for their turn to be called on to speak. But the tone was much more quiet once Dahlstrom took the mic to respond, opening up a brief Q&A that was, save for the quiet-yet-furious arm waving, peaceful.

Of course, there were some loud voices, and some pretty famous ones, including former mayor Laura Miller and Lisa Blue Baron, who flew in from her home in Washington, D.C., to be at last night’s meeting. In addition, Michael Jung, an attorney hired by nearby residents pointed out a few interesting facts to the crowd of about 150 to 200 or so people.

Jung, who helped to sink plans for a lakeside restaurant on Boy Scout Hill at White Rock Lake, noted that this building would be the tallest new development between North Central Expressway and Denton Drive. He decried the idea of building more apartments in the area, saying that one only needs to look to Google to see that there are more than enough readily available apartments in Dallas.

Between thunderous applause, an interesting point was raised: Will this proposed planned development make it somewhat easier for other projects to be built, some that might not fit the scale, standards, and character of Preston Hollow? Will it create a precedent?

Ashley Parks of Preston Hollow East Homeowners Association said that there were close to 1,500 signatures on the petition her HOA organized, outlining their major concerns regarding Transwestern’s Planned Development application, which include height, density, and traffic. Another concern Parks stated, which was shared with at least one other speaker yesterday evening, was that the balconies facing north would negate any feeling of privacy residents have come to expect in their backyards.

“We bought our property with the understanding of what was going to be on that site,” Parks said. “Transwestern wants to change that. Privacy is a major concern. It’s not a question of whether development is going to happen. It’s about what our rights as property owners are.”

Parks added that the PD didn’t align with the Forward!Dallas plan, which says that new development should fall within the parameters of the surrounding neighborhood with regard to density, intensity, and size and maintain the character and human scale of the surrounding neighborhood. The same feelings were repeated by other nearby board presidents who spoke, including Jim Christon of Preston Hollow South and restaurateur Marc Hall of 6040 Place condos, who, even after a gentle and then firm reminder from councilman Lee Kleinman to wrap up his speech, continued to talk.

But what was unexpected was the speakers from Townhouse Row, who say that they’re going to sell regardless of what goes on that lot, and that Transwestern has kept an open line with nearby residents — something that, if this plan doesn’t go through, may not happen next time. In fact, according to the current multi-family zoning in place for the site, a developer can build efficiency apartments on the site without so much as a peep from City Hall.

But what about Forward!Dallas? When Laura Miller came to the mic, she made an impassioned — and brief — plea to Transwestern.

“We can do womething that is very high-quality with the current zoning,” Miller said between peals of applause. “I would ask that this be withdrawn and that we come together to construct a plan that works with the current zoning.”

Lisa Blue Baron followed, and after citing her experience as a trial lawyer, she said she anticipates the increased traffic from the development will result in more distracted driving, and thereby more accidents. She echoed fears that Transwestern’s plans for increased density would set a precedent, too.

“Once this happens, once this goes up, it will make every other project easier,” she said.

And at one point, a resident of Northwood named Steve Collins, asked for those opposed to Transwestern’s plans, to stand. From my view, only a few were left sitting, and those who were still seated were mostly Transwestern’s executives and representation.

As Sarah Dodd explained to me afterward, Transwestern has already significantly scaled back the size of the building, opting for a maximum of six stories instead of eight, which will include no efficiency apartments and will have 220 units, each with a minimum of 1,000 square feet. This was the result of six months of ongoing dialogue with nearby residents, a process that started in December of last year.

The total investment would be $80 to $100 million, with wide setbacks on all sides and publicly accessible green space — a feature that Transwestern is not mandated to include, but has chose to make available. Each unit would have two parking spaces in an underground garage with visitor parking as well, and only 60 percent of the lot will be covered with buildings, which will have a stair-step design to allow for reduced overall height.

The next step for the development is the planning and zoning commission, which will make a recommendation to the Dallas City Council on whether the PD submitted by Transwestern should be approved.