My Services Offered: Preston Center Parking Garage Research Study

Dear Chosen Consultant,

I saw that NCTCOG (North Central Texas Council of Governments) issued an RFP (Request for Proposal) for a combined $400,000 study on the viability of parking structures in four areas of the Metroplex.

1. Northwest Highway at Preston Road (Preston Center West)
2. IH 635 East of Galleria (Dallas Midtown)
3. Dallas Medical District (Southwest Medical District)
4. “Option 4” (Downtown Arlington, which may be changed or eliminated)

While I’m sure 2, 3, 4 are worthwhile projects, I have specific knowledge surrounding “1,” the proposed underground garage at the center (in so many ways) of Preston Center West. In fact, were NCTCOG to have issued separate RFPs, I’d have thrown my hat in to study the Preston Center garage.

Having spent two years attending and reporting on task force meetings along with researching area traffic flow and roadway optimization … even publishing a traffic plan nearly two years ago … I am uniquely qualified to understand the requirements and history of this project.  Add-in a 25-year career developing research and the resulting planning for global corporations and governments, and I’m da man for you!

Here’s a sample of my Preston Center coverage for the past two years. I detail the consultant shortfalls and task force inbreeding that produced the lackluster Preston Road and Northwest Highway Area Plan approved earlier this year by the Dallas Plan Commission and City Council.

2015

• Preston Center Task Force: A Meeting Molly Ivins Would Love
• The Preston Center Sky Bridge: Laura Miller Rallies Residents Against Development, But Does Her Opposition Make Sense?
• Why Wait? Here’s The Preston Center Traffic Plan – NOW
• Preston Center Task Force to Ask Residents How Behind the Pink Wall Neighborhood Should Change
• Surprisingly Youthful Ideas from Preston Center Task Force Zone 4 Meeting
• Preston Center Task Force Delivers Data That Might (And Might Not) Surprise You

2016

• Preston Center Task Force Has a Traitor in its Midst; St. Michael’s Church Praying for a High-Rise
• Catching up with the Preston Center Task Force, Part 1: Giving Mark Cuban the Bird and Parking Woes
• Preston Center Task Force Results: Part 2, Nothing a Pot of Paint Won’t Fix
• 8100 Lomo Alto: The Next Preston Center Domino to Fall?
• Preston Center Task Force Meeting #4: Dazed by Confused Data
• Preston Center Task Force: The Pink Wall is a Restricted Community, No Section 8 Housing Here!
• Is the Preston Center Task Force Building Consensus on Faulty Foundation?
• KISS-ing at Preston Center Task Force’s Final Meeting Before Public Show and Tell
• Better, Still Not Best: Final (?) Preston Center Task Force Meeting Attracts Sell-out Crowd
• Latest Preston Center Task Force Meeting Puts the FU in FUBAR
• Squandered Money, Part 1: The Preston Center Area Plan
• Squandered Money, Part 2: Pink Wall Zone 4
• Preston Center Task Force Shows How to Waste Two Years and $300,000: Part 1
• Preston Center Task Force Shows How to Waste Two Years and $300,000: Part 2

2017

• Northwest Highway and Preston Road Area Plan Passes Plan Commission

I’m happy to see that the RFP suggests that the Preston Center garage “should receive 50 percent of the $400,000 allocation.” Not that I have anything against the other projects, it’s just that Preston Center has particularly high hurdles.  Seeing 50 percent going there may mean the output is more actionable and realistic than the area plan. That said, the Preston Center Area Plan cost $350,000 with little to show. I’d hate to see another $200,000 tossed down the same hole, which is why I’m offering my services (with $200K in the pot, I don’t need to give it away).

All RFPs were due March 31 with contract awarding on May 25.  Notice to Proceed is expected shortly thereafter for a study lasting under nine months.

To whomever is awarded the study, my schedule is currently wide open on May 26 to discuss how I can help this study deliver tangible betterment to the residents, workers and landowners in the Preston Center area … certainly more than the milquetoast Preston Road and Northwest Highway Area Plan.

Good luck in securing the bid.

Sincerely,

Jon Anderson

P.S. I have no conflicts of interest, and as a local resident, have some skin in the game for a successful outcome.

Remember:  High-rises, HOAs and renovation are my beat. But I also appreciate modern and historical architecture balanced against the YIMBY movement.  If you’re interested in hosting a Candysdirt.com Staff Meeting event, I’m your guy. In 2016, my writing was recognized with Bronze and Silver awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.  Have a story to tell or a marriage proposal to make?  Shoot me an email [email protected].