Punching Through Central at Palisades

Source: Palisades Village.

There's a glimmer of hope for my quixotic dream of punching through Central Expressway to help end the divide between east and west Richardson. Does the name Palisades ring a bell? It's the office park on the west side of US 75 across from Galatyn Park. I use the term office park loosely, as it's mostly vacant land with one big office tower (perhaps the tallest in Richardson, but who's measuring?), another smaller office building and an ugly parking garage facing Central Expressway. Otherwise, there's a lot of grass. And streets that go around and around but end up nowhere.

I don't know the history of that property. It was laid out as if some developer had big plans that never came to fruition. After the jump, is the time right for an even bigger and better plan?

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The city of Richardson laid the groundwork for development by extending the Galatyn overpass west and down into the Palisades area. That investment, which once looked like a bridge to nowhere, now appears to become a connection from Galatyn Park to a major new development for Richardson. Check out Palisades Village. Features under consideration include:

• Landscape buffer zone in the back adjacent to Collins Blvd.
  
• Single family detached development zone along Collins Blvd (65 homes, maximum)
  
• Multi Family Residential (750 units, in buildings no less than 4 stories in height, which must be a mixed use structure)
  
• Condominium Tower (a single tower no less than 10 stories, with no more than 250 units)
  
• Hotel (300 rooms maximum)
  
• A 3 to 4-acre park in the center of the property
  
• Required retail/restaurant uses on the ground floor ringing the park
  
• A pedestrian/bicycle overpass to Galatyn Park Station
  

Note that last bullet point: a pedestrian bridge over Central Expressway connecting Palisades Village to the Galatyn Park DART station. Maybe the failings of Galatyn Park (where are the pedestrians?) can be salvaged by development across the highway in Palisades Village. Maybe the developers can punch that hole through Central Expressway and breathe some life into Galatyn Park itself. Win-win. I'm excited about the potential.