After the jump, what should I think of this?The building has eight parking spaces per 1,000 square feet, which is a rarity in office real estate, and makes it an ideal location for a call center or other office user with a need for a high parking ratio.
Source: Dallas Business Journal.
There are lots of pros and cons.
Both the new office building and a large vacant property just to the north are within walking distance of the Arapaho DART station, so naturally you'd expect high-density, mixed-use, transit-oriented development (TOD) in both places. And you'd be wrong. The city already bungled the development of the empty land to the north, leading us towards a 408 unit GreenVUE apartment building on the site.
Now, we're about to get a call center, too. Jobs in a call center pay more than minimum wage, but less than average wages for all jobs, so the attractiveness of the jobs is not a reason to welcome this. Still, a call center is better than another server farm this close to the DART station. Call centers employ lots of people, generating business for nearby businesses. The Arapaho DART station is sadly isolated. It's in need of nearby places to walk to work, eat or play. It would be better if the apartment building and office building were built with some synergy between them, along with some retail. It all could be a catalyst for a new urban center around that DART station. The whole could be greater than the sum of the parts. Instead, we're getting getting yet another typical 1980s-style development form again, where the parts don't fit together and the whole sparks nothing.
Oh, well, at least it's redevelopment, which is better than an empty building. In the end, I make my peace with it. Better than an empty building. Damning with faint praise, I know. But it's the most enthusiasm I can muster.
1 comment:
Part of the reason the Arapaho DART station is so isolated is that it's surrounded by cars. You have to dodge all these motorists hell bent on kill 44,000 of us every year to get to the train station. The bridge under Greenville is a nice touch, but getting across 75 is way harder.
Yeah I guess there are some people that will drive to the train station and leave their cars there, but there are always lots of empty car spaces and people fight over the bike lockers. Partly because CoRichardson has started to get with the bike idea, biking to the Arapaho DART station is practical for people that live on the east side of 75. Get some sort of off grade ped crossing under or over 75 and people will use it.
Post a Comment