Garland is sketching out one of North Texas’ biggest suburban makeovers, drafting a long-range blueprint to transform Lake Ray Hubbard shoreline into a string of mixed-use projects.
The proposal to develop the 820-acre site could add more than $1 billion in taxable value to the northeast Dallas suburb over the next several decades, the Dallas Business Journal reported. City staff presented “Setting Sail: South Garland Lakeside Area Plan” to the Garland Plan Commission late last month. Commissioners voted to advance the plan, setting up a Dec. 1 briefing with the City Council and a Dec. 16 vote. Approval would give staff the green light to begin rezoning the area.
The framework divides the site — a small peninsula stretching into the lake, spanning the Interstate 30 and State Highway 190 interchange, across the lake from the strained Sapphire Bay development in Rowlett — into five districts, each with its own development strategy. The effort is driven in part by the future extension of the President George Bush Turnpike, which could wipe out several existing businesses and crack open redevelopment opportunities, according to planning director Nabila Nur.
The plan calls for long-term urban regeneration, such as a broader housing mix, better lakefront access, upgraded trails, and more community amenities. Some of the land is city-owned, but a patchwork of private parcels and already-developed sites will complicate how fast the pieces come together.
Officials estimate the full buildout could stretch 30 to 50 years.
Zion Point, the first focal area, is envisioned as a hub for new residential options alongside future retail and commercial development, adding an estimated $236 million in taxable value. Plans for North Point involve a lakefront commercial strip and improved connections to I-30 and Marvin Loving Road. That area could produce roughly $114 million in value.
South Point, positioned as a town-center style subdistrict, could generate an estimated $254 million in potential value. Windsurf Bay, the area most in flux due to the turnpike extension, could either stay as-is or evolve into a recreation-anchored district with residential and educational uses, adding up to $307 million. The fifth node, Locust Grove, could generate about $103 million via mobility upgrades and higher-density residential or mixed-use development.
The lakefront redo is just one piece of Garland’s redevelopment push. This summer the council rezoned 317 acres north of Interstate 635 for a dense, mixed-use community. Garland was poised to partner with Atlético Dallas on a $71 million soccer complex, but the city abruptly scrapped the deal in September.
— Eric Weilbacher
