Even though I’m only a "citizen blogger," I have some of the cynicism that true journalists are famous for. So, imagine my surprise when I attended the Lake Highlands Town Center Retail Forum last night, and they actually (gasp!) listened.
About 20 LH women attended our session at the LH North Recreation Center, and three forums were held before ours. Most attendees were members of the LH Early Childhood PTA, the LH Junior Women’s League, or the Women’s League (as our loyal blog followers know from the posts below). After a brief presentation outlining their tentative plans, they asked us for input on everything from what stores we’d shop at, what restaurants we’d patronize, what services we’d seek out, and what amenities we’d appreciate. Some in the room had attended previous forums and praised the Prescott people for implementing suggestions given at those events. Architectural renderings were beautiful, with "Wildcat Way" down the center of the "town," a small amphitheater at "Lookout Point" on the banks of the lake, and a hike & bike trail which will link to White Rock Creek and (eventually) the Katy Trail. Hundreds of thousands are being spent to extract big, old trees on the property and care for them until they can be replanted for shade. Sidewalks will be wide enough for families and strollers, and the streets can be blocked off to permit "pedestrian only" access during special events. Extensive work and expense have been dedicated to keeping the site "green" (environmentally friendly), including donating apartment lighting to a soccer association, recycling rain water for irrigation, and crushing concrete slabs to use as road bed (those are the sky-high mounds you see from Skillman).
Prescott’s people took copious notes to document excellent suggestions given by the group, even going back over drawings with the architect to see if one woman’s idea was workable. The Town Center may not end up being "all things to all people" (the Prescott folks warned us to "manage our expectations"), but I predict I’ll see you there more evenings than not for dinner on the patios and an ice cream by the lake.
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