My top ten observations from the Skillman Corridor TIF District Design Review Committee meeting, David Letterman-style:
#10: Lake Highlands residents consider themselves/ourselves stakeholders as much as (more than?) any owner, investor or developer involved.
#9: The idea of a brand new Tom Thumb in the Town Center has some LH residents fightin’ mad, envisioning the Tom Thumbs at Skillman/Royal and Skillman/Abrams closing and becoming cancerous corners, much like the old Tom Thumb center at Forest/Abrams.
#8: Residents seem to be under the mistaken impression that Prescott has pocketed $23 million in TIF kickbacks. The developer anticipates reimbursements up to that amount from the TIF during future progression of the project.
#7: Residential units in the first phase of development will begin construction late this summer. These units will be down near the amphitheater at the water’s edge.
#6: The residential units nearest the DART station will be seven stories high.
#5: Zero lot line homes or townhomes are planned for the southernmost end of the development, with price tags around $700,000.
#4: Prescott considers LH “under-restauranted” and is pursuing multiple restaurants, including at least one as a “junior anchor.”
#3: Prescott has secured funding through the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) to extend the trail southward to connect with the LH trail system, which connects to White Rock Lake and goes northward beyond LBJ.
#2: The grocer (whichever that may be), will be accessible to the greater LH neighborhood for quick in-and-out shopping via Skillman with some surface parking (ala Whole Foods Market at Greenville and Blackwell and Park Lane) or as part of a Town Center shopping experience, reachable from the new residential buildings, parking structure or strollable Wildcat Way.
#1: Yes, former Dallas City Councilman and LH development advocate Bill Blaydes, there will STILL be a clock tower at Lake Highlands Town Center.