DFW suburb plans for transit-oriented development

Grapevine hopes for TOD money

Steve Hawley, Mar 04, 10.

Officials in Grapevine, a suburb near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, are planning for transit-oriented development near a future rail station, according to the Grapevine Courier.

The officials face several challenging questions, according to the article:

How do you plan for $50 million in development around a facility that is yet to be designed?

And, how do you make a building in a modern, regional transit system mesh with existing structures in a carefully preserved historic district?

The area under consideration is half a mile by 1.25 miles. Many officials hope to use the rail station to attract dense, mixed-use development in the area, although they acknowledge that it may be difficult given that some adjacent areas are light industrial. Done properly, the mayor and other officials say, the area could become a destination, not just a travel corridor.

Commuter rail service is expected to start in 2013 and generate $50 million in economic development in Grapevine.