'We're awake': Arlington, not a bed room neighborhood, is aiming to create its personal skyline – WFAA.com

ARLINGTON, Texas — Arlington has been asleep for many years in terms of attracting companies, Mayor Jim Ross mentioned, however now town is working to create its personal skyline. 

“There have been missed alternatives,” he mentioned. “We’re within the technique of quickly making a basis that may hopefully allow us to not squander away any alternatives sooner or later.” 

Town is house to the Leisure District, which homes AT&T Stadium, Choctaw Stadium, Globe Life Discipline and two Six Flags theme parks. Arlington additionally boasts D.R. Horton’s headquarters, the College of Texas at Arlington and a Common Motors meeting plant. 

Nevertheless, Ross mentioned town is simply getting warmed up. 

“We’ve got plans to construct nicely over 2 million sq. ft of sophistication A workplace house,” he mentioned. 

Earlier this yr, the Cordish Firms and the Texas Rangers introduced One Rangers Method, an upscale, 300-unit residential neighborhood within the coronary heart of the Leisure District. Situated at Nolan Ryan Expressway adjoining to Choctaw Stadium and the Nationwide Medal of Honor Museum, the forthcoming challenge is anticipated to whole about 532,000 sq. ft. 

Final yr, Loews Inns & Co. broke floor on the $550 million Loews Arlington Lodge and new Arlington Conference Middle. The lodge will whole 888 rooms on build-out. In an interview with the Enterprise Journal late final yr, Bruce Payne, Arlington financial improvement director, mentioned town is working to draw workplace and multifamily improvement within the space. 

“We’re awake, we’re not a bed room neighborhood,” Ross mentioned. “We’re a big-ass metropolis in the midst of two different huge cities, and we’re a pressure to be reckoned with.” 

All through north and central Arlington, town is working with builders to plant new class A workplace house and high-rise multifamily improvement. There hasn’t been a lot workplace improvement within the metropolis over the past 25 years, he mentioned, however with a purpose to appeal to companies to the world new class An area wants to return up.  

“Whereas we’ve been that sleepy bed room neighborhood, we’ve discovered develop relationships with of us,” he mentioned. “The Rangers got here right here 50 years in the past. They by no means left.” 

Having a thriving leisure scene may also assist appeal to new companies to the neighborhood. 

Ross spoke with the Dallas Enterprise Journal about how Arlington is aiming to draw improvement and companies and create its personal skyline. 

What’s coming subsequent for the Leisure District? 

Watch Choctaw Stadium and the property round there. We’re repurposing Choctaw Stadium like a stadium has by no means been repurposed wherever on this nation. We’ve got great companies moving into over there, and also you’re going to see Choctaw Stadium grow to be one thing tremendous cool and distinctive. 

We already had about 100,000 plus sq. ft of retail and workplace house that’s been leased over there already, with extra to return. Loews Arlington can be performed within the first a part of 2024, however we’re not stopping there. We’ve got plans to have many extra stunning, top-notch lodge rooms. Our new conference middle house is over 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 sq. ft. It places us on the map to compete with any conference middle house wherever within the nation. 

What are your financial improvement targets? 

Financial improvement is extra than simply creating jobs. That’s an essential side of it, but it surely’s additionally about creating the correct sorts of jobs, that are in a position to generate stable earnings you can increase a household on, ship your children to college on and retire on. 

Other than simply that, it’s offering an environment the place you’ve gotten a steadiness in your residing. In different phrases, loads of communities proper now, as an example, are struggling as a result of their actual property market is growing at a dramatic charge. The median job earnings shouldn’t be growing practically as quick as the true property market is. So what you’ve gotten is a better and better separation between earnings and the price of offering housing for individuals at that earnings. 

It’s a must to have a steadiness, whereby you’re in a position to enhance that job earnings and sluggish the true property market sufficient that they keep kind of parallel to 1 one other, so that you’re not pricing your self out of a home you’ll have purchased 10 years in the past. 

It’s a must to have a steadiness for the whole lot, not simply within the variety of jobs as a result of we do have loads of good jobs coming in, however the high quality of the roles. The place the roles are positioned, the well being and security of the neighborhood across the jobs and the way the neighborhood is coping with social points. 

There’s loads of motion within the Leisure District, however what’s in retailer for Arlington’s downtown space? 

We wish to convey some first rate accommodations right here downtown as a result of we’re having an increasing number of of a enterprise neighborhood. Our largest employer, which is UTA, is positioned proper right here within the downtown space. So to start with, we wish to proceed to nurture the connection that we have now with UTA…

You’ll see loads of progress in downtown, each multifamily developments to mixed-use. We simply acquired our first downtown grocery retailer right here. It’s a wholesome grocery retailer, and residents are loving the truth that now there’s walkability right here. You possibly can stroll to eating places, stroll to the grocery retailer, stroll to the pharmacy. You don’t should get your automobile out to drive in every single place, and that’s what individuals are in search of these days, is that comfort. 

This interview has been edited for readability and brevity.