As Dallas' Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge nears completion, a number of changes are in store for the West Dallas neighborhood the bridge will connect to downtown. Designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, the Hill Bridge has been the focus of a city plan, unknown to many residents, that will completely change the area it will serve. It includes an investment in infrastructure and new private development in a neighborhood that has not seen attention in years.
The Hill Bridge will connect the Woodall Rodgers Freeway with Singleton Boulevard, near the current Continental Avenue Bridge. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2011, after weather delays pushed back the original mid-October completion date. Once opened, the bridge will relieve some of the traffic congestion that flows over the I-30 bridge into the downtown "canyon." It will also provide easier access to Victory Park and Uptown from Oak Cliff.
On the bridge's west side is Singleton and West Dallas, an area that has been in decline for decades. Singleton is lined with garages, shuttered buildings, scrap yards, and vacant lots. Only a few viable businesses are operating, but once thousands of cars begin crossing the bridge every day, the economic opportunities in the area will change.
With the bridge has come controversy. Some argued that with the economic downturn, the cost did not justify building a bridge to an area people did not want to drive through. To address this issue, the city of Dallas drew up a master plan for urban renewal in the area. Called The West Dallas Urban Structure Guidebook , the plan includes commitments to infrastructure, business development initiatives, and a preservation plan for the surrounding neighborhood.
The main priority in the master plan involves protecting the character of the La Bajada neighborhood, located along Singleton from the levees west to Sylvan. With origins dating back over 100 years, the La Bajada neighborhood is made up of modest one- and two-story homes with a mostly Latino populace.
There are concerns that once the bridge opens, much of the housing will be replaced by newer development. This gentrification was seen in the former "Little Mexico" neighborhoods north of downtown Dallas, but the city hopes its preservation efforts will protect the area. The plan includes adding as many as 100 homes in unused lots within the neighborhood to give the area more density and stability. Regardless, it seems inevitable that some of the lower-grade, substandard housing, especially near Singleton, will go down in favor of better housing development.
The city would like to see some new housing development along Singleton, specifically upscale multi-story dwellings. The plan specifically cites a goal: "The areas adjacent to the Singleton District may have duplex (1 or 2 story) or townhome (2 story and 3 story) as a transition." The city believes as much as 6 million square feet of land could be developed in the area, including 3,500 new housing units. The guidebook features photos of possible development examples, with urban building styles similar to what is being done in the Uptown area of Dallas.
In order to keep the La Bajada community viable, city planners envision expanding Herbert Street, which runs north/south through the center of the neighborhood, through to Commerce on the south. While the city hopes zoning regulations will bring business development to major intersections along Singleton, it would like to see most of the major business and retail development concentrate in the Commerce/Fort Worth Avenue corridor, replacing much of the industrial structures there.
The city plans to use updated zoning policies to keep development progressive, but that is already proving to be a challenge. This past April, outgoing city council member Steve Salazar pushed through approval for a new auto parts scrap yard at Singleton and Pluto Street, near Westmoreland Road. The scrap yard was opposed by incoming city councilman Scott Griggs as well as most community advocates, who say the business will set back development efforts. The approval allows the scrap yard to operate for at least the next five years.
Victor Medina has served as a Dallas County election judge and currently serves as his political party's precinct chairman. He has covered local issues as a Community Voices columnist for the Dallas Morning News and has served as a member of the board of directors of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
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