Mayor Slams Study on Irving Entertainment Complex
The developer of a $250 million Irving entertainment complex touted a study showing the economic benefits of the project, but the Irving mayor dismissed the findings as marketing hype.
Las Colinas Group spokesman David Margulies said a study by two economists found the project would generate $400 million of economic activity in the short run. The center would also create more than 2,700 jobs, increase tax revenues and reverse a decline in property values, according to the study.
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But Mayor Beth Van Duyne dismissed the study, saying it was yet more marketing hype to distract everyone from how the Las Colinas Group was not holding up its end of the bargain. Van Duyne said the developer was coming up with distractions instead of the $80 million in funding it needs to contribute to the project.
"There's been no new information provided today," she said. "This is the same spin. This is the same spin we continue to hear."
More at http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Mayor-Slams-Study-on-Irving-Entertainment-Complex-147672135.html
[font color=green]I used to work in Las Colinas and lived two miles away from the site of the proposed complex. The area just opened a convention center and the DART rail will also have transit stations nearby. However, once 5 p.m. rolls around on a weekday the cars pour out of the parking garages and by 6:30 p.m. the area becomes a ghost town. There is virtually no activity in the Lake Carolyn area of Las Colinas on weekends and there are no DART bus routes through the neighborhood on Sundays anymore.
If that portion of Las Colinas wants to become a vibrant pedestrian oriented neighborhood with the added amenities, then the greatest need in that area is to attract a traditional grocery store within walking distance of the apartments and condos constructed over the past decade. The nearest store is Tom Thumb's over a mile away and other grocery stores are at least a ten minute drive away from that area. A pharmacy is another amenity that would round-off the neighborhood.
Until the city of Irving corrects those oversights, the core of Las Colinas cannot reach its full potential whether or not an entertainment complex is added to the mix.[/font]
