Telecom TOD Project Wins Two More Awards

As NP wrote about in July, the City of Richardson, Texas launched the Collins/Arapaho Transit-Oriented Development and Innovation District Study in April 2018 with the intention of creating a vision and plan for a 1,200-acre industrial area within the city. The district is at the heart of Richardson’s Telecom Corridor®, which has been a job center and hub of technology and innovation in the region. 

The American Planning Association’s Texas Chapter has recognized the project for its excellence in economic development planning with a Silver Award, to be celebrated at the organization’s upcoming conference in November.   These awards recognize efforts to transform economies and stimulate economic development.

In September the City received a Made to Move grant in recognition of its efforts to improve mobility; it is among five cities that will share $500,000 in funding.   The city will implement a “road diet”, which will remove driving lanes and add bicycle lanes and an at-grade pedestrian crossing to better integrate the light-rail station with the planned Innovation District as well as help install the City’s first roundabouts to help calm traffic.   

In addition to the placemaking efforts that NP wrote about in July, the Study puts forward strategies to update the district’s older, industrial building stock in order to attract new businesses and support entrepreneurs who are looking to start or scale up.  The City is considering ways to incentivize the modernization of buildings and enable greater zoning flexibility in industrial zones.  Currently, the City is reviewing a draft form based code for the district.

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