New Video and Maps Regarding Regional Shopping Center Planned for Forney

Filed under: Commercial Real Estate, Forney News, Shopping — Josh at 2:27 am on Tuesday, May 6, 2008

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I’ve uploaded a video from Monday’s City Council meeting where Pate Transportation detailed plans for a new bridge to cross Highway 80 between CR-212 and Windmill Farms Blvd. This is actually our first video here on TwentyPeacefulMinutes.com and was shot rather spur of the moment using my digital camera, so I hope it is at least watchable so everyone has a chance to see the fly-through of the 3D rendering of what is planned for this bridge. This bridge is significant for a number of reasons, which I’ll detail below the video. In the meantime, check out the video - this is from the council meeting, so the voice you hear is a Pate employee describing what you’re seeing. If the video does not appear below (click on it to begin playback), simply visit this page to view it.

Click ‘Read On’, below, to read more about this bridge and the surrounding development and roadwork.

In addition to providing the first and only road in Forney that will allow travelers to cross on a bridge over the railroad, eliminating delays due to trains, this bridge is one of the critical components that attracted developers to the planned 2.2 million square foot regional shopping mall that was announced for this area, as the bridge and related roadways will connect to FM-548 north of Ridgecrest Road, near Reeder Road as well as continue south towards 741, providing another route to I-20. Furthermore, the roadways are being designed with an eye towards the future Loop 9, planned to pass through Kaufman County just east of Windmill Farms, between Forney and Terrell.

This roadwork plays an integral part of the Forney thoroughfare plan, a map of which appears below.

I have enlarged the portion of the map that surrounds the Endeavor retail project and annotated it to better show the area this bridge will be built in.

These maps show what a central role this new bridge and the related roadwork will play into the future of Forney; indeed, it creates quite a few possibilities for future development in the eastern portion of Forney.

This bridge is also significant because, unlike the development that has been discussed in Terrell, the plan for this bridge and the surrounding development is not a TIF district (Tax Increment Financing), but instead, a TRZ or Transportation Reinvestment Zone. These zones are brand new - they were authorized during the most recent legislative session in Texas and, combined with the pass-through financing that Forney is already employing with the improvements to the FM-548/Highway 80 area, will allow Forney to complete this project in record-breaking time. Representatives from the City as well as Pate Transportation believe that Forney could be the first city in the State of Texas to take advantage of a TRZ.

Forney was also one of the first cities in the state to take advantage of the pass-through financing program the legislature passed in 2003, which is allowing Forney to improve FM-548, FM-740 and FM-741 using funds from the city bond election. By funding these projects up front, the city did not have to wait for the Texas Department of Transportation to make these improvements and will be able to complete this roadwork years ahead of when TxDOT would’ve likely finished. Through the pass-through program, TxDOT will reimburse the city for the cost of the roadway once it is completed, based primarily on the amount of traffic the road receives.

This willingness to consider and embrace new approaches to these projects is allowing Forney to adapt to the rapid growth in the area while attracting top notch retail and residential developments.

Stay tuned, an article about Endeavor Real Estate Group, the real estate developers behind the retail center announced today will be coming soon. In the meantime, feel free to continue to discuss this news in the thread created earlier today for the announcement of the 2.2 million square foot regional shopping center.

4 Comments »

513

Comment by sb

July 29, 2008 @ 5:02 pm

WAKE UP EVERYONE!!! LOOP 9 IS THE NEW NAME FOR

TRANS TEXAS CORRIDOR, IT WILL GO DOWN HELMS TRAIL AND

WIPE FAMILIES’ HOMES OUT. GO TO MEETING SATURDAY AUG 9,

MEET WITH COMM. RAY CLARK AND LET HIM REPRESENT US AND

SAY NO TO LOOP 9, WIPING US ALL OUT AND PUTTING US OUT

OF OUR HOMES…. SPEAK UP AT SUB COURTHOUSE

515

Comment by AB

July 31, 2008 @ 10:09 am

Loop 9 is not, I repeat not, the Trans Texas Corridor. The State Legislature of Texas decided in 2007, to use existing highways for the so called TRans Texas Corridor project, rather than build new highways and spend even more money than what the taxpayers really needed to. Why did our State Legislature decide this?… Because the toll money collected from the “Trans Texas Corridor”, will not be funding any programs in Teaxs nor The U.S., but how ’bout good ole Mexico. You heard it hear. I, myself, am not a big fan of the Trans Texas Corridor and nor do I want to see it come through here, but highway 9 is not the Trans Texas Corridor.

518

Comment by Ms B

August 2, 2008 @ 5:10 pm

say what you will!!! it will be over 400 feet wide, and how wide were THEY saying the corridor was going to be? SAME function, check it out. destroying homes and lives with no regard. call it the Devil Highway for what it matters. Needs to rerouted to less inhabited area. There are lots of choices other than wiping out Helms Trail and those surrounding. All this is being pushed down throats and dtons DO NOT want ALL THIS!!!!!

519

Comment by Josh

August 3, 2008 @ 3:21 pm

Ms B, you might be interesting in an upcoming town hall meeting County Commissioner Ray Clark is holding. The meeting will be Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 9AM.

In addition to Commissioner Clark, Paul Allen the county Road & Bridge Supervisor, will be in attendance and they’ve said they will accept any and all questions that citizens might have. It is my understanding that Commissioner Clark has been in attendance at several meetings concerning Loop 9, the Trans Texas Corridor, etc., and he may able to answer some of your questions, give you an update on proposed routes for Loop 9 and let you know how you can protest against any proposed routes that might go through residential areas.

There are a number of possible alignments of these roads, including some that don’t involve tearing up whole neighborhoods, so I hope our elected officials really will listen to our input and push for one of these alternative alignments.

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