Council vote on $800 million Preston and Royal towers expected to slip to Nov. 10 as developer offers signal upgrades

The City Council's vote on a proposed $800 million high-rise development at Preston Road and Royal Lane, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14, is expected to be pushed to Nov. 10 while the developer works out a package of traffic signal upgrades around the site.

Representatives for developer Leland Burk and District 13 council member Gay Donnell Willis told The Dallas Morning News on Friday that a postponement to Nov. 10 will be requested. Burk said he does not object to the delay.

The zoning case, Z-26-000007, is listed as item Z1 on the Oct. 14 agenda. It would create a new planned development district on land now zoned for community retail and parking on the south side of Royal Lane and the west side of Preston Road, north of Orchid Lane.

City staff and the City Plan Commission both recommend approval, subject to a development plan and conditions, according to the agenda.

What is proposed

Burk and Gerald Stool's Greenway Investment Co. want to raise the height limit on the site from 54 feet to 240 feet. The plan calls for a 19-story hotel-condo tower at that height and an 18-story apartment tower of 210 feet, along with a 12-story office tower, restaurants and shops.

It would include no more than 50 condos, up to 150 hotel rooms and roughly 175 apartments, the News reported. The developers say they have lowered the towers twice in an effort to reach a compromise with neighbors.

The tallest buildings would sit closer to Royal Lane. On the south side, the plan keeps a 50-foot setback and holds buildings to 54 feet for the first 50 feet before heights step up. The development would also add a half-acre public green and at least 200 trees.

The traffic package

Traffic has been the main objection from opponents, and Willis said it is the concern she hears about most. Burk has committed to pay for three signal projects without city money, the News reported:

• Newer vehicle detection at the Preston and Royal intersection to improve signal timing, replacing equipment put in after the 2019 tornado.
• A system that lets fire trucks from Fire Station 41 on Royal Lane interrupt the normal light cycle to get a clear path.
• A timing study and reprogramming of the signals on Royal Lane from Midway Road to Hillcrest Road, plus two signals just north and south of the Preston and Royal intersection.

A Kimley-Horn traffic study done for the developers projects about 5,000 one-way vehicle trips a day from the project, compared with more than 9,200 for a development the current zoning would allow without a vote.

Willis told the News she would be "far more inclined to support" the project if the improvements are made. In a statement, Burk called her "a tough negotiator" and said his team remains committed to working with neighbors.

Opposition remains

The Plan Commission recommended the project 10-4, with commissioners Joanna Hampton, Alicia Serrato, Jack Kocks and Kathy Coffman voting no. Nearly 92% of the property owners the city notified before that vote said they opposed it. Residents organized as Preserve Preston Hollow have put up yard signs reading "no skyscrapers, no rezoning at Preston & Royal."

Sources

The Dallas Morning News

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