Arlington Looks to Revamp Division Street Corridor

Division Street can serve as a link between several developing areas

Arlington is considering ways to revitalize the centrally located Division Street corridor.

Charlie Bostick, a manager at a restaurant in the corridor, is only half joking when he says, "If you ever need a used car, this is the place to come."

Division Street, a historic stretch of road originally developed as a connection between Fort Worth and Dallas, is lined with used-car dealerships and other businesses between Collin and Cooper streets.

Lyndsay Mitchell, Arlington planning project manager, said the area has always had plenty of auto-oriented businesses and motels.

"It's a viable market for what's out there today," she said. "We're just looking to sort of complement what's there and diversify the economy there."

"It's a really important thoroughfare still to us today," Mitchell said. "It carries a lot of vehicular travel, and we recognize that. We don't want to change the function of the corridor. We just really want to enhance the way it's serving the downtown area right now."

Arlington is considering how the corridor could best link the nearby entertainment district, the growing downtown area and new University of Texas at Arlington College Park District.

"[Division Street] is kind of an integral piece," Mitchell said. "We've got UT-Arlington -- which is doing a phenomenal job with their strategic plan -- and the development that's happening around campus, and that's impacting downtown and helping things get started. There are new restaurants popping up all over."

The city is looking for input on what residents like about the corridor and what changes they would like to see to everything from landscaping and transportation to business facades and signage.

"I think eventually everybody would like it to look more like the downtown area around Main Street and so forth, where you can get more foot traffic and more family friendly," Bostick said.

Mitchell said the city hopes to have a plan in place for the Division Street corridor by the end of the year.

The first of three public input sessions will be held 6:30 p.m. Thursday City Hall.

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