New stores, restaurants and a festival plaza are coming to Arlington's Entertainment District as city leaders work to keep more visitors there before and after big events.
Between AT&T Stadium, Six Flags Over Texas, Globe Life Park, and Hurricane Harbor, Arlington has no shortage of major attractions or big events. But often the people who come to those attractions don’t stay in Arlington beforehand or afterward. During a recent city council meeting, Arlington resident Josh Adams said that ought to change.
“Let people hang out and spend money in Arlington,” said Adams.
A Dallas-based development group called Greenway Investment Company hopes its latest project called “Champions Park” will give those folks a few more reasons to stay. They plan to transform a 14-acre lot near the intersection of North Collins Street and Interstate 30 into a $30 million shopping center.
“Great real estate is the foundation of all great projects, and it doesn’t get better than this prime high-visibility corner at I-30 and Collins, in the shadow of AT&T Stadium, the Ballpark and Six Flags,” said Greenway Investment Principal Gerald Stool in a written statement. “Our goal is to further advance the city’s efforts to enhance and re-invigorate North Arlington with this high-quality project.”
The project will be built in two phases. Phase I, which encompasses 84,000 square feet, will include new stores, sit-down restaurants and a festival plaza that can host farmers markets, concerts and other events.
Greenway said it’s currently working to attract a movie theater and a hotel for Phase II.
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City officials pointed out that nearly two years of work went into this project. They said that was to ensure the quality was there.
“[This property] is the gateway of the Entertainment District from the north,” said Gincy Thoppil, Development Planning Manager for the City of Arlington. “So whatever happens there has to set the tone for what we want in the entertainment district.”
Both the city and Greenway think they’ve struck the right tone.
“The process was worth the extra effort,” said Christy Hammons, Development Manager for Greenway. “It contributed to a better project.”
Greenway hopes to break ground on Champions Park by late summer 2015, and the goal is to have Phase I complete by early 2017.
