The Garland Road Corridor

In the 1940s and 50s developers descended on the area of Garland and Ferguson roads, building shopping centers, neighborhoods and schools. The area continued to do well through the 1960s, but after a period of decline, groups began to form to turn the area around. From the Ferguson Road Initiative, which formed in 1998, to Garland Road Vision and others, residents and business along the corridor are starting to see their efforts pick up speed.

PART ONE: Momentum builds behind redevelopements along Garland Road

Business is booming on Garland Road.

From Gaston Avenue to North Buckner Boulevard and beyond, new businesses are opening and longstanding businesses are thriving.

Darlene Ellison, Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Last month, Diana Thatcher, who runs a specialty bead store, relocated her business from the Lakewood Shopping Center to the White Rock Shopping Village.

The Casa Linda resident said she and her husband, Harlan, love the area around Garland Road, and “everything just fell into place” to move their business back to Garland Road after 13 years in Lakewood.

“For so many of our local businesses, the folks already live here, or they start a business and they move here,” said Darlene Ellison, chairwoman of the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

A vision for development

Gary Griffith, The Today Foundation

In 2006, Gary Griffith, then the Dallas City Councilman for District 9, formed an advisory committee for Garland Road Vision. The project was a Small Area Action Plan under the ForwardDallas initiative, and was intended to serve as a roadmap for what the area could offer.

“They [the city council] really encouraged neighborhoods to step out and do this, and we stepped out and said ‘OK, we’ll do it,’” said Griffith, who is president of The Today Foundation. “It was a long process, a thorough process.”

The committee included representatives from area neighborhoods, as well as stakeholders. The vision was completed in November 2010.

Gerald Worrall III, Garland Road Vision

“It’s a guide, it’s really intended to lead and save developers a lot of potential time and effort in determining what the surrounding area is interested in doing,” said Gerald Worrall III, a Garland Road Vision leader and member of the Dallas Park and Recreation board.

In addition to serving as a road map, it also needed to be usable, said Gloria Tarpley, who chairs the city’s planning commission.

“And it was important that the document be one that could be actionable by the city,” Tarpley said. “It had to be done in a format where the city can actually use it as a basis for a bond issue or to approve zoning.”

Griffith said the mission of Garland Road Vision was to create a guide for what those in the area wanted to see happen in the next five, 10 and 15 years, but it was also to create leaders who would advocate for East Dallas.

Gloria Tarpley, city planning commission

And it has been replicated in neighborhoods and shopping areas around Dallas, Tarpley said.

“It really has had a substantial ripple effect,” she said. “We were very conscious of the fact that this was the first time out, and if there was a failure, it would be not a good thing, and if it was successful, it would be a good step forward.”

Steady growth

The area along Garland Road has seen both large and small changes over the past few years. The Dallas Arboretum opened the $62 million, 8-acre Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden in 2013 and will open a new parking garage soon. The White Rock YMCA will open a new location in January. The White Rock Local Market formed six years ago with one location on North Buckner Boulevard before expanding to Garland Road last year.

Sheffie Kadane, District 9 Dallas City Councilman

“That’s [the Arboretum] still a great asset for the city and for White Rock. I even see it as an asset for Casa View and that far over because we all take a claim to the lake and the arboretum. They’re just a part of us,” said Sheffie Kadane, Dallas City Councilman for District 9.

An economic study done by Professor Richard Briesch and his students at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business found that in 2013, the Dallas Arboretum generated $170 million. The same study showed an increase of 8.7 percent for average home prices from 2012 to 2013 for neighborhoods surrounding the arboretum.

“We are delighted that our work has so positively affected the East Dallas area and the economy of our city,” said Mary Brinegar, president and CEO of the Dallas Arboretum.

Kadane, whose term ends in 2015, said development is occurring across District 9.

“I see these small spots in my area that are going to get filled eventually, because it’s the place to be,” Kadane said. “I see these things continuing to happen.”

Lincoln Property Company’s Arboretum Village development at the intersection of Gaston Avenue, East Grand Avenue and Garland Road, and revitalization of the smaller shopping centers are also helping growth, Ellison said.

“The chamber has doubled in size over the last few years,” she said. “We’re really trying to lead the charge in economic growth and development from an angle that’s not neighborhood-specific, but that is supportive of all that’s going on.”

One example of a shopping center that has turned around, many said, is Casa Linda Plaza, which is at the intersection of North Buckner Boulevard and Garland Road.

“In late 2011 and early 2012, we really started to notice an uptick in tenant interest in the center and the intersection,” said Michael Hale, vice president of leasing with AmREIT.

AmREIT bought Casa Linda Plaza in 2008 and spent several million dollars in upgrading the space, Hale said.

“The energy in the trade area and at the intersection is great now, and we are really starting to see a resurgence of retailers back to the intersection,” he said.

Revitalized shopping centers are happening because of a need for more retail space, Ellison said.

“For so long, East Dallas has concentrated on one or two viable shopping centers and that’s been it, but we don’t have space anymore. We don’t have parking anymore,” she said.

Another area where growth is happening is Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake. Carolyn Farmer has worked at the hospital for 35 years, and she said renovations, expansions and new staff have kept the hospital current. But Farmer, who lives within walking distance of Casa Linda Plaza, said it has kept its small-town, family feel.

“We see a lot of what we call frequent fliers, who come through a lot, and we love them,” she said. “We’ve gotten very involved with a lot of our patients that come in ... They become family.”

In her neighborhood, too, she said there’s been an increase in young couples and families. That increase, Ellison said, will continue to happen as people move into the area for what it offers.

“The time is now, there is a huge spotlight on East Dallas,” Ellison said. “We’re on the map.”