Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

Cbdallas wrote:I wish the city and the players in this area would create a unified visual landscape and plan to make it more like the district in Houston. Seems like there are enough players and pieces in place to make that happen and even generate growth in the area beyond the medical area.

The residential neighborhoods around the area are in transition. So many new housing developments are replacing older neighborhoods adjacent to UT Southwestern's campus. I suspect this will extend to the West Mockingbird corridor eventually as well.

rono3849 wrote:

Cbdallas wrote:I wish the city and the players in this area would create a unified visual landscape and plan to make it more like the district in Houston. Seems like there are enough players and pieces in place to make that happen and even generate growth in the area beyond the medical area.

The residential neighborhoods around the area are in transition. So many new housing developments are replacing older neighborhoods adjacent to UT Southwestern's campus. I suspect this will extend to the West Mockingbird corridor eventually as well.

The grid in the Houston Medical District, while not exactly walkable, is much tighter and coherent. Harry Hines might as well be an interstate with the wide expanse and through traffic. Big challenge to making this area feel like a district.

I think just some cohesive landscaping, lighting and wayfinding would go a long way.

They have wayfinding going in already though...They added signage at the entrances of the district a few years ago and have been slowly making other major changes to landscaping as they go. It seems they are working with that Dallas group that is trying to add tons of trees and walkability plans to the development of the area.

Cbdallas wrote:I wish the city and the players in this area would create a unified visual landscape and plan to make it more like the district in Houston. Seems like there are enough players and pieces in place to make that happen and even generate growth in the area beyond the medical area.

Wishing the same for projects across the city, but yes, especially in this area. Tremendous potential and could be a gem for sure.

undefinedprocess wrote:

Cbdallas wrote:I wish the city and the players in this area would create a unified visual landscape and plan to make it more like the district in Houston. Seems like there are enough players and pieces in place to make that happen and even generate growth in the area beyond the medical area.

Wishing the same for projects across the city, but yes, especially in this area. Tremendous potential and could be a gem for sure.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:It seems they are working with that Dallas group that is trying to add tons of trees and walkability plans to the development of the area.

Texas Trees Foundation.
I'm not sure what the current status is of their plan.
https://www.texastrees.org/projects/sou ... -district/

D Magazine from 2019: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... -district/

Large PDF from 2016: https://www.texastrees.org/wp-content/u ... k-2016.pdf

OrangeMike wrote:

undefinedprocess wrote:

Cbdallas wrote:I wish the city and the players in this area would create a unified visual landscape and plan to make it more like the district in Houston. Seems like there are enough players and pieces in place to make that happen and even generate growth in the area beyond the medical area.

Wishing the same for projects across the city, but yes, especially in this area. Tremendous potential and could be a gem for sure.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:It seems they are working with that Dallas group that is trying to add tons of trees and walkability plans to the development of the area.

Texas Trees Foundation.
I'm not sure what the current status is of their plan.
https://www.texastrees.org/projects/sou ... -district/

D Magazine from 2019: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... -district/

Large PDF from 2016: https://www.texastrees.org/wp-content/u ... k-2016.pdf

Remember seeing this but yeah, no updates as of late that I'm aware of.

rono3849 wrote:The University of Texas System is unrelenting in building a campus in Dallas. As a UT graduate, who has seen the Austin campus go vertical, I expect the same fate for Southwestern here in Dallas.

New research lab at UTSW which is specifically a dual UTD-UTSW project:

UT Dallas, UT Southwestern Break Ground on TI-Funded Bioengineering Facility

The $120 million Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building, supported by a gift from Dallas-based Texas Instruments, will focus on advancing transformational bioengineering research that can find solutions to unmet medical needs. It's set to open in 2023.

BY ALEX EDWARDS • NOV 15, 2021

https://dallasinnovates.com/ut-dallas-u ... -facility/

The former Parkland Hospital building south of Harry Hines will be coming down over the next 16 months. Dallas County may then build offices for hospital district administration.

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local ... 3bfccd1567

There's a plan, or at least a plan forming, to plant trees throughout the medical district, but what about bui a park? Is that in the works?

tamtagon wrote:There's a plan, or at least a plan forming, to plant trees throughout the medical district, but what about bui a park? Is that in the works?

It's part of the same plan, covering a reconfigured Inwood/Harry Hines intersection.
https://www.texastrees.org/projects/sou ... -district/

Thank goodness

I wish something like this would happen to Reverchon and the tollway.

Looks great— is any of this funded, either the street work or the park?

Plans are continuing for a state psychiatric hospital to be built at Harry Hines/Medical District Dr. It will be built on the site of a former hospital pharmacy. Construction is to start later this year, with completion possibly by 2025. It will be run by UT Southwestern and have 200 beds.

https://www.fox4news.com/news/first-sta ... las-county

Is this data referring to what that psychiatric project is going to be?

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/le ... =557748425

First Look: Dallas’ State Behavioral Health Hospital

Groundbreaking for the behavioral hospital took place last week. The main section of the hospital is projected to be ready in 2025, while a pediatric wing should be done by 2026. Children's Health helped to fund the pediatric wing.

https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-bu ... -hospital/

Zale-Lipshy really doubling down on the existing building: https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/ ... 2023022421

Pretty substantial amount of money.

Dallas’ Medical District Experiencing a Healthy Dose of Growth

Several new projects are in the works around the Medical District:
* A new pediatric wing at Children's Medical Center, including labor/delivery (2024-2028 construction timeframe)
* A state psychiatric hospital with 296 beds, with services from both UT-Southwestern and Children's Medical Center (2025 completion projected)
* A County Health & Human Services public health lab is planned (no timeframe listed)
* An elementary school, collaboration between DISD and UT-Southwestern (2025 opening projected)

The article also mentioned a possible facility on a 16-acre site at Harry Hines/Mockingbird (nothing more specific) and a possible medical office building "in the area" (no specifics there either). The previous Parkland Hospital site west of Harry Hines will be razed, and the article touts it as a redevelopment site.

https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... of-growth/

"Medical District Urban Streetscape Project" Seeks Feedbacks & Input

This post in the r/dallas sub on reddit has a few renderings of the proposal to reconfigure Harry Hines and turn the cloverleaf at Inwood into a mounded park area. (I added that image here.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comment ... ect_seeks/

There's also a link to a survey.
https://new.maptionnaire.com/q/9ni7elt63vk6

It doesn't strike one as a fun or a relaxing park
And the through traffic still moats it

If it's just grass then it's ugly and why spend money to change it? It will just be filled with trash after about a week. Now if they put trees and ways to get to it that doesn't involve getting hit by a bus then maybe it would be good.

I45Tex wrote:It doesn't strike one as a fun or a relaxing park
And the through traffic still moats it

I think part of what they’re trying to do is mitigate the urban heat island that the current Medical District causes, so removing the concrete cloverleaf and replacing it with a mound of grass will help at least a little bit.

MC_ScattCat wrote:Now if they put trees and ways to get to it that doesn't involve getting hit by a bus then maybe it would be good.

Not saying it will work, but that is certainly their plan. This cross-section schematic shows how there are supposed to be pedestrian paths and a lot more landscaping up and down Harry Hines to make that park space in the middle be an accessible place to go to.

That plan is terrible. What's the scale on that spine? Multiple miles? And a pedestrian or biker has to ride an extra quarter mile around that dumb circle so that cars can blow by without slowing down like a normal intersection. That sucks.

The_Overdog wrote:That plan is terrible. What's the scale on that spine? Multiple miles? And a pedestrian or biker has to ride an extra quarter mile around that dumb circle so that cars can blow by without slowing down like a normal intersection. That sucks.

It's 1.25 miles end-to-end. I don't know where you are seeing a quarter mile circle detour for bikers and pedestrians.

Wow. Try to beautify a stretch of road and the Negative Nellies come out in force.

The_Overdog wrote:And a pedestrian or biker has to ride an extra quarter mile around that dumb circle so that cars can blow by without slowing down like a normal intersection. That sucks.

Personally, I would much rather ride an extra hundred yards (or much farther) than have to merge across three lanes of traffic to a left turn lane, then stop and stand there for a couple minutes waiting at the traffic light to make a left-hand turn. Hell, having to stand still waiting at a traffic light in the Texas summer sun may just be the worst part of riding in Dallas. A cloverleaf is a wonderful thing no matter which way you're going.

Total rebuild of Children's Medical Center announced yesterday at the corner of Harry Hines and Mockingbird.

https://about.childrens.com/expansion/

Lots of efficiencies built into the new design to yield 30% more beds with only approximately 6% more square footage compared to the current campus.

a few more details and renderings
https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom ... ampus.html

TAF wrote:Total rebuild of Children's Medical Center announced yesterday at the corner of Harry Hines and Mockingbird.

https://about.childrens.com/expansion/

Lots of efficiencies built into the new design to yield 30% more beds with only approximately 6% more square footage compared to the current campus.

I wonder what will become of the current complex.

Hopefully it will be re-purposed and not town down.

he77es wrote:a few more details and renderings
https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom ... ampus.html

Yes, good site plan on this page. It won't actually be on Mockingbird at all, but on the huge city block between Harry Hines, Treadway St., Forest Park Road, and Paul M Bass Way.

Looks like they are aiming at something up to around 310FT:
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/se ... 21&row=334