Hensley Field

Tnexster
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Hensley Field

Postby Tnexster » 20 May 2019 21:42

Dallas finally looks to develop Hensley Field — 738-acres of rotten land on prime real estate

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm ... eal-estate

The former Navy property — 738 acres of it on the shores of Mountain Creek Lake — stretches into the infinite horizon, a mostly industrial wasteland broken up by the occasional derelict building or shipping container. By the city's own description, there's no there there — save for "buildings, drainage infrastructure, open space, and extensive paved surfaces, including runway, taxiways, aircraft parking ramps, roadways and vehicle parking lots." Hardly a destination location.


Thursday I asked Peer Chacko, Dallas' chief planning officer, why now — after all these decades of waiting and wishing and wanting — has the city decided to make something out of all that nothing.

"I guess timing is everything," he said.

By which he means Hensley Field is now considered an Opportunity Zone, an "economically distressed" place where incentives are available to investors willing to invest 90 percent of the capital gains that should have gone to the IRS. The feds created Opportunity Zones when they passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act two years ago. And from a list submitted by city officials across the state — among them Mayor Mike Rawlings — Gov. Greg Abbott chose the census tracts in Texas that qualified for such investments.

Tnexster
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby Tnexster » 28 Aug 2020 17:12

Dallas hires firm to plan transformation of Hensley Field into prime lakefront development
The City Council will pay $2 million for a master plan that envisions the airfield’s future. But the old Naval Air Station still needs a clean-up from harmful chemicals.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politic ... velopment/

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IcedCowboyCoffee
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby IcedCowboyCoffee » 06 Oct 2022 15:53

Folks, the master plan is here and we have conceptual renderings

"Master Plan Maps Potential of Former Naval Air Station in Dallas"
A 59-page presentation on the latest plan for the site known as Hensley Field will be shared with the City Plan Commission Thursday for possible future action and recommendation to the Dallas City Council.
. . .
Dallas leaders believe it is a "blank canvas" for a mixed-use development that could spur additional economic growth to the western and southern sides of the city.

-NBC DFW
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/master-plan-maps-potential-of-former-naval-air-station-in-dallas/3089536/

The 59-page presentation, which has the renderings, can be viewed here (link comes from the article above):
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23118978-2022-03-11-hensley-field-master-plan-public-draft

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IcedCowboyCoffee
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby IcedCowboyCoffee » 07 Oct 2022 13:33

I've been skimming through most of the master plan and if we can pull it off it and stick to its guiding principles it should be a genuinely great place to live. Significantly better than its spiritual cousin Cypress Waters. They're talking the talk on sustainability, I just hope we can walk the walk. It's still seems more car-accommodating than I would personally like, but I know this is Dallas and all.

hf18.JPG


Here's a bunch of the renderings:
hf1.JPG

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The biggest question of course will always be the chemical contaminants leftover from its time as a Navy base, so I pulled the relevant page from the master plan:
Due to its intensive military use, Hensley Field and Mountain Creek Lake contained contaminants of concern (COCs) including metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), semi-volatile organic compounds, and chlorinated solvents. Soil remediation of the above compounds has been completed by the Navy and approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Groundwater remediation has been partially completed and remains in progress; however, an emerging class of chemicals known as PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) which were components in firefighting foams used/stored on site by the Navy have been identified in soil, groundwater, sediment,
and surface water and are currently being investigated by the Navy.

Under the 2002 Settlement Agreement with the City, the Navy committed to remediating the site to unrestricted residential standards. The Navy is in process of fully investigating the extent of PFAS at Hensley Field and is studying approaches for its mitigation and is expected to complete investigations in early 2022. The Navy will also prepare a Feasibility Study to assess remedial alternatives that would support the anticipated redevelopment and is expected to complete the study by the end of 2023. It is expected that remediation efforts will be completed by the Navy prior to redevelopment or in phases in tandem with construction activity and will be coordinated with TCEQ. The Opportunities and Constraints Report and Environmental FAQ provide more information on the environmental conditions of the site and the remediation process.
. . .
While water quality conditions restrict swimming as a recreational use of Mountain Creek Lake, boating and fishing will be permitted in a manner like that on White Rock Lake. Since the lake is owned by TexGen, the operator of the Mountain Creek power plant located on its eastern shore, the City will need to make arrangements for recreational use of the lake. TexGen reports plans to decommission the power plant over the next five to ten years and is considering reuse and redevelopment of its site for urban uses, which will further enhance the potential for Mountain Creek Lake as a regional destination for recreational use.
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tamtagon
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby tamtagon » 07 Oct 2022 14:58

Better than White Rock Lake?

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IcedCowboyCoffee
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby IcedCowboyCoffee » 07 Oct 2022 16:24

tamtagon wrote:Better than White Rock Lake?

Certainly could be. More boating space at twice the size of white rock while being only a few miles further from downtown. The proposed new water channel in the plans would make for an interesting, circular paddleboarding/kayaking loop.

Its proximity to the hilliest and most beautiful part of town--Cedar Ridge preserve and Cedar Hill park--alone makes it a no brainer for outdoorsy folks looking for a walkable neighborhood with a ton of nature nearby.

It looks like there's a proposed path connecting mountain creek lake to cedar ridge preserve as part of the Mobility 2045 plan. That will certainly be a hell of a trek ahah.
hf20.JPG

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I wonder how accessible all that green space bridging the two lakes is and if you can canoe through it.


As an aforementioned outdoorsy folk, this stuff is just really appealing to me:
hf21.JPG

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tamtagon
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby tamtagon » 08 Oct 2022 11:48

Joe Poole Lake and Mountain Creek Lake could also become a vital part the Trinity River Park & Forest and a critical flood control tool. The West Fork Trinity River seasonal flash flooding could mitigate through the reservoirs, perhaps even a tunnel from the TRA Central Regional Wastewater System on Singleton to the Central Wastewater treatment plant on Sargent Road.

At least connect the lake and the channelized flood plan / park for bikes and pedestrians.

itsjrd1964
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Re: Hensley Field

Postby itsjrd1964 » 08 Nov 2022 01:55

City of Dallas unveils plan for new park at old naval station site

https://www.fox4news.com/news/city-of-d ... ation-site