Richardson Edition | February 2024

Transportation

Development

BY KEVIN CUMMINGS

BY COLBY FARR

TxDOT preps for US 75 tech lanes project HOVs, low-emission vehicles and motorcycles during peak rush hours—7-9 a.m. southbound and 4-6 p.m. northbound.

DFW sees record retail occupancy

Looking ahead

Highway highlights • Removal of pylons and separated HOV lane • Adding high-mast lighting • Updating signage and concrete barrier • Install technology infrastructure

121

Most new construction will come from grocery store chains and other anchor stores, Young said. At least 14 new grocery stores will open in 2024 or will be under construction. In 2023, H-E-B’s new stores in McKinney and Allen accounted for 22% of all space.

Plans are underway for a new set of traffic patterns along US 75. At a Jan. 23 Richardson Chamber of Commerce meeting, Jennifer Vorster, Texas Department of Transportation district engineer, provided updates on a $57 million project that would replace the existing underutilized separated high-occupancy vehicle lanes along the highway with what the department describes as “technology lanes.” “I don’t know what [the lanes will] look like in the future yet; we’re just kind of setting it up for a future ability,” Vorster said. The details Work on the 30-month project is set to begin in March along the stretch of US 75 between I-635 and SH 121. As part of the project, officials plan to remove the pylons separating the northbound and southbound HOV lanes and turn them into general purpose lanes. The lanes will only be limited to

In 2023, Dallas-Fort Worth’s retail market experienced the highest occupancy rate in more than 40 years, according to Texas-based real estate firm Weitzman’s latest annual forecast. Dallas-Fort Worth finished the year with a record- high occupancy rate of 95.2%, 1.8 million square feet of space absorbed and more than 1 million square feet of new construction. The new record comes after occupancy rates exceeded 94% for the first time in Weitzman’s history in 2022. “In 2023, I along with many of us saw something we’ve never seen,” Executive Managing Director Robert Young said. “DFW’s retail market reached and it surpassed the highest occupancy rate ever.” The second highest occupancy rate occurred in 1981, when it was reported at 94.8%, Young said. In 2024, Weitzman expects the retail market to remain stable and end the year at 95.8% leased. Weitzman is anticipating nearly 2 million square feet of new construction to be delivered this year.

New construction Retail chains such as H-E-B and Target were responsible for much of the space added in 2023.

Additionally, work includes installing more advanced lighting and signage, which involves replacing the center divider and allowing for electronic infrastructure to be put in place that will give TxDOT the ability to potentially upgrade the lane for other purposes in the future. “The idea here is we’re putting a bunch of intelligence, what we call intelligent traffic systems, in the ground,” Vorster said. “In the future, if there was some other plan to update how those lanes function ... that same type of system can be used if we wanted to add ... many other functions.” What you need to know The first phase will focus on the portion between the President George Bush Turnpike and SH 121 with the second focusing on the PGBT to I-635.

PGBT TOLL

SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT

635

1.5M

Another aspect of the project is looking to work with different city and regional agencies to coordinate signal timing along the frontage road, allowing for first responders to more quickly reach the scene of an accident and adding extra time to clear traffic congestion that could be caused by it. “If you add an extra 10 to 15 seconds on ... whichever direction the accident has taken place, it then creates a little bit more capacity in the corridor,” Mark Nelson, Richardson director of transportation and mobility, said at the meeting.

500K

0 500K 1M 1.5M 2M

New construction in square feet

2023

2024*

SOURCE: WEITZMAN/COMMUNITY IMPACT

*PROJECTED

DALLAS 9500 North Central Expressway (214) 369-2800 ADDISON 15055 Inwood Road (972) 239-5891