Speedway area growth expected to race ahead
Development along Interstate 35W in far north Fort Worth is continuing to increase, with a number of projects planned near Texas Motor Speedway.
Business owners and developers near the State Highway 114 and I-35W interchange say the area is underdeveloped for its population, and believe suburban growth from downtown Fort Worth moving north will continue to bring in more projects.
While some developments already in the works near the highway interchange have been stalled by the recession, one key construction project of interest to developers is the expansion of Highway 114 from Trophy Club to Wise County, a joint project between the Texas Department of Transportation, Denton County and the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
The expansion of Highway 114, which is stalled due to funding shortfalls, will be key to attracting lease tenants to planned developments, said Bill Boecker, CEO and president of Fine Line Diversified Development, the company heading the nearly 300-acre Champions Circle mixed-use development on the southwest corner of the I-35W and Highway 114 interchange.
The Highway 114 expansion currently is planned in four phases, said Michelle Releford, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation.
The first phase of construction will expand a two-mile stretch of main lanes and frontage roads between Trophy Lake Drive and Trophy Club Drive, which is scheduled for construction in 2010, if funding can come through, Releford said.
The second phase of construction will be to reconstruct a highway bridge and rail bridge at the intersection of Highway 114 and Farm to Market Road 156, just west of Texas Motor Speedway. This phase of construction is currently in planning stages, but Releford said officials hope to start construction in 2011.
The third phase of construction will expand frontage roads along Highway 114 from I-35W to FM 156, and the Department of Transportation is already making right of way purchases for construction to begin in 2011 if funding comes through, Releford said.
The final phase of the highway’s expansion will be to expand the rural four lane segment of Highway 114 from FM 156 west to the Denton County and Wise County lines, this segment currently is unfunded, Releford said.
“The deal is… as of 2010 [the Department of Transportation will] have no money for new construction, so we’re looking for ways to get money from other sources,” Releford said.
The Highway 114 expansion project has been key to making sure the area’s infrastructure will be ready to start development at Champion’s Circle, Boecker said.
“Now that TxDOT is up to the point where their plans [for expanding the highway] are such that we’ve got the entrance and exit access to the property well defined, that is a very big step to coordinating our overall master plan,” Boecker said.
Champion’s Circle is a 279 acre, planned mixed-use development, which will feature 1.9 million square feet of retail space and 100 acres of office space. The development is expected to include mixed used projects, including about 650,000 square feet of apartments, along with strip centers and big box retailers.
Boecker said he expects the economy to determine how fast or slow development along Highway 114, including highway construction and Champions Circle, is completed.
“I think we’ll go through and the market will tell us pretty much what the length of development will be, in addition to our being very careful that [Champion’s Circle] is a very quality development,” he said.
One key demographic expected to bring in profits to Champion’s Circle once the development is complete is Texas Motor Speedway’s millions of race fans who camp at the Speedway and stay in hotels near the Highway 114 and I-35W interchange a few times a year, Boecker said.
Mixed-use developments with restaurants, shopping centers and hotels are the kind of projects race fans demand, said President of Texas Motor Speedway Eddie Gossage.
“When we first started building the Speedway, there wasn’t a gas station until you got to Western Center” Boulevard, Gossage said. “Things just didn’t exist here. There’s been really a tremendous amount of change and it seems to be picking up more steam as time goes on, and it means jobs and taxes, and that’s good for everybody.”
Expanding Highway 114 will also be important to helping fans get in and out of the Speedway faster before and after races, Gossage said, adding that population growth is heading north from downtown Fort Worth and more developments will come over time.
“We’ve had tremendous success here, and I think [we’re seeing] the natural growth of the region,” he said. “I think our growth, and the growth of some of the residential communities around us, and the retail community, has brought development up I-35 and out 114.”
