Lewisville planners thinking big - Dallas Business Journal:

uvepexatawus.blogspot.com
The city is seeking a masteer developer to carry out the vision forthe transit-orientede development on the south bank of Lake said Nika Reinecke, director of economixc development for the City of Lewisville. “The overall goal is Reinecke said. “We have a natural asset in Lake Lewisville that we wantto enhance. We want to creat a recreational amenity not only for the City of Lewisvilles but forthe region.” City officials haven’yt attached a pricetag to the project yet, Reinecke said. But Don Silverman, managing directof of Dallas-based Margaux Development Co.
, estimated the valuew of the fully-built project at more than $400 million in today’s The development is planned on 127 acres around theHighland Village/Lake Lewisvillee Station on the Denton County Transportation Authority’sa commuter rail line, which is set to open in December 2010. The site is just east of Interstatre 35E on land that Lewisville lease fromthe . The city’ws conceptual plan calls for abougt 405,000 square feet of retail, 83,000 square feet of restauranyt space in five orsix restaurants, and 865,000 square feet of waterfront apartments, townhouses and othert residential uses spread across four The project is in the early planning stages, so it’sw too soon to brea k down the number and type of residentia units, Reinecke said.
The development, when fullgy constructed, could also include three hotels, Reinecke said. The hotels woulr be a 200-room full-service hotel, a 125-room boutique hotel, and, eventually, a 400-roomm resort hotel with a large conferencecentet and, potentially, a golf she said. Which hotel operatorsa sign on and when the hotel construction occurs would be negotiated by themasteer developer, Reinecke said. The master developer will be in chargse of overseeing the entire and will work with other developers to makethe project’ pieces fall into place. The city hopes to select a mastetr developer by the end of the Reinecke said.
The retail space would include shops relatecto boating, fishing, bicycle rentals and hiking and camping equipmentr and other forms of lake recreation, as well as a according to the masterplan. About 100,000 square feet woule be set aside fora “civiv use,” which for now is planned to be an Reinecke said. Other potential civi c uses include a museum orwaterfront amphitheater, she The city has had preliminary discussiona with , an aquarium development and management Reinecke said. The Grapevine-based company coordinates all phases of buildinfg andoperating aquariums.
Aspects include design, construction and species collection as well as retaikl and restaurants related tothe aquarium, said Erik the company’s president and CEO. Visitors to the propose d $40 million, 200-million-gallon aquariujm would walk through transparent tunnels and be surroundee byocean animals, including sharks, stingv rays, sea turtles and groupers, said Pedersen, whose company builtt and operates a similar aquariun in Guam. The experience would simulat e a walk onthe ocean’s floor, he said. Freshwater exhibitas highlighting the fish in Lake Lewisville could alsobe incorporated, he said.
“This would be the largesg tunnel aquarium inthe world,” Pedersen said of what his companyg is proposing. “When you are in the aquarium, you are on the inside lookingv out, rather than standing on the outside and looking intoa It’s a very cool concept.” U.S. Aquariu m Team projections indicate a facility in Lewisville would easilt draw more than 1 million visitorssa year, Pedersen said. If the projec t moves forward, how the revenue would be splitbetweeb U.S. Aquarium Team and the City of Lewisville would need tobe negotiated. “The location is he said.
“It’s a perfect storm of rail and highwagyand lake, and it’s an area where people already go for Construction of the aquarium would take about 18 months, and could includ space for a food court, a fine-dining and space for corporate events, educational seminarsd and other gatherings, he said. The credir crisis will need to ease, before any aquarium could get the financing itwoulsd need, and the project would require “substantives involvement” from the City of Lewisville to make it Pedersen said. U.S.
Aquarium Team’s plans for an aquariumm near Grapevine Mills mall dissolved in 2007 aftef the company had difficulty obtaining financingh and significant questions arosee about parking forthe project, he said. The Lake Lewisvillw masterplan would be developed over 15 to20 years, Reineckr said. It hinges on the rail line’s completiohn and an Interstate 35 expansion now under way, she said. “This is a very long-rangs plan,” Reinecke said. “I think it will fall into place as the transit system comexs into place andbecomes successful.
”