Report Says Lakes Site Costly to Develop

Some city leaders say the report proves that a large project is necessary to recoup any investment on the land.

By J. TAYLOR RUSHING
Star-Telgream Staff Writer

ARLINGTON - One of the biggest, most prized properties in the Metroplex now has a price tag of more than $140 million on its development.

A report to Arlington leaders Tuesday showed that the flooding twists of the Trinity River represent a costly barrier to developing the 1,950-acre Lakes of Arlington site - in the heart of the Fort Worth-Dallas area and a prime contender for a new Cowboys stadium.

The land would need $97 million worth of bridges from Ballpark Way and Texas 360, the report said, as well as nearly $18 million worth of other intersection improvements. Another $32 million worth of traffic work would be needed on the site, a figure almost equal to the land's total estimated value under some development scenarios.

Several city leaders said the costs, estimated by Los Angeles-based Economic Research Associates, may make a large-scale project impractical.

"The land is remarkable in its attributes, but the flip side are these constraints," said Planning Director Theresa O'Donnell. "They are astronomical costs, and that's what makes this site so complex."

But others said the cost estimates do not necessarily prevent a stadium on the land. Arlington is among the top contenders for a new Cowboys stadium, for example, because the city could conceivably offer more sales tax revenue for the project. City estimates show that a half-cent sales tax approved by Arlington voters would provide at least $22 million a year, or $440 million over 20 years - far more than other area cities could offer.

"There's nothing in this report that rules out anything," City Councilman Steve McCollum said. "If it says anything, it says it would take a large project in order to make that size of an investment feasible."

Arlington, Grapevine and Irving are in talks with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about a new stadium. The Irving City Council is scheduled to meet today to consider renovating Texas Stadium, the team's home since 1971.

Much in Tuesday's report was already common knowledge to city leaders. An existing city thoroughfare plan, for example, estimates that a Ballpark Way bridge into the site would cost $30 million - only slightly below the report's estimate of $37 million.

The Lakes of Arlington site is named after a failed housing development proposed on the land in the 1990s, and it is considered the largest piece of undeveloped land remaining in Arlington.

Because the Trinity River wraps around half of the site, only about 800 acres in the northwest corner are considered developable, and a maze of federal environmental rules must be met before anything can be built there.

The land is owned by Credit Suisse First Boston, a subsidiary of a Swiss banking firm. The company split the cost of the $86,000 study with the city.