Cost of Bridge Might Snag Bird's Fort Development Plan

By Sally Claunch
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

ARLINGTON - Plans to build the Lakes at Bird's Fort, a large residential and commercial project in far north Arlington, have been jeopardized by a disagreement over who will pay to extend Ballpark Way to the north.

Sam Ware, owner of Lazarus Property Corp. of Dallas, faxed the city a request Tuesday afternoon that his firm be released from any obligation to pay for a bridge to extend Ballpark Way from the southernmost portion of the development north across the Trinity River.

But when the City Council approved zoning for the project Tuesday evening, members did not include such a provision in either the zoning considerations or a resolution related to the project.

"I was very proud of the council because they said no," Mayor Robert Cluck said Wednesday. "It's way too early."

Cluck said negotiations over road and bridge costs would be more appropriate as the council debates a tax increment finance district to help pay for project infrastructure, such as streets and water and sewer lines.

If the area is designated as a TIF, tax revenue it generates would go toward building the area's infrastructure. TIF revenue could offset the developer's or the city's share of bridge construction.

Ware said in early talks with the city he was assured that he would not be responsible for the cost of building the bridge. When city officials would not absolve him of building the bridge, he said he had been blindsided.

"We're shell-shocked, based on the fact that they've been so cooperative and pro-deal, Ware said Wednesday. "It's a regional issue. To saddle one piece of land with that doesn't make economic sense."

The proposed project is expected to include homes in the $250,000 price range, retail outlets, warehouses and natural gas wells, in an area bordered by the Trinity River, Farm Road 157, Green Oaks Boulevard and Texas 360. It could add up to $800 million to the city's tax base, project supporters have said.

The development would span more than 1,400 acres. Concept plans call for access from Farm Road 157 to the west and Euless South Main Road from the north."

An existing city thoroughfare plan estimates that a Ballpark Way bridge into the site would cost about $37 million.

Councilman Steve McCollum, who represents the city as an at-large council member, said the development "has to have access to the south into Arlington" to benefit the city.

"It's also a mobility issue," McCollum said. "Ballpark Way running north and south will be a future thoroughfare."

Without southern access to Arlington, residents in the development would probably drive to Northeast Tarrant County to spend money, McCollum said. Children who live in the Bird's Fort development would attend Hurst-Euless-Bedford schools - another reason residents would probably take their sales tax dollars north, he said.

Interim Planning Director Karen Brophy said such infrastructure issues are rarely included in zoning cases and that her staff was surprised by Ware's request.

"They faxed that to us after 3 p.m. on Tuesday," she said. "We had said, 'Who's going to pay for the bridge?' But we believed that was something to be discussed when we negotiated the TIF."

Cluck plans to talk to Ware, hoping to salvage the project. But he said that even if the deal is out, the city has gained some benefits.

"Other developers now know we're willing to do a TIF on that piece of land," Cluck said. "Id like to do this one. But there has to be a line beyond which we wouldn't go, and we reached it Tuesday night."