Lakewood

Shopping Center

Lakewood Shopping Center annually produces almost $200,000 tax dollars per acre the highest yield of these traditional commercial centers.

This is the kind of information that convinces Castillo of Dallas’ need to “build smaller.” We don’t need to wipe out entire areas to construct shiny developments, he argues; instead, “we need to look for the quick wins and the good investments.”

Castillo is among the new wave of urban planners and city builders who are bolstering their ideals with data. Also in this cohort is Patrick Kennedy, board chairman of North Texas’ Congress for the New Urbanism, who advocates that Dallas’ infrastructure should improve life for its residents rather than simply move cars through the city. Streets and rights-of-way are a “public resource,” Kennedy argued at the recent Dallas Homeowners League boot camp, asking “How do you rebuild them for the neighborhoods right next to them?”

Lowest Greenville and the Bishop Arts District are the flavors of the week. Their ascent as Dallas hot spots were aided by roughly $1.5 million each, in city funds that made streets friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists, plus “code relaxation” that kept parking lots to a minimum. Their success, though, is also their source of strife.

“Because they’re so rare and so successful, they’re drawing from the region,” Kennedy says. “We need 30 of these all around the city.”

Nobody wants to be the new Lowest Greenville with its traffic and parking congestion, Castillo points out. He echoes Kennedy’s sentiment that we need to create neighborhood rather than regional destinations, and Lakewood Shopping Center is fertile ground.

In a sense, this could be deemed a futile exercise. Castillo’s own numbers show that Lakewood already is wildly successful. Other areas of East Dallas clearly could use more help.

Councilman Mark Clayton, who represents Lakewood, noted shortly after he was elected that his focus will be revitalizing blighted areas such as Casa View in Far East Dallas. If the city invests in Lakewood, “what’s the economic benefit?” he asks. “If the city puts in a dollar, what does it get back?”

It’s a fair question. The data from Castillo and others, however, seems to support their view that Dallas should prioritize small investments in existing infrastructure rather than big investments in new development.

If the city does this, Castillo says, “we can stitch together neighborhoods once again and satisfy market demand for great places while providing a development model that creates more value for the city and wealth for the community.”

The Lakewood Shopping Center is at a crossroads. Over the decades, portions of the main section around the Gaston, Abrams and La Vista triangle were sold off and now have four separate owners. Much of that ownership turned over within the past decade, and neighbors watched as longtime local favorites — The Fan Shop, Lakewood Ace Hardware, Matt’s — disappeared from the landscape. Restaurants and bars now dominate the scene, and parking at the center is scarce on weekends and even some weeknights.

The parking problems may only escalate; owners of the historic but vacant Lakewood Theater continue to convey the likelihood that the space will be carved up into more retail and restaurant spots — no additional parking necessary, thanks to city regulations that were grandfathered in the ’70s.

Change continues to loom, and how neighbors feel about that depends on their various perspectives. As longtime neighbor and historic preservationist Norman Alston likes to say, “There’s one thing you can count on at an East Dallas gathering: Everyone in the room knows they have the answer, and none of the answers are the same.”

Perhaps if there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s this: Change shouldn’t just line developers’ pockets and fill the city’s coffers; it also should improve quality of life for residents. Increases in property value and more retail options could be construed as beneficial, yes, but is that the best we can hope for?

That’s the question we posed to neighborhood architects and urban planners. Instead of reacting to the inevitable zoning change here and parking proposal there, what if we could latch onto a bigger vision of what Lakewood Shopping Center could be?

We may never fully agree on the vision, but we should at least have the conversation.

Walking Challenge

We challenged people who live in neighborhoods adjacent to the Lakewood Shopping Center to spend two weeks using only their feet or bicycles to travel to the center and then tell us about their experiences. They also shared their favorite spots and how long it takes to walk to them. Find more observations from these neighbors, including their opinions on the biggest obstacles to pedestrians and cyclists, this month at lakewood.advocatemag.com.

Beth Lamb

Lakewood

0.3 MILES AND 8 MINUTES TO WHOLE FOODS

“I like walking in Uptown/West Village, but I wouldn’t actually want to live there. I like having a house with a yard, and I realize that the lower housing and retail density of our neighborhood means you have to walk farther to get places. Wider sidewalks, more shade trees, and better timed stoplights would help, as would having more interesting storefronts to look at. I enjoy walking through the neighborhood, seeing what’s new, much more than I like walking down Gaston, even though it’s faster that way.”

COMING UP P.54

Abrams

Walk Through History

COMING UP P.65

SEE THE LAKEWOOD SHOPPING CENTER AS IT ONCE WAS ON THIS ARCHITECT-LED TOUR.