Here comes the neighborhood

A modern multiuse development, a new community center, bike paths and a vibrant retail scene around Skillman-635 — could it happen?

Story by Christina Hughes Babb | Photos by Danny Fulgencio

When it comes to development in Lake Highlands, most of us think of Lake Highlands Town Center. That is understandable, but the focus on central Lake Highlands has obscured a quieter but arguably more consequential undertaking near its northeast gateway: a total revitalization of one of our neighborhood’s most problematic areas, 635-Skillman.

In the February Lake Highlands Advocate, we reported on the effort to realign a major traffic trouble spot, Skillman where it intersects 635 (the story is also available on lakehighlands.advocatemag.com). The Skillman realignment is the “linchpin” for a broader initiative to reimagine and develop the surrounding area, said Lake Highlands resident Susan Morgan, a member of both the LBJ-Skillman Interchange Task Force and the LBJ (635)-Skillman Urban Planning Initiative committees, in last month’s report. This month we take a closer look at possible development around the Skillman-635 intersection.

TheDART station at Skillman and 635 includes work by local artists commemorating Lady Bird Johnson’s highway beautification project — station columns feature stylized tire-tread patterns, tables await picnickers, and native wildflowers line the parking lot and entrance.

Unfortunately, the station is isolated, underutilized and not very accessible.

But this DART station could be the centerpiece for a future transit-oriented, mixeduse development.

It is one of four pinpointed development opportunities in the 635-Skillman land-use