http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/lewisville/stories/DN-masterplan_04wes.ART0.North.Edition2.4257a93.html
Small city has a big vision for its future
The Colony: Master plan calls for a retail, entertainment mecca
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, September 4, 2005
By KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News
The Colony sits between Frisco's booming retail stores and Lewisville's highly
developed Interstate 35E corridor.
As a result, the city of about 36,450 people on the southeastern shores of
Lewisville Lake has missed out on potential development. But city officials
have big
plans, and they're carving out an identity of their own.
Officials are taking advantage of continuing improvements to State Highway 121
to
try to bring in large family-oriented entertainment and recreation venues that
would
attract visitors from across the region.
In other words, they want The Colony to be a destination city.
"We're trying to take hold of our destiny," Mayor John Dillard said. "We want to
have our own image and develop our own identity."
He said the city has been criticized for not using zoning rules to plan for the
future.
The 121 Corridor Master Plan is a vision for how the city wants land along the
state
highway to be developed. It envisions a "thriving, successful,
destination-oriented
corridor," according to the plan, which a city consultant worked on.
Council member Scott Ward said he sees it as a "weekend draw."
"I think it'll give developers some possibilities. It'll show them we're
serious,"
he said.
About 67 percent of property facing Highway 121 in the city is undeveloped. But
that
will change. The state is widening the highway and converting it to a toll road.
Construction is expected to be complete by late 2007 or early 2008.
City officials plan to create an entertainment and recreational zoning district
on
about 1,043 acres on the north and south sides of Highway 121.
The idea is to build on features such as the city's more than 20 parks and two
golf
courses, its Five Star sports complex and the Hawaiian Falls Water Park. The
city's
proximity to Lewisville Lake also plays a role, officials said.
Although the focus is on entertainment and recreation, other desirable uses
include
office, retail, hotels, restaurants, corporate headquarters, theaters and other
cultural developments, according to the master plan "something that will
bring us
jobs and tax base," Mr. Dillard said.
Two tracts the city identified as ideal for entertainment or recreation uses
are the
300-acre Maharishi Global Development Fund land south of Highway 121 and east of
Plano Parkway and about 109 acres owned by Trammell Crow west of Main Street.
In coming months, city officials will consider zoning changes to implement the
plan.
Another possibility listed in the master plan is to create a public improvement
district that would raise money for improvements with assessments.
Mr. Dillard said the zoning changes would take time. Once the plan is in place,
the
city will begin talking to the landowners, he said.
Donna Bateman, director of development services, said the corridor includes
about 60
landowners. She said officials have spoken to "a couple of individuals" but have
received no development applications.
Development of the corridor has been slow, despite many attempts by the city to
attract recreation and entertainment venues.
"It's been discussed as long as I can remember," Mr. Dillard said.
The Maharishi fund bought its land in 2000 and announced plans to build the
world's
tallest skyscraper in The Colony. When those plans fell through, the company
wanted
to build a large mixed-use retail center instead.
At the time, the company was involved in a legal fight with the state over the
value
of 21 acres the state needed to widen Highway 121 for the toll road. The fund
ended
up receiving $14 million for the right of way in a settlement.
Shortly after, in early 2003, the company put the land up for sale for $108
million.
The group planned to use proceeds from the sale to build the first 108 of 200
planned peace palaces in the U.S..
The land has sat vacant ever since.
The fund is part of a global empire led by the Indian mystic Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi,
who pioneered Transcendental Meditation in the 1960s. Since then, his companies
have
amassed a real estate portfolio with holdings around the world.
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