Transit Oriented Development (TOD) near Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Rail, like CityLine and the continued growth in the Cedars south of downtown Dallas, is driving the North Texas economic boom with more than $7 billion in economic impact from new or planned construction within a quarter mile of rail stations, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Economics Research Group at the University of North Texas, led by Michael Carroll, Ph.D., also determined this activity in 2014 and 2015 generated more than 43,000 jobs resulting in nearly $3 billion in wages, salaries, and benefits. A 2014 study from UNT identified $5.3 billion in TOD near DART Rail stations between 1996 and 2013.
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“DART, and the projects around it, will sustain our continued growth,” Carroll says. “This very rapid increase in investment and development activity around DART stations reflects the improvement in our regional economy.”
The regional economic benefit takes many forms. Completed or under-construction TOD near DART stations has already generated $69 million in state and local tax revenue. The study also projects potential spending for planned or proposed developments could produce another $160 million in state and local tax revenue.
“Increased property values and the revenues generated from that is another way Dallas and the other DART cities are benefitting from our investment,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says. “DART has created new connections to attract developers to fertile areas for investment. We see that transformation in all parts of our city...”
Investment paying dividends The 93-mile light rail system, the nation’s longest, was built at a cost of $5.5 billion. The most recent extension, three miles, connecting a renewed Ledbetter Station to the campus of the University of North Texas Dallas, opened Oct. 24.
“This study reminds us transportation is more than a ride from one point to another,” DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas says. “Developers see the benefit. That’s why they’re putting their money into new live/work/play communities close to our stations. The value of those projects significantly exceeds the regional investment in rail and they are changing the face of our region.”
Development magnet in good times and bad Authors of the 2014 study found DART could make substantial contributions to regional economic health even when the area experienced an economic downturn not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. “Even through difficult economic times, DART has demonstrated its ability to boost the North Texas economy through its daily operations, capital spending and attracting private investment,” said Terry L. Clower, Ph.D., principal author of the 2014 study and now director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.
But the authors of the 2016 study believe the regional environment has fully recovered noting, “The region is one of the fastest growing nationwide in terms of population and continues to be the destination for corporate relocations.” To prove the point, they identified 11 projects in various stages of development, in all parts of the DART Service Area, with a total economic impact of $5.1 billion for the region. The list of projects includes development of the Dallas High School site near Pearl Station, an expanded Southwest Airlines Training Facility, and Northshore and the Irving Entertainment District in Las Colinas.
DART’s economic impact reports and more information are available at DART.org/EconomicImpact.
Amtrak will open grant applications March 23 for community projects near the Frederick Douglass Tunnel alignment in Baltimore as part of a $50 million investment tied to the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program.
The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
