Carrollton chooses construction company for transit-oriented development project

by PegNews wire

CARROLLTON — Carrollton’s City Council awarded the South Main Street reconstruction project to Jim Bowman Construction Company. This project will kick off as the first major construction to break ground for transit-oriented development (TOD) in downtown Carrollton.

Reconstruction of South Main Street (between Belt Line Road and DART’s Green Line right of way) will create an enhanced entry into the downtown Carrollton Square area, while providing access to the area’s first catalyst TOD project. Authorized by voters in the 2007 bond election, the reconstruction will include new water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer lines. In addition, it will be the first project of its kind to incorporate the new city standards for transit center roadway design.

As the city’s catalyst TOD developer, High Street Residential, a division of the Trammell Crow Company, will be constructing 295 apartments, a 460-space parking garage, and retail space in a mixed-use development. Currently under design, the development will take its aesthetic cues from historic buildings of downtown Carrollton and the surrounding neighborhoods. Building construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2010.

To help create a pedestrian-friendly downtown and an entrance to the High Street development, South Main Street’s sidewalks will feature wide decorative paving, October Glory Maple street trees, shrubs and native grasses, ornamental street lights, benches, and trash receptacles. Each of the street trees will have electrical service for holiday lighting. Pioneer Park will be reconstructed to feature a densely planted bosque of Pond Cypress trees and a curvilinear seat wall beneath an existing specimen Live Oak. The Pond Cypress was selected as a unifying element to visually tie the DART platform, plaza, and parking areas, which feature geometric grids of Pond Cypress plantings to the High Street Development area.

“This project is contributing to the sustainability of our city by providing the infrastructure and setting the tone for the TOD catalyst project that will be kicked off next year,” said Cesar Molina. “South Main Street will be the template for all of the streets to be built in downtown Carrollton.”

Included in the South Main Street project is the construction of a nearby interim surface parking lot at the intersection of Vandergriff Drive and Broadway Street. The lot will add 83 parking spaces and will have the same streetscape design elements as South Main Street. This new sustainable parking lot will be constructed with recyclable pavers and grass stone providing an open green space which may be used for special events.

Jim Bowman Construction Company was awarded the bid with the lowest proposal of $1,515,646.66, an amount lower than the city engineers’ estimate. Bowman is noted for several projects within Carrollton, including the recent Francis Perry Estates Neighborhood-Oriented Targeted Infrastructure and Code Enforcement (NOTICE) Project.

The reconstruction project is expected to be complete within nine months, but updates can be found on the city’s website at cityofcarrollton.com in the monthly construction updates.

Source: City of Carrollton