Project: Dallas High Five Interchange

Several developments have occurred around the interchange since it was completed in 2005 and more are under construction. Within a radius of 3-miles around the interchange, 664,000 square feet of office and retail development have occurred, including a strip mall, a mixed-use development, medical offices, a medical facility and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. In addition, about 850 apartment and townhome units, healthcare facilities with a total of 160 beds, and new schools serving about 2,500 students have been built between 2006 and 2009. Recently, the major developments that have been announced or are already under construction include over 530,000 square feet of new office space, a new private school serving 480 students, a new hotel, multi-family apartment complexes with about 700 units, and the expansion of an existing hospital. Because it is difficult to attribute all these developments to the interchange, an area within a 1-mile radius around the interchange was also analyzed. The development in this area can be more directly attributed to the interchange and includes the 218,000 square feet Wal-Mart Supercenter, responsible for about 300-350 jobs and the 66,000 square feet Forest Park Medical Center that will potentially create about 120 new jobs.

A 27-acre site adjacent to the interchange that originally housed a car dealership and assorted small businesses was bought by a developer in 2006. The site, described as ?one of the most sought after areas in Dallas? is one of the last tracts of land available on US 75 south of I-635 that had become more attractive and easily accessible after the completion of the High Five interchange.

The residential neighborhood of Hamilton Park has retained its character. New developments include a Wal-Mart and a new medical facility. In addition, the marketability of existing commercial buildings has increased and there is evidence that they have increased their percentage of leased space. For instance, the 21-story, 516,200-square-foot Park Central Building III located near the High Five Interchange to its southwest corner, went from nearly vacant at the end of 2005 to 84% occupied by mid-year 2006. The biggest lease was for a mortgage-lending firm that set up its headquarters in over 97,000 square feet and expects to employ 400 new employees. The firm relocated to the area because of the central location, the access to major arteries, and the signage potential of a multi-story tower located near the interchange. To the southwest of the interchange, a large new church has been built, the Dallas Medical City Hospital has been expanded, and a lower-end apartment complex has been redeveloped into higher-end residential space. Finally, to the northwest of the interchange, a new private K-12 school has been built.

Commercial real estate reports for the area along I-635 east of the interchange attribute definite economic impacts to the construction of the interchange. A report by CB Richard Ellis mentions that the interchange has served as a catalyst for renewed tenant demand owing to the high visibility and locational advantages of the area. Between January 2006 and mid-year 2008, asking rents for Class A office space have increased 14 % and occupancy and leasing rates have substantially improved. Additional advantages of the location include the convenient access (15-25 minutes) to the region's airports and proximity to the LBJ-Central DART light rail station. However, some interviewees believed that planned improvements of the transportation corridors in the area that had been occurring since the 1990's and are expected to continue over the next few years, coupled with broader economic forces, make it difficult to associate these impacts with the interchange alone. This is relevant because I-635, US 75, and the interchange itself already existed and were simply improved. Nevertheless, an increased rate of development on originally vacant sites in the area has been observed. Property values in the vicinity of the project have increased; however, the house price index from 1998-2008 shows that this follows global trends in the Dallas metropolitan area and is therefore not directly attributable to the interchange.

The cities of Garland and Richardson to the east of the interchange may have benefitted through spillover impacts as they have been able to market their properties better. The Telecom Corridor in Richardson has also benefitted because travel times to employment centers in the corridor have decreased considerably. Overall, 400 to 500 jobs in the area can be directly attributed to the interchange.