David Gwin, Garland’s director of Economic Development, acknowledges that there are redevelopment challenges in South Garland but adds that there are challenges across the city. Many of them are directly related to the city’s age.
“This is the natural cycle that all urban areas go through,” Gwin said. “We’re 125 years old so I think we’ve fared pretty well for our age.”
Most of the challenges represent opportunities in Gwin’s opinion. There is no doubt that Garland is a special place because there are people who’ve lived here all their lives and wouldn’t think of living anywhere else. That to me is very special.
“I’ve worked for five Texas communities. Garland is not the biggest or the smallest but it is the one that I always knew that if I had a chance I’d come back to it,” he said. “And it’s doing better than would be expected at 125 years of age.”
There are, however, challenges specific to south and central Garland.
“We all recognize that Garland Road was developed when the standards were very different,” Gwin said. “And we all want what is best for Garland.”
Gwin added, though that the goal must be to not place hardship on the businesses that have been there for a long time and he feels that there are things that can be done without hurting those businesses.
The redevelopment at South Garland Avenue and Miller Road is a great addition in central Garland, but South Garland Avenue from IH-635 to Miller Road is unattractive. Gwin believes that finding an appropriate use for the Hypermart building and acreage would be a great way to improve the gateway into the city.
“If we could make the Hypermart an anchor, a flagship for redevelopment, it would give us an opportunity all along Garland Avenue,” he said. “There are very few areas in the community that have the promise of Garland Avenue as you come into the city.”
He added that connecting IH-635 to downtown in an attractive way would be a major asset.
If we can get the right use at Hypermart, the chance to get some other businesses on the other 23 acres of the site, restaurants, for example, would be possible.
“I often hear people who work in our industrial corridor wishing for more places to go for lunch than those in downtown Garland,” he said. “But there are very few choices.”
Gwin believes that this would help the surrounding neighborhood as well. He said that he was not a fan of the proposed storage facility use of the Hypermart building because he did not see that it woul
d add anything to the area.
The “north Garland versus “south Garland” subject inevitably comes up in conversations about development.
“Everybody always brings that up and I remember more than 20 years ago when I worked here it was more of an east-west thing,” Gwin said. “That has settled but there is still the north-south issue.”
He agrees that there are parts of north Garland that are newer and have newer types of development, but that does not mean that there are not exciting opportunities in the south Garland area.
Gwin mentioned that south Garland has easy access to the lake as well as to a non-toll interstate.
“North Garland doesn’t have that so the potential for south is very different,” he said. “We’ve just got to strategically put south Garland in a better place for development. That’s what we are trying to do – be smarter about the opportunities that are there…I see just as many opportunities in south Garland as in any other part of the city.”
Gwin said that the biggest reason to be hopeful is that there are numerous opportunities.
“I know for the average citizen driving on Broadway or Centerville, it’s very easy to get depressed,” he said. “We‘ve got a lot of challenges to work through but developers are noticing the area and it’s a big part of my job to make sure that they see those opportunities on a regular basis.”
He added that the citizens have a role to play in redevelopment as well.
“The more engaged they are the better they can help tell Garland’s story,” Gwin said. “When they hear something negative about Garland I want them to have the information to tell our story in a positive light.”
He mentioned that one of the most important responsibilities of the Economic Development staff is to help do the homework for the development community and to help them see the opportunity and potential that Garland offers.
“For many years now Garland has not been at the table when development decisions were being made…What we are doing, and it’s not going to happen overnight, is to see that Garland gets a seat at the table so that when a development opportunity is brought up we get a fair shake, Gwin said.”
He added that they are already starting to get bites.
“That means that our work is taking hold, getting traction,” he said. “I’m not asking that anyone give Garland anything different from what it deserves. All we need is a fair shake and we can turn that into something phenomenal.”