The city of Garland and GroundFloor Development have partnered to realize a $30 million commercial redevelopment project for the west side of downtown.
Over the past two years, both parties have been actively working on this very challenging, but exciting major reinvestment project to be constructed on the Northwest corner of South Garland Avenue and West Avenue B. Representing the first phase of what is intended to be a much larger mixed use development, this sizeble anchor investment will launch the transformation of the entire block into a modern residential, retail and services hub in a part of downtown that has thus far struggled to realize its full redevelopment potential.
In total, the approximately 4-acre site is currently home to Chase Bank, a vacant former Wyatt Cafeteria, Commonwealth Land Title Company and a few other small businesses. Phase I will consist of demolishing the 11,000 square foot former cafeteria building and replacing it with much denser new construction in the form of The Draper, a three-story, 155-unit residential complex.
As perks for future residents, the new apartments will include a community-oriented amenity center, an outdoor pool, as well as “tuck-under” garages. Looking to Phase II of the project, plans call for the existing 5-story, 1960s-era Chase Bank building to be fully renovated for new tenants, with Chase Bank remaining as the primary retail services anchor. Upon completion, the center will be a modern mixed-use housing development, to which GroundFloor is rapidly realizing a strong development and market specialty in Texas.
Case in point, the company is currently working on a sizable mixed-use development in Austin set to open soon, which will include a public market surrounded by a new hotel and office space. “We have big plans for The Draper, and we’re envisioning a renewal of Garland’s West downtown commercial activity while catalyzing future growth,” said Mark Drumm, a partner with GroundFloor. “Partnering with the City, we hope to add another successful modern housing development to our portfolio in Texas.”
The Draper will be a community-oriented living space geared toward professionals who are seeking a more urban living lifestyle in a centralized community location. Residents will be walking distance away from various shops, restaurants and entertainment venues on the Downtown Garland Square. They will also be close to the Downtown Garland DART light rail station, where residents will have access to the greater D-FW Metroplex.
“After many months of hard work, we are extremely excited to see The Draper finally come together and look to provide the west side of Downtown Garland with a much-needed development catalyst project. We’re happy to support GroundFloor with this first phase, especially as we seek to further focus our efforts on redevelopment projects in the City’s historic downtown core,” said David Gwin, director of Garland’s Economic Development Department.
Major redevelopment projects have been on the city’s radar for a while, as Garland continues to mature and is now largely built out particularly in the central core of the community. Recent residential redevelopment in downtown include the City Square Lofts off Avenue B and Glenbrook in the former Bank of America building. This project resulted in the entirely repurposed 4-story office building into the now 126-unit apartment complex, while increasing the site’s real estate value from $460,000 to $7 million.
Information and photo provided by city of Garland.