On Dallas Inland Port: Dallas Morning News Recommends Master Plan
The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board has recommended that the International Inland Port of Dallas take up a Master Plan. The effort for the Master Plan is being lead by Commissioner John Wiley Price. It is also supported by the North Texas Council of Governments.
The Allen Group, by far the most active developer with the Port (including the government groups) opposes the Master Plan. I have followed their work over the last couple of years from afar and up close. The buildings they have placed in the Inland Port go above and beyond anything that a Master Plan would suggest – natural lighting, parking lights pointing straight down, extra greenery.
I found one line in the DMN quite funny. “They (Allen Group) warn, withough evidence, of unnecessary delays, uncertainy, bureaucracy, restrictions…” Uh, can you say Trinity River Corridor Project?
There are a lot of Johnny Come Lately types hovering around, and I never do well with that dynamic. And I’m wondering where they get that folks like Wilmer and Hutchins will be pushed around by developers. The fact that The North Central Texas Counsil of Governments and Dallas County (alledgedly) pushed forward with a plan with very little input from the smaller municipalities could be construded by some as pushing around.
The Morning News has gone through much more documentation on this than I have, so I will defer to they’re research. But thus far this has not been a public/private partnership. Most of the work done on the port has been done by the private sector, and the public side has been master planning without much private input.
This should be watched closely.
