Bullet train developer's preferred station sites seen as boon to Dallas' Cedars area

A company’s $10 billion plan to connect Dallas and Houston with a 90-minute high-speed train ride was hailed Friday as a “game changer” that could also spur dramatic development in South Dallas, just outside downtown.

Texas Central Railway narrowed its picks for a Dallas bullet train station to two spots just south of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Both spots include land in the blossoming Cedars neighborhood. One of the preferred locations would put the station atop Interstate 30, creating a development bridge between downtown and the Cedars.

Texas Central also announced that it was creating a development company that would partner with the existing development firm Matthews Southwest to turn the station into a mixed-use development that could encourage more retail, residences and businesses in the gateway to the city’s southern half. The parcels identified are owned by Matthews entities or the city.

Mayor Mike Rawlings, whose first term included the launch of a southern Dallas development initiative called GrowSouth, said he was “thrilled” about the potential station locations.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/20150206-bullet-train-developer-s-preferred-station-sites-seen-as-boon-to-dallas-cedars-area.ece