H-E-B, the San Antonio-based grocery chain, is making moves in North Texas. New stores opened to excited crowds in Rockwall and Prosper earlier this year, and now Dallas is poised to join in on the action.
In September, the City Plan Commission voted to advance the rezoning request for an H-E-B store on an approximately 10-acre site at the corner of Hillcrest Road and LBJ Freeway. The property is currently zoned as a neighborhood office district, and the zoning being requested is regional retail.
The case was scheduled to appear before the City Council at the end of October, but the hearing has been postponed until Dec. 10 so that an independent traffic study can be completed, a city representative told us.
The delay is a reminder that even a small number of voices can significantly influence the pace of a project — something we see often in Dallas.
Opinion
The project is still pending approval from the City Council, but with the green light from the City Plan Commission, it seems poised to move forward. The task now is not to continue to delay but to make sure that the improvements H-E-B has agreed to make and pay for — installing turn lanes, adding sidewalks and traffic calming measures — are carried out so the store functions well for the people who live and drive nearby.
Members of the Hillcrest Preservation Coalition, a neighborhood group that is against the rezoning, told us their concerns aren’t about the grocery store itself, but that they are worried about the impact the store will have on traffic, safety and potentially affecting home values in the area.
These concerns deserve to be heard, and residents have brought them to the attention of the City Council. People choose their neighborhoods expecting some sense of constancy, and any major project should be vetted carefully.
But if Dallas can’t build a grocery store off a major interstate, it’s hard to imagine where a project like this could go. H-E-B’s proposed location is currently an aging office park, bordered by the freeway but also by existing density: apartment complexes, office buildings and a medical campus to the south.
Putting the grocery store aside, the bigger issue is the enormous five-lane, in each direction, freeway that already runs through the neighborhood. The freeway is there, and it shapes development decisions around it.
Approving this project, with traffic mitigation steps and continued dialogue with neighbors, should be the next step. Dallas can welcome H-E-B while still listening to residents. H-E-B has demonstrated all over the state that it is a responsible neighbor, and we expect no less here.
Some who are skeptical now are sure to value the convenience and quality the store will offer to all, including homeowners, office employees, visitors to the assisted-living facility across the street and apartment residents.