| The Dallas Metroplex has a number of existing and upcoming new urbanism developments in the northern counties, including Addison, Plano and Frisco. I was able to spend some time at Addison Circle and Legacy Town Center. |
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| Addison Circle is located in the Town of Addison, about a 20 minute drive north of Dallas. It is a fairly new showpiece in this growing sattelite city. Addison Circle was developed by Post Properties, working closely with the Town of Addison officers and planners. The result of their efforts was an award-winning development with apartments and lofts built over offices, shops and restaurants, all complemented by community facilities as well as parks and plazas. Unique to Addison Circle is a 45 foot high, bright blue sculpture, "Blueprints at Addison Circle", which marks the roundabout leading into the development. |
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| New Urbanism aims to create memorable urban places and vibrant neighborhoods that contain and mix a variety of uses (e.g. residential, office, retail and institutional), have definable centers and edges, provide ample community amenities and public spaces and promote a pedestrian environment. The North Dallas area is actually well-suited for New Urbanism, given the rich architectural vernacular and history of local town center development. |
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| Legacy Town Center is located in Plano, about an hour's drive north from Dallas. It is located within Legacy, a 2655-acre master planned corporate community. Corporate residents include EDS, Frito-Lay, JCPenney and Seven Up. The Town Center itself comprises 150 acres. My colleagues at the HOK New Urban Studio, Mauricio Castro and Oscar Machado, were largely instrumental in its design. Legacy Town Center is the first town center to be built within a business environment. As with most other new urban developments, it features a blend of luxury apartments (2,700 units) , shops, offices, restaurants, a movie theater, a 400-room hotel and recreational facilities. The hotel overlooks a man-made lake located within a 3 acre park at the center of the development. |
| Click here for an interactive map of the Dallas area |
| Dallas, Texas |
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| Addison holds an annual town fair, "Taste Addison", which features entertainment, food, amusement rides and trade shows/exhibits. |
| Photo credit: (Left) www.addisontexas.net |
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| Vehicular traffic is safely integrated with pedestrian circulation, and everything is at most a 10-minute walk away. |