Entertainment district developers agree that ample parking and mass transit give entertainment districts an edge that can make or break a venue.
The newly opened Irving Music Factory in Texas struck an agreement with a nearby shopping plaza that gives the district access to 2,500 of the plaza’s 2,700 parking spaces after 5 p.m. There are also plans to extend the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Orange Line—which goes out to DFW airport—to include a station near the entertainment district.
“We believe this is going to emerge as a multi-region destination,” predicts Barry Hand, Principal and Studio Leader with Gensler, which designed the entertainment district.
Kansas City’s recent downtown economic boom can be attributed in part to KC Streetcar, a 2.2-mile light-rail system that opened in May 2016, and connects downtown’s north and south quadrants.
This map pinpoints more than $2 billion in real estate development. Courtesy CBRE.
In Los Angeles, the entertainment district L.A. Live, whose parking is woefully inadequate, is expected to benefit from the proposed expansion of the city’s mass transit system. The Blue Line, which connects downtown L.A. to Long Beach, would be linked with the Gold Line, which runs out to Pasadena. The city also passed a sales tax to extend the system’s Red Line to Beverly Hills.
The proposed University City district in Charlotte, N.C., would be about a quarter-mile from one of the new station stops of the city’s light-rail system that’s being expanded.
“University City is exciting because of the impact of light rail and its development opportunities,” says Ashley Clark, Associate AIA, LEED AP, Director of Strategic Development and Communications with Land Design, an AE firm working on the project.
The district would be close to UNC Charlotte and the city’s Research Park. “The vision is for the entertainment district to provide a sense of place, with the transit as its gateway,” says Clark.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Jun 13, 2019
Site of former Motorola headquarters will become a mixed-use district
UrbanStreet Group and Antunovich Associates are developing the master plan for the project.
Mixed-Use | Jun 3, 2019
12-story mixed-use development opens in Washington, D.C.
Cooper Carry designed the project.
Mixed-Use | May 28, 2019
Broward County Convention Center expansion to include Headquarters Hotel
Omni Hotels & Resorts will manage the County-owned hotel.
Mixed-Use | May 23, 2019
237-room hotel will anchor Nashville’s new $540 million mixed-use development
Chartwell Hospitality will operate the hotel.
Mixed-Use | May 15, 2019
Puerto Rican mixed-use, mixed income housing development begins construction
Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón designed the project.
Mixed-Use | May 14, 2019
Mixed-use community breaks ground in Greenville, S.C.
The Beach Company is developing the project.
Mixed-Use | May 9, 2019
Development builds on success of Chicago’s River North
One Chicago will further enliven upscale, artsy area.
Mixed-Use | May 3, 2019
The Colorado Rockies get into the sports-anchored development game
The project is currently under construction across the street from Coors Field.
Mixed-Use | May 2, 2019
A series of green bridges will connect these two towers in Shenzhen, China
Steven Holl Architects designed the project.
Mixed-Use | Apr 26, 2019
Miami’s 7-acre Link at Douglas breaks ground
The project will be built in phases over the next five years.
