Las Colinas
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Coordinates: 32°53′30.2″N 96°56′53.9″W / 32.891722°N 96.948306°W
| Las Colinas | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Dallas |
| City | Irving |
| Elevation | 479 ft (146 m) |
| ZIP codes | |
Las Colinas is an upscale, developed area in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas. Due to its central location between Dallas and Fort Worth and its proximity to DFW Airport, Las Colinas has been a viable place in the Metroplex for corporate and business relocation. As a planned community, it has many corporate offices, luxury hotels, landmark office towers, luxury townhomes, distinguished single family homes, private country clubs, gated enclaves and urban lofts.
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[edit] History
Originally called El Ranchito de Las Colinas ("the Little Ranch of the Hills"), Las Colinas was developed in 1972 by cattle ranching millionaire Ben H. Carpenter. It was one of the first planned communities in the United States and was once the largest mixed-use development in the South, with a land area of more than 12,000 acres (49 km2). Urban planners were consulted to lay out the entire town, an undertaking that predated later projects in Plano, Allen and other suburbs.
During the 1980s building boom, Las Colinas became a popular location for relocating companies and office developers, attracting many corporations—including the global headquarters of four Fortune 500 companies and offices of more than 30 others, such as Exxon Mobil Corporation, GTE Telephone (now Verizon), Kimberly-Clark and Associates Corp. In 1985, the first sign of financial trouble appeared at Las Colinas due to a real estate market crash.
However, another 6,500,000 square feet (604,000 m2) of office space was built in the late 1990s boom. Residential real estate prices also rose steadily.
[edit] Las Colinas today
Today, Las Colinas is a location for business and personal addresses. It remains a planned community home to many corporations despite an increasing problem of debt. However, the area still contains golf and country clubs nearby.[citation needed]
With 25,000,000 sq ft (2,300,000 m2) of office space, nearly equivalent to the Dallas CBD, Las Colinas is currently home to more than 2,000 companies including the Fortune 500 global headquarters for Commercial Metals, ExxonMobil, Fluor and Kimberly-Clark. Other companies with headquarters in Las Colinas include Mission Foods, La Quinta Inns and Suites.[1][2] In 1999 the company announced it was going to move its headquarters from San Antonio,[2] stating that it wished to be near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.[3]
Other Las Colinas companies with offices in Las Colinas include Abbott Laboratories, AAA-Texas, AT&T,The Big 12 Conference Headquarters, Citigroup, General Motors, Microsoft, NEC America, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Oracle, Research in Motion, Verizon, Zale Corporation, VHA Corporation, PNM Resources, Inc., First Choice Power, Westwood One, TRT Holdings, Inc. Flowserve.[citation needed]
Las Colinas also features three private country clubs and four championship golf courses surrounded by gated communities. The Four Seasons resort and country club at MacArthur Blvd is the only AAA Five-Diamond resort in Texas. The TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas Resort has hosted the HP Byron Nelson Championship of PGA Tour since it opened in 1986. It features tree-lined fairways, large greens and a number of creeks and ponds.
It also contains high-rise office towers, retail centers, upscale residences, apartment complexes, and leisure facilities. Notable attractions include the Mustangs at Las Colinas sculpture and fountain and Las Colinas Flower Clock. The complex also features a River Walk-styled canal offering gondola cruises, as well as the above-ground Las Colinas APT System. Las Colinas has over 22,300,000 square feet (2,072,000 m2) of office space, 1,300,000 square feet (121,000 m2) of retail, and 3,400 single-family homes. A 40-acre (160,000 m2) tract in Las Colinas is also under development to become the home of the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, which is expected to be completed in January 2011.
Schools in the local area include Irving Independent School District and Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.
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Las Colinas Blvd.
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Houses on Camino Lago, Las Colinas
[edit] Climate
Las Colinas is considered to be part of the humid subtropical region.
[edit] Transportation
Irving is within the 13 service area of the Dallas region's transit agency, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Currently, Irving is served by numerous bus routes and the North Irving Transit Center services Las Colinas with express bus service to downtown Dallas. In July 2012 the Orange Line will open Las Colinas Urban Center Station, Irving Convention Center Station, and on December 3, 2012 North Lake College Station and Beltline Station will open. The final segment of the Orange line is scheduled to open December 15, 2014, providing Dallas direct rail service to DFW Airport via Las Colinas.
Las Colinas is also served by the noon-only Las Colinas APT System, a unique people mover linking businesses and entertainment areas of the Las Colinas Urban Center. A bridge at the DART Las Colinas Urban Station is already in place to connect with the APT.
[edit] Education
Some portions of Las Colinas are within the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.[4] Some residents are zoned to Las Colinas Elementary School.[5] Another portion is zoned to La Villita Elementary School.[6]
Some portions are within the Irving Independent School District.
C-FBISD has always served a portion of Irving, and historically children were bussed to schools in Carrollton and Farmers Branch. Las Colinas, which opened in 1986, was C-FBISD's first school in Irving. The Kinwest Corporation donated the tract of land that houses the school. La Villita was C-FBISD's sixth school in Irving and its 27th elementary school.[7]
[edit] Attractions
[edit] Neighborhoods
- Cottonwood Valley
- Mandalay Place
- Hackberry Creek
- University Hills
- Windsor Ridge Village
- University Park Estates
- Fairway Vista
- Country Club Place
[edit] References
- ^ "Fact Sheet." La Quinta Inns & Suites. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
- ^ a b "La Quinta moving to Dallas suburb Hotelier cites S.A.'s lack of nonstop flights." San Antonio Express-News. March 17, 1999. Business Page 1E. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
- ^ "La Quinta to move office to Las Colinas The hotel chain's officials say the company needs to be near a major airport." Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 18, 1999. 12 Business. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
- ^ "Aerial Map." (Picture) Las Colinas. Retrieved on November 30, 2011.
- ^ "Las Colinas Elementary Attendance Area." Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District at Scribd. Retrieved on November 30, 2011.
- ^ "La Villita Elementary Attendance Area." Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District at Scribd. Retrieved on November 30, 2011.
- ^ "Campus Histories." Carrollton-Farmers Branch Elementary School. Retrieved on November 29, 2011.
