Three run-down vacant apartment complexes south of Airport Freeway will be torn down this year to make way for the 57-acre Midtown Euless, a mixed-use development of shopping, restaurants, urban lofts and town homes. The development, which is east of South Industrial Boulevard, north of West Euless Boulevard and south of Airport Freeway, could be a game-changer for an area in need of revitalization. Centurion American bought the land.
North of Airport Freeway, Euless is flourishing with a plethora of stores, restaurants and housing for single families and urban professionals. Places like Glade Parks are taking off, with restaurants and eateries like Dave & Buster’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and the expected opening of a Belk department store in the spring. Now development is moving south of the highway.
Besides Midtown, the 14-acre Oakcrest Estates with single-family and senior housing, is taking shape south of the freeway, Euless Planning and Economic Development Director Mike Collins said. “That represents probably the largest private investment that has been made in this area in the past 25 years,” he said. “Money likes to chase money. If you can make a profit, that will support additional investment. Folks recognize the opportunity to make money, and existing businesses will reinvest in their property. You hope this will have a domino effect,” he said.
The timing of the new development coincides with the completion of the project to widen Airport Freeway, Collins said, and the “gateway into Midtown Euless will be at Airport Freeway and [Farm Road] 157, which will include a new look with decorative light poles and landscaping.” “We hope that some of the redevelopment opportunities [the Airport Freeway widening] created in Hurst and Bedford will extend in to this area,” he said.
Construction
The three apartment complexes, Shadow Creek, Concord House and Concord Terrace, dating to the 1960s, should be torn down by the end of the year, and dirt will turn on Midtown Euless in early 2016, Collins said.
No commercial tenants have signed leases yet, but the city will approve site plans for the different types of housing and commercial development in Midtown. Midtown will have “villas,” or single-family homes, town homes and row houses on individual lots, as well as urban lofts. Plans also call for an assisted-living center if the market is favorable, he said. Since some of the land is in the floodplain, Collins plans are to add fountains and ponds, which will also help with drainage.