Las Colinas

This article is about the community in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. For the mountain range in California, see Las Colinas (California).

Coordinates: 32°53′30.2″N 96°56′53.9″W / 32.891722°N 96.948306°W

Las Colinas

Streetscape in the Las Colinas Urban Center
Country United States
State Texas
Counties Dallas
City Irving
Elevation 479 ft (146 m)

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 International 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.

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.

Las Colinas today

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, Trend Micro[1] and La Quinta Inns and Suites.[2][3] In 1999 La Quinta announced it was going to move its headquarters from San Antonio,[3] stating that it wished to be near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.[4] It is also the home to Kidd Kraddick in the Morning and ESPN Dallas. FOX News also tapes from the FOX News Texas Studios located in Las Colinas.

Other companies and organizations with headquarters or major offices in Las Colinas include Abbott Laboratories, AAA-Texas, AT&T, BlackBerry, The Big 12 Conference and Conference USA Headquarters, Boy Scouts of America, Citigroup, General Motors, Infor, PLH Group, Microsoft, NEC America, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Oracle, Stellar, Verizon, Zale Corporation, VHA Corporation, Cortland Partners, PNM Resources, Inc., First Choice Power, Westwood One, TRT Holdings, Inc. Flowserve. In 2008 TXU Energy moved offices into the former TM Advertising headquarters in Las Colinas.[5]

Las Colinas also features three private country clubs, including the Las Colinas Country Club owned by ClubCorp, Hackberry Creek Country Club and four championship golf courses surrounded by gated communities.[6] 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 home to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.

Schools in the local area include Irving Independent School District, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, and The Highlands School, a private Catholic PreK through 12 school. North Hills Preparatory, an Uplift Education charter school is located in Las Colinas. North Hills Preparatory is an International Baccalaureate school and has been ranked as a top 20 school in America by Newsweek.[7]

Glenn Beck's independent news and entertainment television network, TheBlaze, has its largest studio complex based in Las Colinas.

Climate

Las Colinas is considered to be part of the humid subtropical region.

Transportation

Las Colinas APT System

Irving is within the 13 service areas 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, DART initiated Orange Line service to the Las Colinas Urban Center Station and Irving Convention Center Station. On December 3, 2012, North Lake College Station and Belt Line Station opened. The final segment of the Orange line was scheduled to open on December 15, 2014, but was soon changed to August 18, 2014, providing Dallas direct rail service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport via Las Colinas.

Las Colinas is also served weekdays between 6am and 6pm by the 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 Center Station connects with the APT.

Education

Some portions of Las Colinas are within the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.[8] Some residents are zoned to Las Colinas Elementary School.[9] Another portion is zoned to La Villita Elementary School.[10]

Some portions are within the Irving Independent School District.

The Highlands School is a private Catholic Pre-K through 12 college prep school in Las Colinas.

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.[11]

North Hills Preparatory, an Uplift Education charter school is located in Las Colinas. Uplift North Hills Preparatory is a K-12 continuum International Baccalaureate school and has been ranked as a top 20 school in America by Newsweek.[7]

Attractions

Neighborhoods

Valley view ranch

References

  1. ↑ "Fact Sheet." Trend Micro, Inc.. Retrieved on September 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Fact Sheet." La Quinta Inns & Suites. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ Hethcock, Bill. "Large ad agency cites area's vibrancy in decision to return." Dallas Business Journal. December 9, 2007. p. 2. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  6. ↑ Las Colinas Country Club
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1
  8. ↑ "Aerial Map." (Picture) Las Colinas. Retrieved on November 30, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Las Colinas Elementary Attendance Area." Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District at Scribd. Retrieved on November 30, 2011.
  10. ↑ "La Villita Elementary Attendance Area." Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District at Scribd. Retrieved on November 30, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Campus Histories." Carrollton-Farmers Branch Elementary School. Retrieved on November 29, 2011.

External links