Gateway Planning to present plans for Heritage Crossing to Council

Written by Phil Cerroni

By Amanda Casanova

The consultant hired to help the City redevelop Heritage Crossing will make a presentation to the public on Feb. 28.

Most recently, the Irving City Council voted to approve the sale of about 20 acres of residential land in the Heritage Crossing area in hopes that contractors purchasing the land will spur development in the downtown district and give life to a long dormant plan to jumpstart Heritage Crossing.

The consultant, Gateway Planning, will make recommendations to the City after spending about 60 days gathering public input and researching the area. The City Council will then hire a developer to oversee any approved projects. Scott Polikov, company’s president, has said he hopes Gateway Planning will be hired for the work.

"Heritage Crossing offers as much potential for a vibrant urban neighborhood as any location you've seen in the Metroplex," Polikov said at a meeting in January. "We hope to attract quality developers both inside and outside the city who are embraced by the neighborhoods."

The company has helped to overturn downtown areas in McKinney, Roanoke and Duncanville.

In McKinney, Gateway Planning helped develop a revitalized downtown area with transit-oriented plans, new businesses and better parking. In 2010, McKinney was named by Yahoo! Real Estate as the fifth best place to live in America largely because of its “gem of a downtown,” the article read.

Some Irving citizens have said they are worried about another plan to revive Heritage Crossing. The City of Irving has seen hopeful plans for the area in the past.

In 2008, developer Delbert McDougal released plans to gut Heritage Crossing and revamp it with new offices, parking garages and apartments. The plan never gained support from the public and last year, the City cut ties with the developer.

Gateway Planning will make its presentation at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 at City Hall.