The nationally-based LandDesign has been named the landscape architect for the Park Heritage portion of the Dallas Midtown development, which will turn a former mall in the city into a new, centrally-located mixed-use community. Park Heritage, designed in conjunction with architecture firms 505 Design and OMNIPLAN, will include 1.8 million square feet of office space, 600 multi-family residential units, a boutique hotel, 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and a 3-acre park.
Dallas Midtown is a 430-acre redevelopment of the former Valley View Mall site. Park Heritage will take the place of the former Sears store and is the first phase of the $3 billion project. Owned by Seritage Growth Properties and developer KDC, the first phase will convert 25 of the 430 acres into a residential mixed-use community. The development off Preston Road and the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway will be the first new office space on the major commuter artery in the last 30 years.
LandDesign, a firm currently working on over a dozen mall redesigns across the country, aims to transform the site into a vibrant community with a balance of open green space and pedestrian walkways that connect green roof shade structure, seating, and garden spaces.
Brent Martin, partner and landscape architect at LandDesign, said the design reduces the footprint of the existing vehicle corridor to create a new urban setting.
“The site is located just off the LBJ Freeway, a major commuter artery,” said Martin in a press release, “so we had to be sensitive to Dallas-area transportation needs even as we maximize the green space and devote more room to parks and pathways activating the site and carrying foot traffic toward retailers.”
The master plan of Park Heritage was completed by the Dallas-based OMNIPLAN and is designed to both integrate the miniature “neighborhood” into Midtown and to function on its own.
“Pedestrian design is key to making the mix of office, residential, hotel, retail and entertainment uses complement one another, instead of compete,” OMNIPLAN told AN over email. “The pedestrian aspect permeates throughout the project so each building—no matter the use—flows down into a central park, which is the heart of the development.”
Heth Kendrick, principal at LandDesign, credits the park as the transformative concept that turns the development into a community.
“Our mission is creating places that matter, where people come together for work, play, and celebration,” Kendrick said in a press release. “Helping to realize this vision for Park Heritage is very rewarding for us as designers and as members of the Dallas metro community.”
