[austlar1]

With any kind of economic recovery as part of the equation, the Highland Mall area becomes one of the great real estate development plays in Texas over the next 10 or 15 years. To insist that Highland Mall is not well located is akin to saying there is no sun up in the sky. It is at the heart of the local highway system but far enough away from the highway noise and congestion to be attractive for any kind of development. There is not likely to be much in the way of opposition to dense redevelopment of the site because there are no residential areas on three out of four sides of the site.

Finally, Airport Blvd between Mueller and Lamar will likely emerge over this same period as more of an urban boulevard and less like a highway. There are already signs that this is starting to happen at various spots along this route.

Development at Highland Mall, Mueller, and the Concordia site should serve to bulk up the urban core. Hopefully the mall will shutter itself soon enough and be demolished. That will free up the space for imaginative redevelopment. One possibility might be a medical center with hospital and medical school along with some other residential and office projects, perhaps some kind of private/public partnership Over time it would produce lots and lots of employment and encourage other nearby development, most likely along Airport Blvd. and in Lincloln Village, which is underutilized and sits between Highland and IH35. I am enough of a dreamer to imagine that one day this whole core from downtown to Highland can be linked by rail along or near IH35and fan out to various parts of the metro area.