By JESSICA DeLE"N
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
KELLER -- Keller will soon have a place where people can live and shop in a single area.
Developers will break ground today on the Arthouse, a $26 million, 5.6-acre project that will feature stores and loft-style apartments in Town Center off Keller Parkway.
When completed -- May 2007 is the target date -- the Arthouse will be within walking distance of another shopping center and Town Hall. If approved by voters May 13, a new $7.6 million library would be completed nearby.
"It's going to put a new look to the entire Town Center," said Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Holmes.
The complex will have three buildings on the property perimeter, with stores on the first floor, single-level apartments on the second and third floors, and loft-style apartments on the fourth floor.
The building on the north side, which is closest to the existing shopping center, will have retail stores. The other two buildings are earmarked for smaller businesses, such as those that entrepreneurs might operate out of their homes, said Joe Petersen, a consultant with the project's owner and developer, Franklin, Tenn.-based Southern Land Co.
No store operators have committed to the project, although the company is in discussions with a handful, Petersen said. Southern Land would like to attract galleries in which visitors can see art being created, as well as boutiques, home accessory stores and jewelry stores.
"It's a place you can walk and spend a Saturday having fun," Petersen said.
The other major component will be 13 separate structures with loft-style apartments called the Artists' Enclave. The units will feature parking on the first floor, living space on the second floor and a bedroom on the third floor. The apartments should appeal to single professionals and couples without children, Petersen said.
"This new market really responds well to the creative living environment," Petersen said.
Developers named the Arthouse in recognition of Keller's focus on art, Petersen said. The architecture combines contemporary design with historical Texas building materials, such as stone and brick. The three main buildings will have glass corner structures. The Artists' Enclave will include a sculpture garden.
Petersen hopes a performing arts theater can find a home either in Town Center or nearby. A bandstand near the Artists' Enclave would accommodate special events.
"In any development, you search for an image or identity that will make the development better," said Petersen, adding that the project mirrors similar mixed-use developments in downtown Dallas and Fort Worth.
John Baker, chairman of the Keller Public Arts Board, said he appreciates the project's design elements.
"It allows Keller to create an identity within the community around here," Baker said.
The project will be a part of Keller's tax increment financing district, in which the city uses property taxes within the district to pay for public projects, such as Town Hall.
Southern Land received several incentives from the city, including a waiver on about $110,000 in inspection fees, the deferment of $250,000 in impact fees that will be paid over six years with a 2 percent interest rate each year, and sales tax rebates for products sold by merchants over three years. The rebates, which apply only to the city's 1 percent sales tax rate, will be 90 percent in the first year, 80 percent in the second year and 60 percent in the third year.
But the project will add $26 million to the city's finance district by the end of 2007.
The developers have already contributed to Keller, spending $10,000 to become a title sponsor for the city's art show in October.
This article contains material from Star-Telegram archives. Go to Online Article
ONLINE: www.arthousekeller.com, www.cityofkeller.com