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 and Love Field 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
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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 (49Â 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 after a real estate market crash.
However, another 6,500,000 square feet (604,000Â m2) of office space was built in the late 1990s boom. Residential real estate prices also rose steadily.
Recently
With 25,000,000 sq ft (2,300,000 m2) of office space, nearly equivalent to the Dallas CBD, Las Colinas is 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 and La Quinta Inns and Suites. In 1999. La Quinta announced it would move its headquarters from San Antonio, stating it wanted to be near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. It is also the home to The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show and ESPN Dallas. FOX News also tapes from the FOX News Texas Studios 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 Financial, Infor, PLH Group, Microsoft, NEC America, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Oracle, TheBlaze, Accenture, Stellar, Verizon, Zale Corporation, Vizient, Inc., Cortland Partners, PNM Resources, Inc., First Choice Power, Westwood One, TRT Holdings, Inc., and Flowserve. In 2008 TXU Energy moved offices into the former TM Advertising headquarters in Las Colinas.
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. 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 Mustangs of Las Colinas are featured in the courtyard of the Towers at Williams Square, where another ClubCorp Property, La Cima Club, is located. 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 (2,072,000Â m2) of office space, 1,300,000 square feet (121,000Â m2) of retail, and 3,400 single-family homes. A 40-acre (160,000Â m2) tract in Las Colinas is also home to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.
Local schools 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 in Las Colinas. North Hills Preparatory is an International Baccalaureate school and has been ranked as a top 20 school in America by Newsweek.
Glenn Beck's independent news and entertainment television network, TheBlaze, has its largest studio complex based in Las Colinas.
In September 2017, live music venue Pavilion at the Music Factory is expected to open.
Climate
Las Colinas is considered to be part of the humid subtropical region.
Transportation
Irving is within the 13 service areas of the Dallas region's transit agency, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Irving is served by numerous bus routes and the North Irving Transit Center serves 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 the date was 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 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. by the Las Colinas APT System, a unique people mover that links the Las Colinas Urban Center's businesses and entertainment areas. A bridge at the DART Las Colinas Urban Center Station connects to the APT.
Education
Some portions of Las Colinas are within the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. Some residents are zoned to Las Colinas Elementary School. Another portion is zoned to La Villita Elementary School.
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.
North Hills Preparatory, an Uplift Education charter school is in Las Colinas. Uplift North Hills Preparatory is a Kâ€"12 continuum International Baccalaureate school and has been ranked as a top 20 school in America by Newsweek.
Attractions
- Irving Music Factory
- Las Colinas Flower Clock
- Lake Carolyn
- Mandalay Canal
- Mustangs at Las Colinas
Neighborhoods
See also
- Dallas-Fort Worth portal
References
External links
- Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau
- City of Irving, Texas
- Irving - Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce
- Online Community of Las Colinas
