We Want A Hip Downtown Too

Chanting, "Hey why should we have to drive to Dallas or Fort Worth to eat at hip restaurants in restored buildings?" The City of Arlington appears ready to adopt far-ranging design standards for it's downtown. The ordinance, six years in the making, covers everything from parking, landscaping, open space, building design and materials. The city, which just a few years ago bulldozed several old downtown buildings to construct its current city hall says the standards will promote revitalization and encourage pedestrian-friendly development in the downtown area. 3 city bureaucrats have been working full-time on the regulations. Exactly how 250 pages of new rules is going to spur development is not clear. What is so funny is that for years Arlington prided itself on being the epitome of a suburban community. The rumors that Tom Vandergriff himself coined the phrase, "bedroom community" cannot be confirmed. But after decades of promoting itself as the sanitized alternative to the urban areas of Dallas and Fort Worth, Arlington appears ready to join the growing list of metroplex cities boasting Disney-like downtowns.