Dallas International District illustrative vision. Courtesy of City of Dallas.

The Valley View-Galleria area is planned to become the Dallas International District, a live-work-play community.

About 445 acres make up this space, located north of the LBJ Freeway. It’s bounded on the west by the Dallas North Tollway and on the east by Preston Road, and it extends just north of Alpha Road.

The Dallas City Council’s Economic Development Committee advanced the public-private initiative, which will result in the establishment of  a 20-acre public park; office, retail and entertainment spaces; mixed housing choices; and the redevelopment of Montfort Drive from LBJ to Alpha Road to reduce traffic to four lanes, improve walkability and add bike lanes. The district will be pedestrian friendly and eventually will be linked to the DART light rail network.

Another part of this project is the Pre-K-12 International District STEAM Academy. Dallas ISD is collaborating with the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and Texas A&M University-Commerce for this school, which will be a 50-50 transformation school, meaning half of the students will be classified as economically disadvantaged.

City Council District 11 has already opened its office at the Prism Center, which was acquired by the City of Dallas and is located in the International District.

“The International District is a wonderful opportunity to boost our city’s presence on the global stage while also transforming an underutilized area into an amazing gathering place that all of our residents can enjoy,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a press release.

The public park, currently called “The Commons at the International District,” is the center of the development. Dallas voters approved a $1.05 billion general obligation bond program in November 2017, and of that, $6 million was allocated to the park, conditioned upon a $6 million match of private grants or donations.

To learn more about plans for the Dallas International District, view the briefing packet here.

Funding 

The City of Dallas, property owners, developers, businesses, private foundations and individuals are paying for this district.

Some tools, such as the Mall Area Redevelopment TIF District, are already in place. But other sources, such as federal funding, state funding, private philanthropy and nonprofits, are expected to be leveraged.

Progress

In the past three years, three apartment developments with 954 units and a dual-branded 256-key hotel, the AC Hotel and Residence Inn by Marriott, have been constructed. A 398-unit luxury apartment development is being built right now.

The City Council authorized a $4.5 million contract for the Montfort Drive project in June 2021, and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The three primary owners/developers of the former Valley View mall site are working to construct an off-site wastewater improvement that will be needed to serve the development. This is expected to be finished in spring 2022.