Southlake Council to Weigh 357-Unit Senior Community on Carroll ISD and Gateway Church Land

A plan to build a 357-unit senior living community on land owned by Carroll ISD and Gateway Church is headed to the Southlake City Council. The council is expected to vote in November. That vote has not happened yet, and nothing here is final.

The Southlake Planning and Zoning Commission approved the zoning change, the site plan and changes to the city's future land use plan at its Oct. 8 meeting, Community Impact reported. The 17.6-acre site sits at the southeast corner of North Carroll Avenue and East Highland Street.

What is proposed

The community would be developed, owned and operated by Touchmark, a company with 18 facilities in the United States and Canada. According to the city, the 357 units would include independent living, assisted living and memory care.

Residents would have to be at least 62. Touchmark's own data puts the average resident age across its communities closer to 85.

The plan includes:

• 8 acres of open space

• An underground parking garage

• 419 parking spaces in all

Kendra Lackey, Touchmark's president of development and construction, said older adults tend not to drive very often.

The city says the zoning ordinance would bar the community from being turned into apartments, and any change would take council action. The assisted living and memory care suites are not dwelling units and could not be used as apartments.

Part of Southlake with Lake Grapevine behind it, seen from a plane in December 2013. Photo: Fredlyfish4 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Neighbors split

Residents spoke both for and against the plan. Most of the worry was about the number of units and the traffic they could bring.

"I have never seen our town be okay with such density," resident Laurie Schneider said.

Roxann Taylor, whom Carroll ISD hired to market the property, argued the development would bring property taxes and give older residents somewhere to go.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to live in my own home," Taylor said. "And there's very few places for us to move to if we still want a Southlake mailing address and we enjoy living in Southlake."

Clearing up rumors

The plan has drawn its share of talk around town. On Oct. 1, Mayor Shawn McCaskill posted on Facebook to knock down a rumor that the land would automatically be sold to a religious institution if the Touchmark deal fell through.

"There is not any 'backup contract' between Carroll ISD and any religious institution," McCaskill wrote. "If the Touchmark deal falls through, CISD will continue to own the property, and CISD will make the decision on whether to sell that property and to whom."

At the school board's Oct. 5 meeting, board President Cameron Bryan blamed "fabricated misinformation" about what would happen if the council says no. He said the board could keep the land for now, or put it back on the market and seek new offers.

A district selling what it does not use

The land is part of a larger effort. Bryan said at the board's Sept. 28 meeting that Carroll ISD is looking at selling other property it no longer uses. Old Dragon Stadium has already been sold to the city and is set to become a park that keeps the field, and the money was invested in the Texas CLASS government pool.

According to the report:

• The former CIS building is under contract and will likely close before the end of December.

• A tract next to Old Union Elementary is under contract and is expected to close in four to six months.

• The Durham Intermediate School property will likely be under contract by the end of October.

"By responsibly disposing of surplus property we can convert an underutilized asset into financial resources for the district without raising the tax rate simply to generate those resources," Bryan said.

Our view

A school district that sells land it does not need, instead of reaching deeper into taxpayers' pockets, is doing what a good steward should. Scripture tells us to honor our fathers and mothers, and that includes making room for them to grow old near the families and churches they love.

The neighbors' worries about density and traffic are fair, too. In our view, 357 units is a big number for a 17.6-acre corner. The council should weigh both sides in the open and hold Touchmark to its promises on parking and on never turning this into apartments.

Nearby, Roanoke is weighing its own question about apartments on Oak Street, and Keller ISD voters face five bond propositions on Nov. 3.