Preston Hollow high-rises okayed despite resident concerns

A lot of people who live in Dallas's Preston Hollow crowded into the City Hall today to oppose an $800 million high-rise development at the corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. Fox 4's Lori Brown is at City Hall as well. And Lori, a vote just came down on all that happened today, finally coming in on After Hours. Tell us what happened. Steve, the vote happened just minutes ago, and Dallas City Council members voted 9-6 in favor of this proposed high-rise luxury apartment, hotel, and condo development. Now, this proposal came with intense opposition from many residents who spent more than two and a half hours in public comment. The vast majority were against it. This proposal, Councilman Bill Roth said that he had concerns that this could set a precedent when it comes to high-rise developments throughout the rest of the city. These are the renderings of what the high-rises would look like at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. The developers are proposing a 19-story hotel and condo tower and an 18-story apartment tower. Current zoning only allows for five stories in the area. Preserve Preston Hollow, a non-profit formed by residents in opposition, have posted signs opposing skyscrapers and rezoning. In addition to height, residents are concerned about traffic density and public safety impacts. The developers have owned the site since 2017. It was damaged by a tornado in 2019. City staff recommended approval of the development, saying it is consistent with Forward Dallas 2.0. At the proposed height, I will no longer have morning sun again. This is emotional because this is my home. An excessive development that is too tall would severely impact my home and quality of life. Every day we would have to contend with excessive traffic, shadow in the morning, glare in the afternoon, light pollution at night. And the resulting damage to our property. When I learned about this project, I was delighted. I thought, I can still live in my neighborhood. And my new husband and I, we can just go down to one car. Because I can walk everywhere I go. I can walk to the post office. I can walk to Tom Thumb. I can walk to restaurants. And if this area, if this project can beautify the crosswalks, maybe do a beautiful crosswalk to Jamestown, then I can ride my bike to the North Haven Trail. Developer Leland Burke originally proposed a 28-story hotel and condo tower. Burke reduced the height twice, but Preston Hollow residents remain opposed to the two towers that they say are out of scale with the area. Dallas City Councilman Bill Roth earlier had proposed a compromise solution that would have lowered the towers down to 12 stories, but that proposal also failed 9 to 6. Steve. Hey, Lori, quick question. This looks pretty upscale, right? These apartments and condos will be very expensive, I assume. Right. This is not helping with the affordability. There were people talking about the need for more housing in Dallas, but these are luxury. They're going to be pricey.