Rowlett staff outlines downtown upgrades, shared DART parking deal brought for council consideration

City officials described a series of small but visible improvements and next-step policy proposals aimed at reviving Downtown Rowlett and increasing foot traffic.

Britney Farr, Rowlett’s director of economic and community engagement, told the City Council the work over the last 12 to 18 months focused on “foundational” items — aesthetics, infrastructure and events — and that staff will bring a shared-parking agreement with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to the council for formal consideration at the next meeting.

The shared-parking proposal would allow public use and city marketing of all 750 parking spaces at the Downtown Rowlett light-rail station, Farr said; staff recommended the arrangement as a lower-cost alternative to constructing a downtown parking garage. Farr illustrated the proximity, telling the council the walk from the DART station to the downtown core is approximately 715 feet, shorter than walking from practical parking at local big-box stores back to their entrances.

Why it matters: Staff framed the package as a way to remove a major barrier — parking — that staff and downtown stakeholders say has suppressed business and event turnout. The DART agreement, if approved, would effectively add hundreds of spaces for downtown visitors without constructing a new garage or using valuable downtown land.

Major components and near-term items - Parking and transit: Farr said the DART agreement will be presented for council action “tomorrow” and would allow marketing of the 750-space lot for downtown use. Staff argued this is cost-efficient compared with local examples referenced in the presentation (Farr cited a nearby city’s recent $26 million garage for roughly 50 spaces as a point of comparison). Farr also described using public-transportation investment funds to support transit‑oriented development in the downtown area. - Policy and incentives: Staff said they will present revisions to the Economic Development Incentive Policy for council consideration. Two items Farr highlighted: a grease‑trap rebate (a matching payment of up to $7,500 to support new or upgraded restaurant grease traps) and a new downtown façade grant (50% match, up to $5,000 for eligible downtown‑core businesses). - Zoning/code work: Farr said Community Development is updating the city’s form‑based code (last revised 2013) and will bring a progress update at the next meeting. - Aesthetics and infrastructure already implemented: examples listed by staff included pressure washing, tree care, fresh paint on light poles and the Veterans Park pergola, planted medians and hanging planters, irrigation repairs, and 18 new electrical outlets in the Downtown Green. Farr said staff also installed multicolor string lights and repaired the municipal complex sign. - Events and placemaking: Staff said they reworked event programming (for example combining farmers markets with a concert series) and piloted an ice rink that attracted about 8,000 visitors. Farr reported measurable increases in downtown visitor numbers: an 18% rise since 2018, about 13,000 additional visitors in 2024 overall, and an estimated 25,500 visitors in December 2024 alone. - Real estate and private projects: Farr named several private developments and prospects, including a 29‑unit condo project called Skyview (rebranded as “Oasis” in the presentation) with about 3,500 square feet of ground‑floor retail, a HUB shared‑work space across Main Street, and a proposed 45,000‑square‑foot commercial project near President George Bush Turnpike. - Visitor tracking: Staff said the city uses Placer.ai to estimate downtown visitors, defining a “visitor” as a device dwell time of seven minutes or more. Farr acknowledged the measure undercounts children and others without phones and noted Placer.ai provides rolling data back to 2018.

Council and staff context City Manager Hall and Council members asked for data breakdowns, and Council members offered design preferences during a facilitated “enhancement ranking” exercise (lighting, seating and branding were the top three council priorities by the ranking the presentation captured). Farr said staff would return in March with refined design options and a public open house, and hoped to deliver a final enhancements approval package by May.

A staff action to be considered: The DART shared‑parking agreement will be presented to the council at the next regular meeting; staff characterized that as a staff recommendation for council approval rather than a concluded decision at the work session.

Ending: Staff left the council with a timeline: refine options from the workshop, solicit broader public feedback, then bring a proposed enhancements package back to council for approval in the spring.

Quotations appearing in this article are taken from the Feb. 3 Rowlett City Council work session transcript and are attributed to speakers listed in the article’s speaker section.