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Twilight Plaza rezoning approved to add neighborhood-serving shops and cafes; owners promise modest tenant mix and screening
Summary
Council unanimously approved ZF25-19 to rezone Twilight Plaza (508 Twilight Trail) from OM Office to PD, allowing additional neighborhood retail and personal-service uses while keeping the existing site footprint and a minimum of 116 parking spaces; owners said they target small cafés and wellness uses rather than intensive restaurants.
The Richardson City Council voted unanimously to rezone 508 Twilight Trail (Twilight Plaza) from OM Office to a Planned Development (ZF25-19), clearing the way for a broader set of neighborhood-serving commercial uses while keeping the property’s existing two one-story buildings and minimum parking configuration intact.
Senior planner Derek Peters told council the 2.39-acre site contains roughly 26,500 square feet of building area and 116 on-site parking spaces; the applicant requested about ten additional retail and personal-service uses and a flexible parking approach that would maintain 116 spaces as a site minimum rather than applying each use’s individual parking formula. The applicant also requested not to replace existing wooden dumpster screening with a masonry wall.
Taylor Pardue, representing Twilight Plaza’s owners, said the property is about 48% occupied and that rezoning would allow walkable neighborhood uses such as a small café, wellness center, light retail and arts uses. "We are targeting a modest list of added uses that we hope drive neighborhood engagement," Pardue said. He and other owners said they had conducted outreach with the Heights Park Neighborhood Association and the YMCA and that they would add landscape screening and opaque dumpster gates.
Councilmembers asked whether the site could support intensive restaurants and raised concerns about trash and traffic on YMCA game days. The applicant said a full-service, high-volume restaurant would be difficult to operate given parking and site characteristics and that the owner’s preference is for café-style, low-footprint tenants. Two members of the neighborhood — Jeff Davis (Heights Park Neighborhood Association president) and local broker Dan Washburn — spoke in support, saying a walkable plaza would benefit the area and property values.
The motion to approve was made by Mayor Pro Tem (transcript name variants) and seconded by Councilmember Murfin; the vote was unanimous. Staff noted the City Plan Commission had recommended approval 6–1.
Why it matters: the rezoning converts underused office space into a potential neighborhood retail destination, aligning with city plans for mixed-use corridors and neighborhood-serving amenities while prompting questions about parking, trash management and activity on event days at nearby YMCA.
