News
I-35 Flying High
November 1, 2010
| The Alliance Air Show brought more than Blue Angels last week. It would seem real angels bestowed their blessings upon Tarrant and Denton counties, when the Texas Transportation Commission approved $165M for I-35 improvements, Hillwood prez Mike Berry told us from the air exhibition Saturday. | |
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| Mike (right, with Northlake Mayor Peter Dewing) tells us the move will provide funding for I-35W from downtown Fort Worth to US Hwy. 287:?It will be a huge reliever for congestion and sets the stage as it goes through Northlake, too.? With a price tag of $2B, he says the project may start early work in 2011 with a targeted completion of 2017. "That's the rub," he adds. "I want it done now." | |
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| We tested our photography skills capturing the feature performance: the Blue Angels. Peter told us Valero recently opened a new North Texas prototype fuel station, and Motel 6 opened the nation's first LEED certified economy motel in North America a few months ago. Developed by Realty Capital Corp., the 2,300-home master-planned Belmont development began moving forward there, too. Mike adds that Alliance is in the midst of an expansion for General Mills and is finishing a new Kroger and adding more retail tenants in Alliance Town Center. Two or three industrial deals are brewing, Mike says, but aren't yet ready for disclosure. ?We're filling the holes and once we fill those buildings, we'll start drawing up some plans for new construction,? he tells us. Plans may be drawn up as soon as mid-year 2011, with construction starting by end of next year. | |
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| On Friday, the former chairman of the DFW International Airport board (and founder/prez of the Frontiers of Flight Museum) Jan Collmer took us up for the ride of our life in the Fina Extra 300L. We can now say we've done a knife edge, four- and eight-point rolls, and the barnstormer?s loop. The former US Navy fighter pilot and businessman is mostly retired, spending his time performing at air shows. Here's a sample of the ride. Don't forget your parachute. Luckily, we didn't need ours. | |
