Dallas set its sights on transforming a former U.S. Naval Air Station into a mixed-use residential community, but city leaders say they can’t move forward until the Navy cleans up the site.
More than 6,500 homes are planned for the 700-acre Hensley Field, a master-planned initiative that former District 3 Councilman Casey Thomas called his “legacy project.”
The only thing standing in the way is environmental remediation.
Legal Battles With The U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy leased the property at the border of Dallas and Grand Prairie from the City of Dallas in 1949 to operate Naval Air Station Dallas. They closed the base 50 years later and returned the property to the city.
At that time, environmental contamination existed, “consistent with other U.S. military installations,” according to the city.
The city filed suit in 2001 and reached a settlement the following year, which mandated the U.S. Navy complete environmental remediation by 2017.
“That deadline was not met,” according to city officials. “While the Navy has made progress and continues to work with the City, the Navy must fulfill its obligation to complete the remediation.”
Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced earlier this month that the city is again taking legal action, nudging the U.S. Navy to finish what it started.
While legal proceedings are ongoing, the city will continue negotiations with the U.S. Navy, Dallas officials said in a press release issued Aug. 2.
“We appreciate all of the U.S. Navy’s efforts to remediate the site for the past 20 years,” Broadnax said. “We are confident that we can reach an agreement on the final phase of the project that ensures Hensley Field can be safely developed into a premier community offering mixed-income housing, recreation, commercial space, and more. We will continue these productive discussions with the U.S. Navy and remain focused on reaching a consensual agreement.”
When asked for a statement, U.S. Navy Public Affairs Officer R. Bill Franklin told daltxrealestate.com, “The Navy does not comment on matters of pending litigation.”
Hensley Field Master Plan
In addition to much-needed housing, the Hensley Field Master Plan calls for restaurants, entertainment venues, and a marina on the adjacent Mountain Creek Lake.
“We have an opportunity to make something beautiful at this location,” former Councilman Thomas said during a December council meeting. “It’s almost like a blank canvas.”
The master plan calls for:
- A Walkable, Mixed-Use Community with over 3.7 million square feet of commercial and institutional uses and 6,800 residential units.
- An Interconnected Network of Open Spaces comprising more than 25 percent of the site area and placing every resident within a five-minute walk of a park or public space.
- A Strong Orientation to Mountain Creek Lake, introducing waterfront trails, a new marina, and water-oriented recreational uses that reinforce the destination appeal of the site.
- Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of key buildings and facilities, and interpretive site elements that celebrate the military and pre-military heritage of the site.
- A Multi-Modal Transportation System with links to Dallas’ high-capacity transit network, provision of protected bikeways, slow mobility corridors, and a strong pedestrian orientation.
- Net-Zero Construction and the Maximization of Renewable Energy Sources including the creation of a 40-acre Innovation Village on the Runway Peninsula, demonstrating state-of-the-art technologies and sustainability practices.
- A Diversity of Housing Choices in a Mixed-Income Community with a complete range of housing types, 30 percent of which will provide for long-term affordability to qualified applicants.
The legal proceedings are necessary to move forward with the plan for sustainable urban systems, a diverse mix of land uses, and the creation of thousands of jobs, city officials said.
“The City’s master redevelopment plan for the Hensley Field property, prepared at the Navy’s request, seeks to use the site as a catalyst toward our community’s objectives of economic recovery, social equity, and environmental sustainability,” city officials said. “The aim of these legal proceedings is to preserve the City’s rights while working with the Navy to come to an amicable resolution …”
