FARMERS BRANCH, TX — The City of Farmers Branch, Texas has selected global design firm Stantec to develop a comprehensive plan for the redevelopment and revitalization of the city. The plan will support the city’s efforts to advance its environmental, economic, and social progress. This will include emphasizing the reuse or redevelopment of existing structures, outlining mobility and complete streets strategies, and promoting equitable and diverse housing choices.

Farmers Branch, like many inner-ring suburbs, faces a variety of challenges in continuing to grow and thrive in the competitive Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. As the city reaches the limits on available land that can be developed, the success of the area depends on calculated land redevelopment, preservation of the unique character of Farmers Branch, and repurposing existing infrastructure to meet new needs. Beyond the immediate actions, the updated comprehensive plan will serve as a framework to guide future long-term development and redevelopment efforts.

The plan includes a heavy emphasis on closing housing gaps and developing ways to increase equity in housing to create opportunities for those who work in the city to be able to also afford to live there. This includes efforts to ensure an array of living options for every stage of life. In addition, the Stantec team will outline new complete street strategies to improve mobility for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians throughout the city while increasing safety.

“Closing the housing gaps and increasing mobility throughout the city is crucial to improving residents’ lives. A key part of our work will focus on engaging the community and making sure their voices are reflected in our work,” said Peer Chacko, Planning and Urban Design Lead for the Texas region at Stantec. “Our team is devoted to ensuring residents are an active part of the Farmers Branch redevelopment plan, as our goal is for the tactics outlined in the plan to respond to the community’s needs.”

To ensure the entire Farmers Branch community is represented in the plan, the Stantec team will execute an extensive, tailored, and targeted engagement strategy with efforts to receive feedback from populations commonly overlooked. The engagement plan will include a combination of online and in-person participation opportunities during each project phase and will seek to engage people where they are through pop-up presence at popular community events. This will include a Community Ambassador program and engagement activities that pay special attention to Farmers Branch’s demographic diversity, providing for bilingual/Spanish language engagement as needed.

Stantec has a history of developing master plans in Texas, having implemented projects for more than 100 Texas communities. Recently, the firm completed the North Shore and Channelview Community Plans in Harris County, Texas. Stantec is in the final stages of developing plans for Downtown Allen and Downtown Prosper as well as comprehensive plan updates for The Colony and Del Rio. The firm also recently began work on the Downtown-Uptown Plan for El Paso, Texas and the Downtown Area Master Plan for the City of Pleasanton, Texas, working to ensure future enhancements align with the community’s vision and needs.