An empty Venice-inspired canal and an abandoned automated people mover, stuck in the middle of Dallas suburban sprawl. This is the story of Las Colinas.
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Sources:
http://www.jtbell.net/transit/Irving/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/02/14/las-colinas-apt-system-sees-new-riders-with-dart-connection/
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2017/11/02/water-street-project-brings-lakeside-living-and-retail-to-las-colinas/
https://archive.org/details/APT_Connection_to_DART_Opens
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/curious-texas/2021/04/28/where-does-the-water-in-the-las-colinas-canals-come-from-curious-texas-investigates/
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2022/07/22/las-colinas-urban-center-was-planned-to-rival-downtown-dallas/
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2023/03/24/in-50-years-las-colinas-goes-from-family-ranch-to-bigger-jobs-hub-than-downtown-dallas/
https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2009-11-19/what-can-we-learn-from-las-colinas
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/paradise-lost-2/
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I have worked at our office in Las Colinas a few times over the past few years, but I was not even aware of the canals or the train system!
As with all things that folks do is feel that they can get millions from folks. This area was way overpriced for its time. So was the surrounding area. Not to mention the unstable ground that most of the homes & buildings were built. Just a few miles north of this place a little sleepy town folks could buy a home for 300% less & have many of the same amenities. The same goes for being just across the street from the divider where homes were half their price. Greed & red tape destroyed this place.
Las Colinas was started in the north end of the town of Irving.
Mr Carpenter wanted to build a world class city? – town? – Community on what was an area of rolling hills, Mesquite trees – pastureland. There was little building in that area because it was very hilly and the ground was sandy, a hundred feet deep sand. No Bedrock until you went very, very deep.
Any concrete or pavement laid on that ground shifted. Badly. Still does.
At the time – early 60s, Irving was dry.
Carpenter wanted to serve liquor in his world class restaurants, so he kept having Liquor by the drink put to a ballot. It always lost. Every church in town campaigned against it.
Irving was surrounded by "Wet" towns and most people were never more than a few miles from a package store, so they figured – "What's the problem?"
According to the popular meme, Carpenter said – "If the people of Irving won't vote for it, I'll build enough apartments to move enough young people in to get it passed."
And he did.
And they did.
And now you can buy any booze you want anywhere in Irving.
So, Carpenter was a Visionary, a Mover and Shaker, a 'Builder of Dreams'.
And he's one of the reasons for the empty beer bottles in my front yard on a Sunday morning, the Liquor stores where an auto parts used to be, the empty pint whiskey bottles on the roadsides.
And Irving is less like Mayberry than it used to be.
Progress?
l knew a parks and wildlife officer that used to feed the fish in Lake Carolyn in Las Colinas. They stocked the lake in the early 70s with a huge variety of fish believing there would be a certain amount of die off and some fishing to keep the population in check. Fishing is illegal there now but l know someone that still will occasionally drop a line. There are GIANT fish in there.
I worked at Las Colinas for a short time. Little hints of the canal but never saw it like that. Rode on the tram once and it breaks my heart the fact they shut it down. They need to redevelop it and expanded because it would really kick off these days
I’m sure it will come back it to many people moving down here
I lived in Las Colinas and I just have to say it was such an amazing place to live. The whole development seemed like an experiment. And in my opinion it works! I love the canals. Sadly when I lived there the APT was no longer operating. But I could envision a future where the canals and the APT see more foot traffic. I also have to mention that if you are driving, you won’t know the canals are there. I dream of moving back to Las Colinas in the future.
real estate fraud. certainly those companies were hubs of criminal activity.
They can use chemicals to make that water look crystal clear like a swimming pool, like the Santa Lucía promenade in Monterrey Nuevo León, that would be more attractive. https://youtu.be/K8cHwy67jJw
What a neat place.
Wow learn something new everyday
Wow learn something new everyday
Dallas’s?! Haha
I'm sure it has the potential to regain its possibilities. In recent years I have been out there more for business and see more activity than in the past (pre-pandemic) so hopefully its day is yet to come.
I’ll say this. The quality of tech workers in Las Colinas has to be number 1 in the state of Texas.
Popular Venice but likely San Antonio Oklahoma City also has a rip off riverwalk and this is also in Irving
Can’t copy San Antonio
I worked in Las Colinas for just over 10 years, my then girlfriend lived in an apartment at Eastshore on Lake Carolyn Apartments, kind of a cool place but only a couple of restaurants stayed open at night.
Great video, really surprised to hear this was your first effort. Would love to see the residential area thrive and drive more retail and restaurants.
So this is why Irving feels so….unfinished!
This is your first YT video? NICE WORK!
Obviously the auto industry ruin public transportation.
One time I was taking pictures of the mustang sculpture and security came flying out of the A/C and told me NO PICTURES ALLOWED – THE MUSTANGS ARE COPYRIGHTED. Never been back…
I loved going to Las Colinas, my Son enjoyed the Mustangs
Speak slower, so you can say expensive instead of offensive.
I lived in the area for a year. I've always found the canal and the surrounding buildings peculiar. They had details of classical artecture here and there, but as a whole there's some dissonance and felt out of place. It never stopped me from being fascinated by it, though. I enjoyed walking along it, and exploring the deserted stations. The whole thing had a sweet sence of desolation to it.
Thank you for making this documentary. Now at least I know why it has come this way.
When we first moved to DFW, we lived in Irving. We'd go over and walk around Las Colinas all the time. I would have loved to seen it with the water taxis and tram in full operation.
I worked in Los Colinas for a few months in 1983 when the FHLB initially moved there. At that time there were still cows and horses wandering around in some areas. Dallas area real estate was too expensive in those days so I didn't stay.
I think the problem is that its too "unnatural". The man made lake, canals, public transit, its all like almost a mockup or prototype of an urban environment. That being said, its not necessarily wasted, it may just need more investment and expansion. It may be ahead of its time, or it may be too contrary to whats already established.
I think one of the traps of urban living is the notion that it needs to be really dense. Instead of normal sized housing, its really compact. I wish this weren't the case. Its really off putting. Public transportation and urban living are associated with crowded conditions, it would be far more appealing if that wasn't the case.
This video hooked me up. I love learning about these type of topics, forgotten projects, abandoned places, architectural facts!
It is so funny watching so many people that say they live in Las Colinas never realize that Las Colinas is not a city. It's Irving, Texas. That is why you can't find it on a map. If your address says Las Colinas it's wrong. The post office is just humoring you. It was fun explaining that to lady that lived in the Hickory Creek neighborhood off of 114.
Wait, are we talking about the same place? I am a singing Gondolier on the canals of Las Colinas. We just opened The Toyota Music Factory complex with tons of restaurants, movie theater, and paddle boats on the lake. We are booming out here!!!
This video fails to mention several important key factors.
The Toyota Music Factory has sparked a recent wave of development around it, including nationally acclaimed gourmet restaurants and attractions. The music venue is huge and brings in international touring artists, which has been prompting more developments in terms of housing, food, shops, and more. The Music Factory has been there for many years now.
Eight Fortune 500 companies currently call Irving home for their global headquarters, and the more than 8,500 other companies have been bringing regular traffic for many years now. Unlike this video would have you believe, Irving Las Colinas is not a dead wasteland. It’s a quiet part of town where business professionals live, work, and play. Just because the canals themselves aren’t lined with business or people does not mean that it’s a ghost town. You were keen on calling out the shutdowns post-Covid but not as excited to mention the mass exodus of people and businesses from places like California who have descended on Las Colinas and are now supporting this infrastructure once again. This is another point you missed that could have easily been made.
Additionally, I find it supremely odd that a video trying to put forth Las Colinas as a failed city resembling Venice and focusing so much on the water taxis brought in from Italy would not even MENTION the thriving gondola company on Lake Carolyn. It’s a best kept secret for locals and travelers, but the canals are far from deserted. This company has literally been on the lake for over 25 years and operates, by my count, over a dozen electric and actual Venetian gondolas, and partners with local restaurants to even do food cruises on the water. There is also a pedal boat and stand up paddle board company that has been operating for several years. I would trust your research more if you had thought to mention that. Seems like a crucial point to make for someone focusing so much on the water taxis, no?
You haven’t done a bad job with the history, but if you choose to do any future videos about similar spots, please be sure to not just ignore those elements that are flourishing simply because they don’t fit into your narrative. I’m sure many of the businesses that DO currently operate in Las Colinas would have appreciated the attention to detail. They deserve at least a sentence.
How did you manage to miss the huge fleet of gondolas that grace the waterway on a daily (and nightly) basis? How about the stand up paddle boards, kayaks, and pedal boats that take hundreds of people every weekend? You need to go back and shoot some current footage!! Weddings at the Venetian Terrace on the canals, photographers shooting engagement, family, and quinceanera photos, proposals and celebrations on the gondolas – at the right times, the canals are bustling. Did you shoot at 6am when no one was there?
Very well done. Great footage
Biggest problem? Overpriced. Apartments and homes were very much more expensive than in Irving or Dallas. Unlike Venetians, most Texans owned cars, and there was very limited parking and what parking there was, cost money. Why would anyone move there?
Very cool, I hope you keep making content.
What i would like to see is more bars and hotels be opened up around there. Perhaps expand to make the area even more pedestrian friendly by adding car free zones and underground tunnels for pedestrians.
I moved to Las Colinas out of college in 2021, it’s a beautiful neighborhood especially when compared to neighboring areas. However, the shut down APT system and empty canals took away a lot of what I had envisioned for it and I ended up moving away a year later. If they could somehow revive the Venetian district I’d move back in a heartbeat
I remember riding the APT three times. Twice in 2014 and once in 2017.
It's wild but the World Cup may change this.
Dallas wants to look like an actual city. I guarantee this is going to be part of their plan.
its always funny when these projects never take off because they completely forget about building housing! its so simple its annoying