July 22, 2010- Trinity Trust Visit

This weeks class was a little different. Instead of meeting in the class room we all went to Urban Land Institute meeting at the Trinity Trust in Dallas. Is was very interesting seeing so many different people from all different parts of the real estate field. We had talked before about ULI and how it was a great institute to join because of all the great contacts you could make. The social gathering started out with some food and beverages. I met one guy who is going to join the masters program this winter. After a little mingling the presentation started. The whole reason for this meeting was to inform people about the Trinity River Project going on in Dallas. Don Raines was the one who spoke to us about the project. He is an urban planner and plays a big role in the project. He started off by talking about the history of the Trinity River going through Dallas. The bottom of the Trinity used to by limestone but was later taken out because of flooding problems. Another interesting thing was that the Trinity had been moved by man to flow a different route. In the project there are many different things that are going to be done. Starting out they want to make the river meander more to give the river more oxygen which will create a better life in the water. The project consists of 10,000 acres. The project will consist of two bridges being built. One is already under construction and will be done next year. The saying Don mentioned was "If u can sell the water you can sell the land." The project wants everything to deal with water. There is going to be a white water course for people and their kayaks. Another cool piece is the amphitheater that will be constructed and have a floating stage on the river for the performers to stand on. It will have around 18 soccer fields for people to play on. Also it will have a trail to bike, jog, or walk on. The trail will be 20 ft wide and sloped so the water and sediment will run off if it floods. There has been talks of putting a sky tram over the river so it would be easier for people to get to the great parks and the river. The presentation was interesting but only 30% of the drawings were in place. The project was huge and will take many years to complete. It was nice to get out of the classroom and learn something in a different environment.