Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)

April 7, 2002 

Edition: FINAL

Section: NEWS

Page: 1

 

Keeping up Appearances

More cities are requiring toned-down building designs

Author: ANDREA JARES;KELLY MELHART; Star-Telegram Staff Writers

 

 The Home Depot's bright orange logo may be eye-catching, but in Flower Mound, the home improvement chain will use a copper sign and limestone exterior to lure shoppers.

 

Keller recently rejected plans for a Whataburger with the customary orange-striped, A-frame roof. Instead, the city will get a flat-roofed model.

 

And at the Fort Worth Stockyards, diners can now mosey on down to a western-theme Burger King fashioned from salvaged bricks.

 

Increasingly, communities are toughening zoning regulations to establish a sense of place by forcing national retail and fast-food chains to customize building plans.

 

In response, corporations are becoming more flexible to meet demands and head off community opposition.

 

Even shopping center developers are getting into the act. Some have banned garish colors and features to make their shopping centers stand apart from the blur of brightly colored plastic that is common in commercial development.

 

Developers of Cityview in southwest Fort Worth, Fossil Creek in north Fort Worth and The Crossing in North Richland Hills have adopted strict standards for restaurants and storefronts, hoping a spiffy appearance will attract shoppers from a wider area.

 

"It seems to get a lot more attention when their building has a special look that you don't see in other cities," said Richard Luedke, a Keller senior planner.

 

Municipalities and businesses have long feuded over corporate architecture in cities that prosper on a sense of place, such as Phoenix or Monterey, Calif., said Marya Morris, senior research associate of the American Planning Association in Chicago.

 

But during the building boom of the 1990s, municipal leaders found that they could manage growth and streamline their appearance by creating design restrictions like those in well-known resort towns.

 

"Citizens realized that there are consequences to growth," Morris said. "Communities of all types and sizes realized that they can have a say in site layout and design."

 

Flower Mound adopted stringent design standards in 2001, banning cookie-cutter franchise architecture and dictating earth tones such as sepia, ocher and umber.

 

Colleyville adopted standards for commercial buildings in 1996 and specific restrictions for big-box stores four years later. Southlake has adopted strict building guidelines since 1997, and Keller is revisiting its development rules.

 

It's harder than ever for a retailer to find land that doesn't have deed restrictions or isn't overseen by an architectural review board, said Jim Dunaway, an engineering consultant who has worked on Cityview and with retailers such as Wal-Mart, Eckerd and Walgreens.

 

"The developers are doing it to maintain the property value that is unsold," he said. "The users like it as long as they aren't harmed."

 

Good design also increases the resale value of shopping centers, said Stephen Coslik, chairman of Woodmont Development in Fort Worth, which built Albertsons Plaza in Euless and Tarrant Parkway Commons in Keller.

 

"When they go to sell the shopping center to a developer or investors, they want something that has a quality presentation," Coslik said.

 

When The Home Depot came calling in Flower Mound, the company presented plans for its familiar orange concrete warehouse. But that was not what the town had envisioned for its upscale Lakeside Business District.

 

After town officials and surrounding business parks offered their opinions, final plans for The Home Depot were approved Monday.

 

"This is a Flower Mound special," said Rory Chen, regional manager of Greenberg Farrow Architecture, which designs Home Depot stores and other franchises nationwide. Chen said his client needed a little convincing that access to the Flower Mound market was worth the the extra costs of copper and limestone.

 

While Flower Mound's urban plan regulates development in the entire town, other municipalities have created districts with special guidelines.

 

Fort Worth uses an overlay district to keep the Stockyards rustic and to maintain the historical architecture in the Fairmount neighborhood.

 

"The residents believe that's what makes that place unique, the architecture," said Bob Riley, the city's development director. "They would like to preserve it."

 

The extra rules raise the cost of doing business.

 

Guillermo Perales said he spent 20 percent more than usual on his Burger King at North Main and 28th streets to make it comply with the standards of the Stockyards district. He built the restaurant with brick salvaged from Oklahoma City warehouses and added a western-theme playground.

 

But, he said, the extra effort has yet to pay off for the 4-month-old store.

 

"The sales didn't react," he said. "We're trying to figure out why."

 

Arlington has an overlay district along Interstate 20 between Cooper Street and Texas 360. The rules are designed to create a professional environment with hospitals and office parks but no overhead signs. Utility lines must be underground.

 

Fort Worth also uses an overlay district to preserve the flavor of Sundance Square.

 

Planners wanted a place where "people walking a whole block would not see solid brick, but a window where people can see in," Riley said. "Kind of like the older, successful downtowns."

 

Mary Ann Brody, marketing manager for Wendy's in Dallas, said such restrictions are becoming common.

 

"We're finding it in every city that we develop," she said.

 

That has forced companies to draw up alternative plans.

 

Whataburger learned years ago that its orange-striped, A-frame design wasn't always welcome. So the Corpus Christi company developed a restaurant more palatable to such communities. The design, which was used in Colleyville, was recently approved in Keller.

 

When Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse won approval to build at Rufe Snow Drive and North Tarrant Parkway in Keller, it agreed to spend an additional $2 million on earth-colored bricks, Austin stone and ornamental columns.

 

Sometimes developers set stiffer restrictions than a community does. They might require a particular stone for the exterior or specify the color or font of corporate logos.

 

Burger King, whose design is accepted with just a few tweaks in most communities, is now having to adjust plans for two restaurants to garner approval from a developer in Arlington, said Tony Scardino, a development manager for Burger King in the Texas market.

 

There are limits.

 

Cities or developers risk losing a business if they demand more than nearby communities do.

 

Wal-Mart, for example, is leaving Southlake for Grapevine, partly because Southlake has increased restrictions.

 

But companies have shown a willingness to spend extra on developments if they're convinced that the prospects for a profitable location are good. That usually means a community with an upscale group of residents.

 

Flower Mound has continued to attract commercial development despite its strict guidelines, said Sam Paschal, the town's economic development director. The Home Depot will spend $7.3 million to build in the town.

 

"We do have very high standards for development, but we've never had anybody leave because our development requirements are too stringent," he said. "We certainly don't think they are too stringent. They are different."

 

The rules include a ban on most corporate architecture that uses large logos or quirky roofs to draw customers. Whataburger's A-frame and McDonald's golden arches are prohibited.

 

Companies also realize they have to compete with the coziness of regional chains and local stores, said Craig Slavin, founder of The Franchise Architects in Illinois, which has designed business strategies for more than 40 industries.

 

"I believe there are seven different areas of the country," he said. "It's impossible to have a vanilla concept for all seven."

 

With that in mind, many companies adapt their stores to the community.

 

"We've always looked at the restaurant and asked how it can mirror the community," said Zenola Campbell, of the McDonald's Dallas office, which covers four states. "That's always where it evolved."

 

The restaurant chain's varied architecture includes a low-key adobe McDonald's in Sedona, Ariz., a Happy Meal-replica building at the Dallas Galleria and a houseboat in St. Louis.

 

At the McDonald's in Flower Mound, condiments are displayed on a gold tray that rests on an antique-looking sideboard. A chandelier hangs in the dining area.

 

"Communities want to be unique," Paschal said. "They want to have a style that they feel is all their own, that is representative of them."

 

ONLINE: The Townscape Institute, www.townscape-inst.com. The planning organization is concerned with cities developing a sense of place.

 

Andrea Jares, (817) 685-3851 ajares@star-telegram.com Kelly

Melhart, (817) 685-3854 kmelhart@star-telegram.com

PHOTO(S): KHAMPHA BOUAPHANH;JEN FRIEDBERG

 

Copyright 2002 Star-Telegram, Inc.

Record Number: 11087916