Balch Springs, TX

Building a City Center

Catalyzing Mixed-Use Growth, Infrastructure, and Momentum

Fifteen minutes from the towers of downtown Dallas, Balch Springs sits at a strategic crossroads—literally. Three major highways—I-20, I-635, and US-175—slice through the city’s footprint, carrying commuters and customers between Dallas and the booming southeast corridor anchored by Kaufman County, one of the fastest-growing counties in America. Mayor Taylor calls Balch Springs the “gateway” to that growth—and the city is moving quickly to capture more of it at home.

Guided by a newly adopted 2050 Comprehensive Plan and a detailed Elam Road City Center Plan, Balch Springs is transitioning from a pass-through community to a destination—layering mixed-use development, refreshed infrastructure, and a civic campus into an emerging downtown corridor designed for walkability, convenience, and community life.

“With the City Center in motion, we’re bringing housing, retail, trails, and civic services together in one place,” says the city’s Senior Director for Business & Capital (Economic Development, Planning & Zoning, and Capital Improvement Planning). “The public feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the first projects are already moving from zoning to planning and permitting.”

A Downtown by Design

The Elam Road City Center Plan—adopted this spring after a year-long corridor study—establishes four “character areas” that will anchor the downtown experience: A focus on a Town Center – a pedestrian-forward hub that blends ground-floor retail and restaurants with upper-floor residential, creating a Gateway Corridor – a welcoming, highly visible entry sequence that signals arrival, looking towards an Infill Town Area – targeted sites for mixed-use and civic infill to knit assets together and creative Civic Uses – a consolidated government campus that brings dispersed services into one accessible place.

Early momentum is tangible. This spring, City Council approved mixed-use rezoning within the corridor, enabling a blend of single-family homes, townhomes, and retail. The developer is now moving through planning, advancing a five-to-ten-year phasing horizon that will populate the district with residents, everyday conveniences, and green public spaces.

City Manager Charles Fenner frames it as equal parts placemaking and practicality. “We’re creating a place people choose to go—because they can take care of business, meet friends, and enjoy open space in one trip. As we get the streets right—new lighting, turn lanes, traffic flow—it invites the buildings to follow.”

Infrastructure First: Water, Sewer, Streets, and Speed

Balch Springs has pursued a “maintenance-plus” approach: fix what’s aging and expand capacity where growth is coming. Water and sewer systems have seen pipe-bursting upgrades and a forthcoming water/sewer master plan update to align capacity with target development areas. On the city’s east side, Balch Springs partnered with Mesquite on a sewer flow realignment and capacity project, with additional phases scheduled to keep pace with residential expansion.

On the mobility side, the city collaborates with TxDOT, Dallas County, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) on access improvements—including frontage roads and internal connectors that link neighborhoods to the highway network. Inside the City Center, the focus tightens to complete streets design: safer turns, new signalization, and pedestrian comfort to support storefronts and civic destinations.

Connectivity isn’t just about roads. The city is mapping opportunities to strengthen high-speed internet coverage as part of its capital planning—recognizing that online reliability is now a core business and quality-of-life utility.

Incentives, Partnerships, and a 173-Acre Win

Delivering the City Center and corridor upgrades requires a toolkit as diverse as the projects themselves. Balch Springs is positioning a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to help fund infrastructure, a Public Improvement District (PID) for long-term maintenance, and targeted economic development incentives through its Type A and Type B boards—ranging from infrastructure participation to performance-based sales tax support.

One recent success highlights how the city blends public-private collaboration with regional alignment. On a 173-acre tract—once jointly owned with a neighboring locality and off the tax rolls for decades—the city led an RFP process to secure a master-plan developer. Proceeds flowed back to the original landowner, while Balch Springs brought the site back to taxable life. Early phases are delivering quality housing, with retail and restaurant components queued up to follow—creating the essential resident base to justify destination retail along I-20.

“It’s a win-win,” the city’s economic development lead explains. “The county and state partners helped us with corridor and intersection improvements. Now a long-dormant site is generating property tax and—soon—sales tax, while adding the rooftops retailers want to see.”

From Pass-Through to Pull-Over

The highways that once whisked traffic past Balch Springs are becoming the city’s biggest asset. With I-20, I-635, and US-175 converging inside city limits, location is a differentiator for logistics users, light industrial, and business park prospects seeking regional reach and labor access. The city is working active acreage along these corridors with willing landowners to recruit higher-value uses—from destination retail to high-employment commercial.

Mayor Taylor points to a simple sales pitch with a big impact: “From Balch Springs, you can be in downtown Dallas or out again in about 15 minutes—and that’s compelling. Our goal is to capture spending from commuters heading home and welcome those coming in. The gateway strategy is about putting the right offerings in the right places so people choose to stop.”

A Walkable “Small-Town Next to the Big City”

Even as the market accelerates, city leaders are careful to preserve what residents love. Balch Springs maintains a small-town feel—where neighbors often know one another—and the City Center is designed to amplify, not erase, that community DNA. Plans call for green commons, trail connections, and event-friendly spaces tied to existing anchors like the library and civic center—all within steps of new City Hall, police, and courts, consolidated into a modern campus.

The city’s active community events calendar will benefit from the new setting: more walkable streets, safer crossings, and a retail mix tuned to “grab-and-go” convenience and boutique variety. As the City Center fills in, residents will be able to live upstairs and walk downstairs to coffee, lunch, fitness, and services—keeping daily life local.

Sustainability with a Business Case: EV Charging and Beyond

Sustainability is showing up in Balch Springs in pragmatic ways—tied to funding and feasibility. The city is exploring EV charging stations through grants and private-sector partnerships. As Mayor Taylor notes, one developer group has floated a model to fund installation in collaboration with the utility (Oncor), then revenue-share with the host—precisely the kind of deal the city favors.

City Manager Fenner says the team is ready to structure developer agreements that align public and private contributions on each project—reducing “red tape” and clarifying expectations up front. The city has already standardized these agreements across recent developments to streamline approvals and keep infrastructure responsibilities transparent.

The 18-Month Outlook: Streets, Sitework, and a Civic Anchor

Asked to define the near-term horizon, Mayor Taylor returns to fundamentals: “Get the streets right first—lighting, turn lanes, traffic flow—so the buildings can follow.” With several roadway projects already approved, the city expects to advance City Center sitework, kick off early vertical components, and continue the neighborhood-facing water/sewer improvements that sustain growth.

On the private side, mixed-use projects inside the corridor will progress from planning to permitting, while business park and destination retail efforts along the highways continue to mature. Each deal flows through a refined development process designed to welcome high-quality partners and keep projects moving.

Why Balch Springs, Why Now?

There are many compelling reasons to choose Balch Springs a great place to put down roots and the Mayor pinpoints some of the more tangible ones when asked to look ahead to the municipality’s growth ahead.

He lists; location advantages: Three highways, 15 minutes to downtown Dallas, and proximity to the nation’s fastest-growing county, plan-led growth: A 2050 Comprehensive Plan and a corridor-specific City Center blueprint guide decisions and investment, infrastructure in motion: Water, sewer, and mobility capacity are being modernized in step with development as well as Balch Spring’s Public-Private Alignment.

In short, Balch Springs is moving from promise to proof. With zoning decisions made, corridors prioritized, and infrastructure queued up, the city is charting an intentional path to an authentic downtown, resilient neighborhoods, and a diversified tax base—all while preserving the small-town spirit that residents value.

“We’re creating an atmosphere where developers want to come in,” Mayor Taylor says. “Harmony, clarity, and momentum—those are the qualities we’re building into Balch Springs.”

AT A GLANCE

Who: Balch Springs, Texas

What: An historic and dynamic municipality with development that signals growth that lies ahead

Where: Texas, USA

Website: www.balchspringstx.gov