April 2017 | Business View Magazine

66 67 HURST-EULESS-BEDFORD ISD is consistently one of the • Students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program have exceeded the IB Degree World average for the past 6 years. • 96% pass rate on technical certifications and industry licenses. EMPOWERING TODAY TO EXCEL TOMORROW: • 93% of our schools earned state awarded academic distinctions. • 1 of only 10 Districts in Texas to earn Post-Secondary Readiness Distinction two years in a row. HIGHACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: • Elementary World Languages • Suzuki Strings UNIQUE SCHOOLS OF CHOICE PROGRAMS: hebisd.edu facebook.com/hebisd @hebisd • International Business Initiative • Spanish Immersion • S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) HIGHEST PERFORMING districts for Academic Performance and Financial Efficiency meetings with our residents to get them all on board, because, ultimately, it will probably require a bond initiative on our part to pay for it. But everybody seems to be real excited about what transpired with the initial Phase One proj- ect and are looking forward to what we can do with Phase Next.” Another ongoing project is Bedford Commons, a 103-acre area that the city is planning to re- develop into four distinct “character zones,” each with a different type of use: n Highwaymixed use: Restaurants and stores would face the access road to the Airport Freeway, and zoning requirements include an emphasis on aesthetics and improving the appearance of the area as people drive in to Bedford Commons. n Regional retail and employment: This area would create a buffer for the center of Bedford Commons from the highwaymixed-use area with stores and office space that wouldn’t need the highway access to bring in customers. n Core mixed use: Focuses on transforming Parkwood Drive from the Texas 183/121 front- Bedford, Texas age road to L Don Dodson Drive in to a true “Main Street” with on-street parking and a walkable area with a wide variety of enter- tainment and stores. This area is visible from the Airport Freeway. Civic mixed-use zone, along L Don Dodson Drive north to Bed- ford Road, would be anchored by residential and “civic uses” such as the central commons area. The area would be transformed into smaller pedestrian-friendly blocks with open spaces. “We’re working with a develop- er to secure property adjacent to our City Hall, so we can work on the prospect of developing the living units, as well as a new City Hall and some other components,” says Griffin. “It never seems to go as fast as we hope,” he laments, “but we’re in the land acquisition stage, right now, trying to get all that ironed out with the proper- ty owners.” Part of the city’s plan is to create a new park that will connect the new developments to the town’s library, the Old Bedford School, and Boys Ranch. “We’re try- ing to connect all of those compo- nents together with walking trails into the Bedford Commons area, so that way, the folks who would