Business View - February 2016 123
las – Franke says “it’s maybe a 20-minute drive, but
that all depends on traffic” - and Ft. Worth, makes it
“a pretty convenient commute,” Cedar Hill is not your
typical bedroom community, whose citizens leave by
day and return only at night. In fact, over the last 10 or
15 years, the “hill country of Dallas” has transformed
itself into a thriving retail center and, today, the city is
a major shopping and dining destination, not just for
the residents of Dallas, but for all of southern Dallas
County. The Plaza, Cedar Hill Crossing, Cedar Village,
Pleasant Run Towne Crossing, Cedar Hill Pointe, and
Hillside Village (formerly Uptown Village) are all expan-
sive malls and retail locations that have opened since
2000, providing a wide array of stores, restaurants, of-
fices, and entertainment venues.
And with 50 percent of its land area still available, plus
a superior transportation, water, sewer, and technol-
ogy infrastructure compared to some other counties
in this northeastern part of Texas, Franke maintains
that Cedar Hill “is ready for more growth.” But the cur-
rent mayor has a particular perspective on the type of
growth that he envisions for his city.
“We’re not doing things that all the other cities did in
the late 90s, early 2000s growth boom,” he explains.
“What I mean is: there were a lot of instances of just
developing with whatever could develop. We’ve placed
a high premium on preserving the naturalscape that
we have because we’re starting to see more and
more interest in people returning to, and being more
respectful of, the natural environment.” So the city’s
emphasis, according to Franke, is on its parks and
trail systems, and how they can connect to new busi-
nesses, workers, and customers. “We’re creating busi-
ness areas where you can actually access the parks
systems and nature,” he says. “It’s been a real posi-
tive.” Franke adds that the city intends to keep at least
a fifth of its area as open space in order to preserve its
characteristic, natural beauty.
Indeed, Cedar Hill’s topography helps to define the
type of enterprises that find it an attractive place to
set up shop. “The way our land is configured, with the
rolling hills - it doesn’t make us a really good, large
industrial area,” Franke states. “The big boxes and mil-
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Cedar Hill, Texas
WHAT:
A city of 50,000
WHERE:
In Dallas County, Texas, southwest
of the City of Dallas
WEBSITE
:
INFRASTRUCTURE
