Photo by Madelyn Edwards.
Modera Trailhead, a mixed-use development by Mill Creek Residential at 7532 E. Grand Ave., has been built. The retail storefronts are expected to open by next spring.
In 2021, Dallas City Council approved the rezoning for the project at the 3G intersection where restaurants Lot and Local Traveler used to be. The Council limited the development to six stories and called for 9% of the apartments to be affordably priced, according to a previous Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate article.
Before getting to the City Council, the City Plan Commission recommended denial of the rezoning. The District 9 commissioner at the time cited concerns about visual intrusion, traffic circulation, density and negative public opinion of the project. Some neighbors organized to oppose the development over its height and density.
Arguments in favor of The Trailhead are that it brings in more housing so that people can live where they work and that the project supports the City’s investment in the trails, particularly the neighboring Santa Fe Trail.
Now, the talk is over. The Trailhead’s 285 homes have been erected, and by September, all apartments will be available. About 27 of these will be adjusted to more moderate rent levels and align with different levels of the area median income. The rest will be available at market rates and may be desirable to empty nesters, remodelers, down-sizers and newly married couples. The average home size is 1,025 square feet. Renters can find homes as small as 701 square feet or as big as 2,108 square feet.
Not all amenities were complete during a tour of the property on July 18, but Mill Creek Residential Senior Managing Director of Development Michael Blackwell said everything will be complete by August.
“I’m excited to get people into the property, particularly those people who are already very attached to East Dallas the way most of our team members are because I think they’ll just feel part of that promise that we made, which is let’s go do something that is of the neighborhood, for the neighborhood, about the neighborhood,” Blackwell said. “It never was about peering up over the lake. It was about nestling into this confluence of the streets and trees and golf courses and trails, green spaces and the lake that don’t exist in many places in the city.”
The resort-style property is meant to represent a love for East Dallas, designed by people who either live or grew up around White Rock Lake, said Blackwell, who lives in Lake Highlands. There are grand tables in the common rooms for residents made from trees that were cut down on the property. The Santa Fe room includes meeting space that can be used by organizations like Friends of Santa Fe Trail, the White Rock Lake Foundation and White Rock Rowing.
Blackwell also said that the structure recedes into the treeline as to not be overwhelming to those on the trail, which addresses the fears some locals had about the development.
The style of the common areas — including the wall tiles throughout the property and the presence of some arched doorways — is modern Mediterranean-influenced and meant to be a homage to homes in Forest Hills, the DeGolyer mansion and the Hutsell houses in Lakewood, Blackwell said. Nature also plays a significant role in the decor as the goal was to create a biophilic (humans connecting with nature) experience.
“The lake and the trails and the forest that surrounds the property is so central to the experience of everybody in East Dallas, and this property, part of the idea was to go a step further and kind of bring that idea through,” Blackwell said. “That includes plants and things like that kind of all over the property on the inside. But also a lot of the interior decor and interior design is fashioned after that.”
The storefronts will face the Santa Fe Trail instead of the road. The retail is fully committed at various stages of the leasing process and is expected to include two restaurants, a cafe and a wellness-focused concept, Blackwell said.
“We kind of want this to be a place where people are stoked to come after a ride, or before a ride, or on the weekend with the kids if they walked up Santa Fe from around the corner,” he said. “Every single one of these, all four of these tenants, are most excited about the relationship to the trail and the lake and sort of the heart of East Dallas. So, none of them are high volume chain shops who are coming there because it’s on Garland Road.”
The Mill Creek Residential struck an agreement with DART that allows the DART-owned land alongside the trail to be developed into a public area for outdoor seating and activities with bike repair stations. It will be called Parakeet Plaza, in reference to the White Rock Lake parakeet colony.
Check out these photos of the Trailhead common areas:
This is one of the tables made from a tree cut down on the Trailhead property. The inscription on it reads: “From root to room — This table was crafted from a tree that once stood here, its branches sheltering this land. Now as a part of this space, it continues to offer warmth, connection and beauty. May it remind us of nature’s enduring gifts and the importance of preserving our shared environment.” Photo by Madelyn Edwards.
