GARLAND — A plan to turn the bizarre and tattered history of Garland's Interstate 30 corridor into a component of its rebirth is one step closer to reality.

The four-mile stretch of I-30 through the city has been defined by negatives: a billion dollar land scam in the 1980s, a deadly tornado in 2015 and costly infrastructure missteps over several years. During all that time, potential investors have been scared away.

But better days may be ahead after the city council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $137,500 plan that calls for major improvements along the stretch of highway. The upgrades would focus on three areas — improved public access to Lake Ray Hubbard at Harbor Point, finding ways to develop large available tracts near Rosehill Road and a more modern look at the city's entryway near Belt Line Road.

"This is really the next major economic development we have in the city," Council member Jerry Nickerson, who represents the area, said this week during a discussion about the plan. "This thing's got some real promise to it."

Acres of undeveloped land sit along Interstate 30 at Rose Hill Rd. in Garland. A plan to turn the bizarre and tattered history of Garland's Interstate 30 corridor into a component of its rebirth gained unanimous City Council approval on Tuesday. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Strengthening a foothold

This is not Garland's first effort to strengthen its foothold between LBJ Freeway and Lake Ray Hubbard.

The city spent $23.7 million in 2004 to drive retail development and lure Bass Pro Shops to its Harbor Point area. It created some cozy lakeside dining spots in a retail center anchored by the outdoors superstore. But the restaurants can't be seen from the freeway and, in turn, created another problem, according to report by consultants Freese and Nichols.

"The site design restricts views of the lake except from private restaurant space," according to the consultant's 100-page plan for the corridor. "Public access to the waterfront is minimal."

Lakeside trails and extended walkways are among the recommendations. Brian Clark, whose bait shop is among the corridor's longest established businesses, likes the idea.

"The main thing I hear is how there's nowhere to access the lake. And what can they do to bring families to the city?" Clark said. "It's not like Grapevine's Bass Pro where once you're in there, there's stuff all around."

1 / 2Harbor Point development, including the partially hidden Bass Pro Shops, sits on the point of Lake Ray Hubbard at Interstate 30 in Garland. The city would like to add trails to improve lakeside access at Harbor Point, where retailers other than Bass Pro Shops can't be seen from the highway and restaurants block most of the lake views. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer) 2 / 2Chris Gibson (right) of Rockwall and Bryant Smith of Dallas, pull away from the docks at Harbor Point, a development including Bass Pro Shops (right), and Texas Land and Cattle (left), on Lake Ray Hubbard at Interstate 30 in Garland. A plan for Garland's Interstate 30 corridor gained unanimous City Council approval on Tuesday. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

More problems

Another issue is that there are too many 1980s-era apartments, particularly near the lake, according to both the corridor plan and the council-appointed committees that worked with the consultant.

The 300 acres of multi-family housing in the corridor, some still privately owned as condominiums, were the result of a land-flipping scheme that sent five of its ringleaders to jail and cost the federal government $1 billion.

Real estate developers bought the land for as little as 33 cents per square foot and sold it for as much as $15 a foot, with loans covering the cost and lakeside condos being built well beyond demand.

The end came in midstream, when the market was saturated and savings and loans that had financed the scheme ran out of money.

But by then, there were many new residents living near the lake, and that put pressure on an interstate with two lanes of traffic in each direction. Widening of I-30 was slow and with heavy construction through the area, new business prospects were repelled, while established ones barely hung on.

1 / 2Another large chunk of developable land on Garland's Interstate 30 corridor was created by the Dec. 26, 2015, tornado. The former site of the Landmark at Lake Village West apartments is below the I-30 connection to the Bush Turnpike, where nine people were killed by the tornado. 2 / 2 The Landmark at Lake Village West apartments on Interstate 30 were hit by a tornado December 26, 2015. (Nathan Hunsinger/Staff Photographer)

Other partially-built properties were tied up in court for years and eventually razed to slabs. And a 17-building apartment complex from the era — Landmark Village at Lake Village West — was leveled just last year, a victim of a devastating December 2015 tornado.

'Attractive characteristics'

More than half the undeveloped land is a couple of exits west of the lake at Rosehill. Garland leaders agreed this is likely the first area where action will emerge from the catalyst plan.

"Rosehill's size and proximity to existing residential neighborhoods, along with attractive site characteristics, make it the most feasible for near-term development," the plan says.

A broad vision for Rosehill includes fast casual dining, local retailers, neighborhood commercial businesses and community anchors. It also mentions a mix of residential housing types, from single family lots to a mixed use of business and urban residential.

"If you look at Rosehill, it's been sitting there a long time," said Todd LaRue of real estate consultant RCL Co. "So the market is not responding to it on its own. There's got to be some kind of intervention. It comes down to what is the city's appetite for participation."

The I-30 corridor was identified in 2012 as one of seven catalyst areas for the city. For the next six to 12 months city officials will work on zoning changes and decide what other steps they need to take to make the plan work.

"This plan is very different and intentionally so," said City Manager Bryan Bradford. "We are light years ahead of where we had been with other catalyst studies."