Once rolling ranchland, Las Colinas has become a booming development that offers an unusual combination of commercial, residential, recreational and retail land uses. Across its 12,000 acres are skyscrapers, mansions, country clubs, an equestrian center, golf courses, a movie studio and more.

The community, part of the city of Irving, is adjacent to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and surrounded by freeways. What’s unusual is the attention to detail and high standards found throughout the development. The late Ben Carpenter, who owned the land, wrote in a 1974 memo that he planned to build “the finest, most functional and the most attractive real estate development ever created.” Las Colinas has pink granite curbs, winding canals, waterfalls, Lake Carolyn and a people mover. Mr. Carpenter controlled water flow with an elaborate drainage system. All utility lines were buried. And he highlighted his Urban Center with a dramatic piece of art, The Mustangs of Las Colinas — popular with visitors.

Description
Las Colinas is Spanish for "the hills." An Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence winner, Las Colinas is a master-planned community of commercial, residential and environmental land uses. More than 2,000 companies have a presence in Las Colinas, including 40 Fortune 500 companies. The famous Mustang Sculpture is located in Las Colinas.

Las Colinas was founded in 1972 by cattle ranching millionaire Ben H. Carpenter, who envisioned a secure business and living center with futuristic skyscrapers along with residential developments. The Carpenters carved the prairie into office parks and hotel sites and built miles of roads, artificial lakes and country clubs. During the 1980s building boom, Las Colinas became a premium location for relocating companies and office developers, attracting some of the world's most respected corporations. Las Colinas reeled after the real estate crash of 1985 but since has made a comeback. Some 6.5 million square feet of office space were added during the 1990s.

Demographics
ZIP codes 75038 and 75039 correspond roughly with Las Colinas:
• Population: 75038: 25,317; 75039: 2,816
• Median age: 75038: 28.9; 75039: 30.4
• Median household size: 75038: 2.03; 75039: 1.49
• Median household income: 75038: $41,506; 75039: $56,451

Snapshot
• Crime stats: Las Colinas is located within Irving and served by the Irving Police Department. The community of Las Colinas also has its own alarm monitoring and patrol. According to 2005 FBI statistics, crime rates in Irving were roughly equivalent to national averages. In 2005, the city had 2 murders, 66 forcible rapes, 270 robberies, 572 aggravated assaults, 1730 burglaries, 6658 larceny thefts and 1160 vehicle thefts.
• Public libraries
• School information: The Las Colinas area is served by the Irving Independent School District and Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.
• Sales tax rate: 8.25%
• Top employers: Exxon Mobil, Verizon, Kimberly-Clark, AAA-Texas, AT&T, Citigroup, General Motors, Microsoft, NEC America, Nokia, Oracle, Zale.

A convention center is scheduled to open in 2009. Water Street, a $215 million mixed-use project, should open in 2011, the same year plans call for the DART rail line to connect the Urban Center to the airport and Dallas. Further south are gated communities with multimillion-dollar homes. One of the oldest residential neighborhoods is University Hills, which borders the University of Dallas, a Catholic liberal arts school. In the heart of Las Colinas, luxury apartment complexes surround the lake and canals.

Undergoing Projects in Las Colinas and surrounding areas

ABOUT THE CITY OF IRVING,  TEXAS

Description

The City of Irving, part of Dallas County, is home to the headquarters of four Fortune 500 global headquarters and more than 30 Fortune 500 companies. The national headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America is also based in Irving. Part of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is inside the city limits of Irving.

History

Settlers came to the area that is now Irving in the 1850's, and communities such as Sowers, Kit Shady Grove, Union Bower, Finley, Estelle and Bear Creek sprang up in the last half of the century. The new town of Irving, founded in 1903 by J.O. Schulze and Otis Brown, eventually swallowed most of these settlements. Irving was officially incorporated April 14, 1914.

Schulze and Brown, who were employed by the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway, arrived in 1902 to survey a railroad route between Fort Worth and Dallas. Having decided that this area would be an ideal town site, they bought 80 acres from the Britian family in 1902. The co-founders sold the first town lots at a public auction on December 19, 1903. The post office at nearby Kit was moved to Irving in 1904.

The City Council adopted author Washington Irving as the city's namesake in 1998.

Irving became a center for cotton growing, truck farming, dairy farming and poultry production. By 1920, Irving's population had grown to 357. During that decade, Irving launched electric service, a water system and a volunteer fire department.

Construction of Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport, lying partially within the boundaries of Irving, also began in the late 1960's. When it opened in 1974, it was the country's largest airport. The facility, now known as Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, continues to contribute to Irving's economy.

The population of Irving reached almost 100,000 by 1970. Three years later, Irving landowner Ben Carpenter saw his dream come true with the opening of Las Colinas, a privately funded, master-planned community of 7,000 acres, which has grown to include more than a 1,000 corporations, as well as homes, schools, shopping areas and recreation facilities.

DFW Airport opened in 1974 and continues to contribute to Irving's economy.

Later in the 1970's the Dallas County Community College District opened North Lake College in Irving.

In the 1980's, Irving built an arts center and a new central library and achieved a coveted AAA bond rating. In 1998, the city has 7,800 businesses and a population of more than 170,000. Irving celebrated its centennial in 2003.

Demographics

• Population: 199,505 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Population Estimates)
• Median age: 30.3
• Median household size: 2.49
• Median household income: $44,956
• Census Snapshot
• Crime stats: According to 2006 FBI statistics, there were 3 murders, 48 forcible rapes, 264 robberies, 535 aggravated assaults, 1,674 burglaries, 6,728 larceny thefts and 1,242 vehicle thefts reported in Irving.

• Top employers: Abbott Laboratories, Accenture, Aegis Communications, Allstate Insurance, Baylor Healthcare, Benemax, Citigroup, Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon, Exxon Mobil, Chuck E. Cheese, Michaels Stores, Omni Hotels, Southern Star Concrete and Zale.

• School information: www.irvingisd.net

• Irving City Hall www.cityofirving.org

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