Originally called El Ranchito de Las Colinas ("the Little Ranch of the Hills"), Las Colinas was developed in 1972 by cattle ranching millionaire Ben H. Carpenter. It was one of the first planned communities in the United States and was once the largest mixed-use development in the South, with a land area of more than 12,000 acres (49 km2). Urban planners were consulted to lay out the entire town, an undertaking that predated later projects in Plano, Allen, and other Dallas suburbs.[citation needed]
During the 1980s building boom, Las Colinas became a popular location for relocating companies and office developers, attracting many corporations, including the global headquarters of four Fortune 500 companies and offices of more than 30 others, such as ExxonMobil, GTE Telephone (now Verizon), Kimberly-Clark and Associates Corp.
In 1985, the first sign of financial trouble appeared at Las Colinas after a real estate market crash. However, another 6,500,000 square feet (604,000 m2) of office space was built in the late 1990s boom. [citation needed]
Recent
Las Colinas Blvd.Houses on Camino Lago, Las Colinas
Las Colinas also features three private country clubs, including the Las Colinas Country Club owned by ClubCorp, Hackberry Creek Country Club and four championship golf courses surrounded by gated communities.[7] The TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas Resort has hosted the HP Byron Nelson Championship of PGA Tour since it opened in 1986. It features tree-lined fairways, large greens and a number of creeks and ponds. However, as the Four Seasons works to develop a high rise in Uptown, it will cease operations at the course, and the TPC will come under new hotel and course management by the end of 2022.[8]
It also contains high-rise office towers, retail centers, upscale residences, apartment complexes, and leisure facilities. Notable attractions include the Mustangs at Las Colinas sculpture and fountain and Las Colinas Flower Clock. The Mustangs of Las Colinas are featured in the courtyard of the Towers at Williams Square, where another ClubCorp Property, La Cima Club, is located. The complex also features a River Walk-styled canal offering gondola cruises, as well as the above-ground Las Colinas APT System. Las Colinas has over 22,300,000 square feet (2,072,000 m2) of office space, 1,300,000 square feet (121,000 m2) of retail, and 3,400 single-family homes. A 40-acre (160,000 m2) tract in Las Colinas is also home to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.
Glenn Beck's independent news and entertainment television network, TheBlaze, has its largest studio complex based in Las Colinas.
The live music venue, originally known as the Irving Music Factory, was renamed the Toyota Music Factory and opened in September 2017. Additionally, the Live Nation concert venue, The Pavilion, was renamed The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, and the VIP Lounge was renamed the Toyota Lounge.[10][11][12][13] The grounds of the Toyota Music Factory feature in total approximately 16 restaurants and bars.
In January 2022, ExxonMobil stated that it was consolidating and restructuring certain elements of its business, the most prominent being the consolidation of its chemical and refinery sectors. ExxonMobil additionally formalized the creation of a new low-carbon sector, which will handle the company's biofuel and carbon capture ventures.[14] Concurrently, the company announced it would be closing its headquarters in Las Colinas, and moving to its recently-opened campus in the Houston suburb of Spring.[15] The company released its 2021 Q4 Earnings early the next day on February 1, recording a 3-month profit of $8.9 Billion USD, jumping over 80%. ExxonMobil that day additionally announced that both its total debt was now around pre-pandemic levels, and it would begin buying back some of its shares.[16]
Geography
Climate
Las Colinas, as part of Irving and the greater DFW metroplex, is considered to be part of the humid subtropical (cfa) classification according to the Köppen system of climate classification.[17] This means that the summers are very warm and humid with mild winters and variable rainfall year round.
The constituent properties of Las Colinas are governed by The Las Colinas Association, a State of Texas non-profit corporation first incorporated on 21 August 1973 by charter 329790.[23] The Las Colinas Association is governed by non-compensated, volunteer board members, with equal representation for residential and commercial properties, and one Declarant representative.[24]
C-FBISD has always served a portion of Irving, and historically children were bussed to schools in Carrollton and Farmers Branch. Las Colinas, which opened in 1986, was C-FBISD's first school in Irving. The Kinwest Corporation donated the tract of land that houses the school. La Villita was C-FBISD's sixth school in Irving and its 27th elementary school.[28]
North Hills Preparatory, an Uplift Education charter school is in Las Colinas.[29] Uplift North Hills Preparatory is a K–12 continuum International Baccalaureate school and has been ranked as a top 20 school in America by Newsweek.[9]
^Hethcock, Bill. "Large ad agency cites area's vibrancy in decision to return." Dallas Business Journal. December 9, 2007. p. 2. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
This list is incomplete. *Dallas ISD does not serve Irving's general student population, but North Lake ECHS, a non-zoned magnet school, is located in Irving.
