Lower Kirby Urban Center Master Plan

IDS was part of the planning team that revamped existing zoning and development standards to attract new development to this prime property at the corner of Beltway 8 and State Highway 288. Initially conceived as The Spectrum, a commercial center anchored by research and development facilities, development plans for the site were abandoned after the economy faltered.

The 2011 master plan incorporates form-based codes to give flexibility to make market-based decisions to build office, retail, or housing, as long the development meets the character-zone concepts. IDS conceived a regional solution to detention and drainage to replace the former requirement for each individual development to build a detention pond – a unified approach that enables developers to maximize their building footprint and increases the city’s potential tax base. Transportation linkages to future mass transit were also incorporated into the master plan.