Today I Biked The River Legacy Park Trail To Veridian To See If Homes Are Really Sprouting Up There

New Homes Being Built At Veridian In Arlington

Last week there was an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about houses being built at the Huffines Veridian development north of the east end of River Legacy Park in Arlington.

It seemed to me that it had only been a month or two since I'd pedaled my bike in that zone and at that point in time all I saw were some bulldozers in road building, dirt moving mode.

It takes months to build a house, how could there be finished houses in Veridian, I thought to myself?

I also thought to myself that this could be another case of the Star-Telegram getting their info wrong. This has been the case, previously at this particular location.

I remember when the Star-Telegram had an article touting the opening of a new 4 mile section of paved trail in River Legacy Park, extending the trail to Highway 360, opened after a mile connector to the existing trail was finished.

However, the facts were that this trail had been finished and usable for months. There was no new 1 mile connector. But, more importantly, the trail did not and still does not, extend to 360.

The problem caused by a newspaper printing erroneous information can be a little thing. Like the very day after the Star-Telegram had this article about the trail extending to 360, I pedaled to the 7 mile mark end of the trail, thinking, well, maybe a new section has been added since I've pedaled to the end of the trail.

I got to the 7 mile mark and found a guy appearing to be very annoyed. I asked if he was okay. He told me he thought the trail went all the way to 360.

I asked him if he read that in the Star-Telegram. He replied in the affirmative. He'd told friends, flying into D/FW International, that he'd jog the new River Legacy Park trail and to look for him waving from an overpass, and to exit and pick him up. How he timed this or how he thought he knew what overpass he was going to end up on, I did not ask. I told him I didn't think he had any option but to jog back to wherever his vehicle was.

So, today I fully expected to see no houses built or being built on the Veridian development.

Well.

I was wrong. There looked to be, maybe, a dozen or more houses in various stages of construction. I thought it took 4 to 6 months to build a house. Have Texans figured out how to speed up home construction?

The Veridian development ground to a halt when the economy collapsed in 2008. Are homes rising in this location yet one more sign that the economy is coming back? I hope so.

Pedaling The New Veridian Trail At Arlington's River Legacy Park

The Thin Ribbon Of The Veridian Trail

No, what you are looking at in the picture is not some location on the Tandy Hills. I did not go to the Tandy Hills tonight, did not go to Prairie Fest x3 Part 2.

Instead of joining the throngs on the Tandy Hills I joined the throngs at River Legacy Park and had myself a real fine time going on a real long bike ride.

The orange cones that had been blocking entry from the River Legacy trail to the new paved trail that trails off into the Veridian Project had been set aside.

So, I pedaled that new Veridian trail until it terminated.

The End Of The Veridian Trail

The new Veridian trail is very narrow. I don't quite see how it is intended to be used. A pedestrian trail connection to the River Legacy trail? With bikes banned?

I have to say it was fun biking on this trail, going real fast.

The parking lot where I usually park at River Legacy Park was full tonight. The park was way busier than my mid-week visits. But the traffic on the trails was not quite as frenetic.

I was quite impressed with the number of over inflated people out getting themselves some exercise tonight. There was one really big pair at the end of the trail, the 7 mile mark. They did not appear to move too fast. I hope they made it back to their vehicular transport before it got too dark.

Huffine's Veridian at River Legacy Park

Yesterday I blogged about what's happening at, or to, River Legacy Park, in Arlington. I biked the trail as far as I could, til the trail was blocked by the construction of a pipeline.

Yesterday I told you what I'd learned about this project, from an Anonymous source.

Then, today, another Anonymous source made an information rich comment about the project at River Legacy.

It is called Veridian. Veridian, well, the Huffines, have a website. You can go there and see more artist renderings of what Veridian will look like, along with topographical maps. It is a way bigger project than I realized. It will totally alter River Legacy Park. In a good way, or bad way, I don't know. What I do know, almost for certain, is we'll be hearing a lot of construction noises for who knows how long, along the formerly quiet nature trail.

Below is an excerpt from the Veridian website describing the project. You can go to their website to read all about it.

"Viridian, a 2,000-acre+ mixed-use community located in Arlington, Texas, will offer the connection with nature that one yearns for in today's busy world, plus all the great advantages that come with small-town life. Its new urbanism design, sustainability and eco-friendly environment will make it exciting and vibrant.

Unique, unlike any ever developed, Viridian sets itself apart from others because of its prime urban location, its commitment to sustainability and its green living environment. It will be unlike any community ever built in the Southwest and is one of the largest infill developments in the U.S. It is the last large remaining urban tract in Arlington and the only remaining one - in the middle of five million people - where Huffines could create their vision of a true mixed-use, sustainable, green community, in which one could work, live and play in a urban environment. Huffines will make the development viable because of key local, public/private partnerships with the city, and when completed the community will boast a $1.5 billion dollar tax base."