It appears that the Lake Highlands Town Center may get underway after all. According to city councilman Jerry Allen, who spoke at the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Prescott Realty is planning on breaking ground on a 200-unit, five-story apartment and retail complex as early as this July.

Prescott Realty is in the midst of constructing another apartment/retail complex at the corner of Greenville and SMU Boulevard. That complex is called BLVD and possesses many similarities to the proposed project at the Town Center. Aside from their mixed-use, the BLVD is situated in close proximity to the Mockingbird DART station and this new complex will be right next to the Lake Highlands DART station.

The DART light rail is a big draw for young adults that are fresh out of college. Being able to quickly hop on a train and travel across most of the metroplex without worrying about traffic or parking - especially for anyone new to the area - is a big reason apartments built next to DART stations are largely successful.

If the ground breaking for the apartment/retail complex starts reasonably on time, the hope is that Prescott will quickly follow up with the grocery store anchor and the HUD-based parking garage. From there, if the Town Center proves successful, other tenants would start jumping onboard. There's still some time before any of this gets underway, but the Lake Highlands community will be glad to know that the Town Center may soon be up and running.