Picture the empty slab on the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. Which would send more cars past it every day: two towers of 18 and 19 stories, or the shorter buildings the current zoning already allows? A traffic study done for the developer says the shorter buildings would. That one number shapes what the Dallas City Council will and won't be deciding on November 10.
The council postponed the vote on October 14. When the case comes back in a little under three weeks, the question in front of it is how tall this corner can build. Traffic, the concern most often raised about the site, is moving forward on a separate track, through a side agreement, a list of developer commitments and the city's permitting process.
The Corner Everyone Already Drives Through
The site covers about 7 acres. In her October 9 District 13 newsletter, Council Member Gay Donnell Willis described it as a vacant concrete slab, left after medical office buildings damaged in the 2019 tornado were torn down, according to the Advocate. The city's own case report describes it a little differently. It says the request area currently has a building with retail uses plus an undeveloped area, and that the earlier retail and office buildings were destroyed in the 2019 tornado.
The rest of the intersection is busy. Central Market anchors one corner, with Mendocino Farms, Fish City Grill, D.L. Mack's, Hollywood Feed and Nothing Bundt Cakes nearby. Across Preston, Bird's Bookstore and Arthouse, Bobbie's Airway Grill and Ballard Designs share the Preston Royal center. Palladino's Steak & Seafood opened on June 16 at Preston Royal Village, the Advocate reported.
That existing traffic is the starting point for everything below. In her newsletter, Willis cited a Kimley-Horn study finding that the three developed corners already generate more than 30,000 one-way retail visits a day.
How the Towers Got Shorter
The developers are Leland Burk and Gerald Stool's Greenway Investment Co., with GFF as designer. They have cut the plan twice. The Advocate's timeline tracks the changes:
- October 2025: The first concept called for a 28-story hotel and condo tower at 325 feet, a 24-story apartment tower at 275 feet, two office buildings, restaurants, underground parking and a half-acre green.
- January 2026: Burk applied for the height increase.
- April 2026: The tallest building came down to 299 feet.
- June 2026: The hotel and condo tower dropped to 240 feet and the apartment tower to 210 feet. Condos were capped at 50 and hotel rooms at 150, and the office building grew to 12 stories.
The current version, as The Dallas Morning News describes it, has a 19-story hotel and condo tower, an 18-story apartment tower with about 175 apartments, a 12-story office tower, and several restaurants and shops. The plan also includes a half-acre public green and at least 200 new trees. On the south side, buildings would be held to 54 feet for the first 50 feet back before stepping up, according to the Advocate.
Current zoning allows 54 feet. The request is for 240.
The Trip Count That Runs Against the Yard Signs
The Kimley-Horn study done for the developers projects that the towers would produce about 5,000 one-way vehicle trips a day. A project built by right under the site's current zoning could produce more than 9,200, The Dallas Morning News reported.
| What's being counted | Daily figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Existing retail on the three developed corners | More than 30,000 one-way retail visits | Kimley-Horn study, as cited by Willis |
| A by-right project under current zoning | More than 9,200 one-way trips | Kimley-Horn study for the developers |
| The proposed towers | About 5,000 one-way trips | Kimley-Horn study for the developers |
These figures come from a study the applicant paid for. The first row also counts retail visits rather than vehicle trips, so it isn't a direct match for the other two. Even so, the comparison matters. The site is zoned Community Retail, and retail draws a steady stream of short car trips all day. Rejecting the towers wouldn't leave the slab empty forever. It would leave the corner open to development that the developer's study says could bring more cars.
Willis made a related point to The Dallas Morning News: "If this application had not even been filed, people would still be complaining about the traffic."
Three Traffic Phases, None of Them in the Zoning Text
Traffic has driven the delay. Willis asked that improvements reach beyond the Preston and Royal intersection, with signal coordination and better flow farther east and west along Royal Lane, the Advocate reported. Final details are still being worked out, but Burk has committed to three phases, according to The Dallas Morning News:
- New detection technology at Preston and Royal to improve signal timing, similar to the system at Preston Road and Forest Lane. The equipment there now is outdated and was put in quickly after the 2019 tornado.
- A signal-control system for Fire Station 41 on Royal Lane, so fire trucks can briefly interrupt the normal light cycle and get the right-of-way.
- A signal-timing study and reprogramming along Royal Lane from Midway Road to Hillcrest Road, plus the two signals just north and south of the main intersection.
Representatives for Burk told The Dallas Morning News he would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for signals and related upgrades without city money. They compared the work to signal retiming on Walnut Hill Lane several years ago, which they said saved drivers nearly 150,000 hours of delay.
Where those promises are written down matters. City staff reviewed the developer's June 12, 2026 traffic analysis and found the road network could handle the project with targeted improvements, including new signals at Preston Road and Central Market Drive and at Royal Lane and Tom Thumb Drive. The developer had asked to put signals, medians and longer turn lanes into the zoning document itself. Staff said that language didn't belong there and that traffic mitigation would be worked out during permitting, according to the city's case report.
A third track exists too. When she asked for the delay, Willis said she was working with the developer and the nearby Royal Lane Condominiums on a "good neighbor agreement." Doug Hazelbaker, a spokesperson for Preserve Preston Hollow, told The Dallas Morning News the group wasn't aware of the agreement or part of it, and said, "We'd like to have a seat at the table to be a good neighbor."
So the signal upgrades, the Fire Station 41 preemption and the Royal Lane retiming are coming through commitments, negotiation and permitting. None of them is part of the zoning text the council will vote on.
What the Council Is Actually Weighing on Nov. 10
With traffic handled elsewhere, the zoning case itself comes down to height and form. The gap between the two sides is narrower than the yard signs suggest. At the August 6 City Plan Commission hearing, Hazelbaker said, "We are in support, 100%, of this corner developing. The uses are fine. The height needs to come down," the Advocate reported. Oak Lawn Committee President Adam Murphy spoke in favor at the same hearing: "We should not confuse height with harm."
The commission voted 10-4 to recommend approval. Of the 283 property owners aware of the vote, 261 opposed the project and eight supported it. A Reform Dallas petition against it gathered more than 4,500 signatures. Willis told The Dallas Morning News she would be "far more inclined to support" the project if the traffic improvements were made.
The case also sits inside wider District 13 politics. KERA reported on October 12 that a recall petition effort began the same day Willis announced she would seek the postponement. She said the extra time was for traffic improvements and further study.
Following the Case From Here
The case number is Z-26-000007. Its city council file shows it as deferred, with no final action yet. Willis has encouraged residents to speak on the case at a City Council meeting. The same file is where the November 10 agenda and any updated documents will appear. Between now and then, the parts most likely to change are the final traffic commitments and any good neighbor agreement, since those are still being negotiated.
Lori Seale follows changes like Preston and Royal so she can help you understand what a rezoning nearby could mean for your plans. If you're thinking about a move in or around Preston Hollow this season, reach out for a conversation or start with a home valuation.
