On June 13-14, 2019, the City of Richardson hosted a Block Party to kick off the rezoning initiative for the Collins-Arapaho TOD and Innovation District. The City transformed a vacant site along Duck Creek with food trucks, live music, games, and “pop-up park” demonstration along Duck Creek. The intent was to create a space of leisure that took full advantage of the site’s natural assets, starting with the creek that runs behind the building.

To energize the area, temporary murals were added around the building and hammocks to lounge near the creek. Temporary bridges were constructed to connect the neighboring offices and allow workers to walk over during their lunch break to the newly activated space.

Seeing Duck Creek activated through a pop-up park provided a visual sense of opportunity for the area, encouraging more creative and people-oriented development for the corridor’s future. The City of Richardson is currently working on amending zoning entitlements in the Innovation District to promote the type of growth and transformation.

A survey was emailed to participants following the Block Party, with over 93% of the respondents indicating the Block Party was either “Fantastic!” or “Enjoyable”. Over the two days, a total of 373 residents, workers and business owners attended this event.

• Document: Block Party Participant Results (PDF)