Downtown Garland Continues to Identify Among 'The Best'

The accolades keep coming for Garland's reimagined Downtown Square. Over the final week of July, the Square was named Best Suburban Project in D Magazine's list of "The Best of Big D, 2024" and Downtown Garland was cited by the Dallas Observer among "Best DART Destinations in North Texas."

According to D Magazine, "With this carefully planned redesign, Garland has achieved something many Dallas suburbs haven't - implementing modern changes without losing historic integrity."

"Wake up and smell the suburbs," added the Observer. "Downtown Garland is working overtime to pump up its cool factor."

This isn't the first formal recognition of the City's downtown transformation efforts. In June, Downtown Garland earned three awards at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers annual banquet.

Earlier in the spring, Garland's Downtown Square and Streetscapes Project won the Dallas Business Journal's Best Real Estate Deals Award in the Community Impact category. Through the Construction Management Association of America, Garland's project was on May 16 named the winner of the 2024 North Texas Project Achievement Award for Government Projects under $50 million in value.

The Square and 14 blocks of streetscapes were rebuilt over two years to create a stronger sense of connectivity and walkability. The Downtown makeover was a massive undertaking, representing a full redesign of over 60,000 square feet. Construction used 45 tons of structural steel, 5 tons of concrete and 650 tons of stone. It added 1,300 square feet of new shade structures, over 290 new light fixtures, 400 feet of wall seating and 100 new chairs. The redesign also included extensive landscaping, with an impressive 68 new trees, over 280 large grasses and plants, and 5,000-plus flowers and small plants.