During a heated City Council debate about plans to overhaul the Van Dorn Street/Eisenhower Interchange, part of the discussion was angst over nearby developer The Greenhill Companies’ opposition to the project.
The plan is to make a series of changes to Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, including relocation of left-turn lanes on Van Dorn Street and the installation of a new bike lane on Eisenhower Avenue.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said she’d done her own outreach on the project and heard that Greenhill, which is developing a nearby 24-acre mixed-use project, was opposed to the project.
A representative from Greenhill, however, denied anyone from the company had ever spoken with Jackson about the proposal or voiced opposition to it.
“Neither myself or anyone within my organization spoke with Vice Mayor Amy Jackson,” said Richard Greenburg, from The Greenhill Companies, “nor did we oppose any traffic changes to the S. Van Dorn St/Eisenhower Avenue interchange.”
During the City Council meeting, Jackson said part of her concerns about the plan were based on Greenhill’s opposition.
“Although this is well-intended, I have a real concern when I hear that Greenhill itself does not like this plan,” Jackson said. “Then my concern is: will they not build? Will they not develop because this plan is in place? As much as it’s well intended, my concern is ‘what is the other side?’ To help a few, I feel like we let down a community in doing it.”
Mayor Justin Wilson said at the meeting that the Council had received no communication from Greenhill about the project, to which Jackson answered “I don’t report to you.”
“To make claims that Greenhill is against this when we received no communication, I want to specifically know if the Vice Mayor spoke to someone from Greenhill,” City Council member Canek Aguirre said. “We can’t just make things up on the dais with nothing to back it.”
There are other nearby contentious transportation projects, like the Complete Streets proposal for S. Pickett Street, which could be the source of the confusion. Jackson did not respond to multiple texts or calls from ALXnow asking for clarification.
The Van Dorn Street/Eisenhower Avenue changes were approved in a 5-2 vote with Jackson and City Council member John Chapman voting against it.
