Local News:

More on the Grapevine lifestyle and many events in the city are covered weekly in our favorite local papers listed at the bottom of this page.

Grapevine Chamber Honored at Statewide Conference

On June 29, 2010, the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce was recognized by the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives Assn. The Chamber received 1st place for their map and 2nd place for their monthly newletter publications. Also recognized at the conference was President RaDonna Hessel, with the 2010 Distinguished Service Award.  Hessel stated, "I am honored to be recognized by my profession's state organization and peers. I attempt to practice what I preach to the Chamber members daily, that everyone has to get involved and take a leadership role to make a difference".

i5 web works Selected to Design Website for Grapevine Chamber of Commerce

Southlake, TX (PRWEB) July 26, 2010 — i5 web works (www.i5ww.com), a website development and internet marketing explained company headquarted in Dallas-Fort Worth, has been selected by the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce (www.GrapevineChamber.org) to design its new website. “We are honored to have been chosen for this project and are excited about the opportunities this new website will provide to the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce and its members,” commented Michael Burns, co-founder and partner of i5 web works. The new website will include a custom design which will reflect the diversity of the Grapevine business community and provide information about the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce and the businesses which makeup the chamber. According to RaDonna Hessel, president of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce, i5 web works was chosen after an extensive RFP and interview process. “For over a year, the Technology Committee of the Grapevine Chamber considered various proposals for the creation of a new website to serve the business investors of the Chamber as well as the Grapevine Community,” explained Hessel. “While there were several bids from quality companies in the Grapevine area that were received, the ultimate selection of i5 web works was based on a complete package – which included pricing, experience, examples of work and the ability to create a unique final product. As a long-time Chamber member and community partner, i5 web works has been committed to creating websites with up-to-date features with world class components.” The new website is scheduled to launch late September, 2010.

SEA LIFE Aquarium Comes to Grapevine

Merlin Entertainments is partnering with The Grapevine Mills Mall to bring North Texas a new SEA LIFE Aquarium in the summer of 2011. The initial plans for the $15 million aquarium include a two-story, 45,000 square-foot aquarium featuring a wide array of marine life and a tropical ocean tank built with a walk-through underwater tunnel. The attraction also offers interactive opportunities for visitors including feeding demonstrations and participation in environmental and conservation marine campaigning. “The SEA LIFE Aquarium will be the perfect complement to Grapevine Mills Mall already celebrated shopping and entertainment experience. We look forward to our partnership with Merlin Entertainments and are confident that families will revel in the deep sea wonders that the aquarium will bring,” said Gregg Goodman, president of Grapevine Mills, in a press release. The aquarium is Merlin’s fourth SEA LIFE attraction to open in the USA. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, another Merlin Entertainments attraction, announced its plans last year to open at Grapevine Mills in March 2011. SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND will be built across from one another. Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate supports the attractions in North Texas by stating, “The combination of SEA LIFE, along with the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, will further solidify Grapevine’s position as the leading destination city in North Texas for families. SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Centre will also create new jobs and generate additional income for local companies supplying and supporting these attractions."

City Council Approves $1.4M Rennovations for Vineyards Campgrounds

The Vinyards Campground was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1960s and later leased at no cost to the city. On Tuesday (April 20), the Grapevine City Council approved spending $1.4 million to hook up water, sewer and electricity to the sites and to pay for foundations for additional cabins. It’s the latest step in a renovation effort begun in 2006, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram. The lack of utilities was a chief complaint among otherwise excellent reviews for the 52-acre campground, said Joe Moore, assistant parks director for Grapevine. Tuesday’s action is a remedy that shows “we listen to the opinions of people as to what they say they need,” he said. The city-owned camping area is “a big draw” to Lake Grapevine’s south shore, Moore said. Last year, it was one of two in Texas to receive a top score in a survey of RV enthusiasts. It also was named best medium-size campground by the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO). Its 68 RV sites average a 70% occupancy rate for the year, and the five furnished cabins are booked until mid-August, he said. That traffic generates enough fees to cover maintenance, as well as to repay $1.7 million in bonds issued last year for improvements. The $1.4 million approved Tuesday is from those bonds and also pays Carrollton-based Cooper General Contractors to build foundations for seven more cabins, which cost up to $50,000 apiece and will be funded separately. Construction is expected to begin in a couple of weeks and end in September, Moore said. Those five months are considered peak camping season but provide the lowest risk of flooding of the work sites. Flooding in 2007 covered campground roads with mud, ruined landscaping and submerged a number of tent and RV sites. Cleanup cost more than $150,000 after Grapevine spent $2 million upgrading the facility and changing the name from Silver Lake Campground the year before.

Grapevine Provides $1M to Grapevine Mills Mall

April, 2010 Grapevine will provide $1 million to Grapevine Mills for unspecified improvements intended to attract "a substantial number of additional shoppers" to the mall, the City Council decided. City officials said money for the incentive package will come from expected surpluses in the tax increment financing district that helped pave the way for the mall, which opened in 1997. Such projects could include improvements to parking lots, sidewalks, lights, signs and interior areas. "Malls are kind of a living, breathing organism, and if you don't keep them alive and new, somebody's going to come in and take your place," Councilman Mike Lease said. "Having funds available to do just that is very important." City officials said the mall has exceeded growth expectations, which will allow the debt to be paid about six years ahead of schedule. Tax revenue collected after that can be used only in the district, Lease said.

XTO Filing for First Gas Well Drilling in Southlake Impacts Grapevine

April, 2010 In a best-case scenario, Southlake's first gas well could be producing a year from now, giving mineral owners their first royalty checks, said Walter Dueease, an XTO official as he addressed crowds at a recent meeting. The first horizontal wells in the city will likely be drilled toward Kimball Avenue, extracting gas from the southwestern section of Southlake. A total of 27 wells could potentially be drilled from the 3-acre pad site on Texas 26 and Mustang Court abutting Southlake's border with Grapevine. The wells could harvest gas from as far away as Kimball Avenue on the east, Southlake Boulevard on the north, White Chapel Boulevard on the west and Big Bear Creek near Parr Park on the south. Property owners who stand to profit from the drilling include the Carroll and Grapevine-Colleyville school districts, the cities of Grapevine and Colleyville, homeowners associations and thousands of homeowners, Dueease said. Schools that could be reached from the pad site include Rockenbaugh, Old Union elementary schools, Dawson Middle School, Eubanks Intermediate School and Dragon Stadium. Another horizontal well would head to points south to extract gas from Grapevine High School, Cross Timbers Middle School, Timberline Elementary School and Mustang-Panther Stadium. Last month, Grapevine received $417,420, or $5,000 an acre, for leasing the 83.5acre Parr Park property from Pool Road east to Heritage Avenue. Grapevine will also receive 25 percent of the value of the gas extracted from the park area. Southlake officials are waiting for the price of natural gas to go up before leasing city properties, including parks. "Even if the council does determine to lease the city's minerals, it would not be financially prudent to do so with the gas market being so low," said Southlake's Mayor John Terrell. "The gas isn't going anywhere." Before drilling begins, however, much has to happen. Southlake Planning and Zoning Commission will review the city's gas drilling ordinance at a work session 5:30 p.m. April 8 at Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main St.

First Baptist Church Plans New Campus

First Baptist Church of Grapevine was founded in 1869 with 18 members and has occupied the property at 301 E. Texas Street since 1905. The church added facilities as its congregation grew, now occupying about 7 acres. With Sunday attendance topping 1,100, the church has outgrown its facilities, per church leaders. The church has received a permit to build a campus on 29 acres at 2301 William D. Tate Ave., with a move expected by early 2011. The new campus will have a 740-seat worship center and facilities totaling more than 81,000 square feet, with room to grow. As a result of this move, a prime property in the heart of Grapevine's historic district may be going onto the market and city officials are considering how they would like the site redeveloped. Appraisers have valued the property between $14.3 and $15 million.

Nash Farm Honored

March 21, 2010 The 150-year-old Nash Farmstead near historic downtown Grapevine is among 14 projects and individuals being honored by Preservation Texas. Thomas Jefferson Nash purchased 110 acres of farmland in Grapevine in 1859, where the family raised cash crops and livestock. Now, the farmstead is 5.2 acres and consists of the original house, barn and family cemetery. The farmstead is owned by the nonprofit Grapevine Heritage Foundation, which has restored the farmhouse to its original appearance. The organization offers educational programs and interpretive exhibits. The awards will be presented April 22, 2010, in Houston during the Texas Historical Commission's Annual Historic Preservation Conference. Preservation Texas advocates for preserving Texas' historical resources.

Grapevine Police Launch 'Nixle'

The Grapevine Police Department is launching a new Community Information Service designed to deliver important and timely information to residents in our area using the latest technology. This service, created by Nixle, LLC, delivers trustworthy and important neighborhood-level public safety and community event notifications by web, e-mail, and cell phone. Grapevine residents can now take advantage of Nixle which is a community information service that issues alerts concerning public safety threats and community events.   Nixle is a new community information service provider built exclusively to provide secure and reliable communications. Its authenticated service connects municipal agencies and community organizations to residents in real time, delivering information to geographically targeted consumers over their cell phones (via text messages), through e-mails and through Web access. Nixle is offered at no cost to all governments, their agencies and organizations, nongovernmental organizations and consumers. In October the Denton Police Dept. used Nixle to help locate a missing Alzheimer patient. With construction of the Hwy. 114/121 corridor soon to begin the service can also be used to notify subscribers of lane and road closures. The Grapevine Police Department urges citizens to go to the Nixle website, www.nixle.com and sign up for the free service. Anyone with questions can contact Crime Prevention Officer Johnny Jones at 817 410-3209. crimeprevention@grapevinetexas.gov

Three Large Developments Announced

There are three massive development projects currently in various stages within Grapevine's city limits: the World Villages of Grapevine, Silver Lake Crossings and Legoland Discovery Centre. These developments are focused on the tourist industry: hospitality, retail, restaurants and entertainment. Announced earlier this year, the World Villages of Grapevine is a planned $1.6 billion, 3-million-square-foot development including a one-of-a-kind indoor ski park and an Asian cultural center to be developed by The Gardens of Grapevine Development LP and set to break ground between state highways 121 and 2499, adjacent to the Grapevine Mills Mall. Nearby is the planned Silver Lake Crossings, a 52-acre master-planned, mixed-use development by Newcrest Development that will feature a 301-room Courtyard by Marriott as well as additional hotels and some multifamily facilities. The most recent project announced in Grapevine, is in entertainment. Merlin Entertainments soon will build Legoland Discovery Centre, a $12 million project, within Grapevine Mills shopping mall. Dan Truex, Grapevine Economic Development Manager stated, “It’s very exciting for us,” Truex said of the three developments. “And then of course you have The Gaylord, which has plans for an expansion, and Great Wolf Lodge, which just wrapped up an expansion.”

Local News Sources:

The Grapevine Courier

The Grapevine Courier, part of the Alliance Regional Newspaper publications group, is owned by The Fort Worth Star Telegram. The Courier specializes in the local news of citizens that reside in the Grapevine/Colleyville Independent School District area. Contact Executive Editor Charles D. Young for publication information.

Tarrant County Newsletter

For business news about the Grapevine marketplace in Northeast Tarrant County, Gary Fickes, Tarrant County Commissioner Pct. 3, also offers an economic development newsletter for your information.

ilovegrapevinetexas.com

Our team will post news online about events that are open to the entire Grapevine community. Please feel free to put us on your media mail list for publication consideration. At least two weeks before your event, please send an e-mail or mail your news release to: P.O. Box 7, Grapevine, Texas 76099.