The promise that $1 billion would be spent widening the Texas 114/121 DFW Connector in Grapevine helped lure Deliotte University to Fort Worth's Alliance area, a company executive says.
"What drew us to put the university in place here was effective infrastructure, access to DFW Airport and Love Field," Peter Sackleh, director of strategic implementation, told about 100 members of the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition Wednesday morning during a get-together in downtown Fort Worth. "We've got people coming in from around the country and the world."
The DFW Connector project, which began in 2010 and is ahead of its scheduled 2014 completion date, includes the reconstruction and expansion of some of the main freeways leading to and from Dallas Fort Worth Airport, as well as the airport's north entrance.
Sackleh also said he supports efforts to expand Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, and to extend commuter rail and other transit services to the Alliance area.
Deloitte University serves as a humongous training center for one of the nation's largest accounting and consulting firms. The five-story building, which opened in October in the tiny enclave of Westlake, has about 500 employees and at any given time is hosting about 800 visitors. The typical stay for each visitor is about three and a half days, Sackleh said. For the most part, guests at Deloitte U. are either professionals who have traveled to Westlake for a few days of professional training, or people who have flown in to provide the training.
The resort-like university is near Texas 114 and Dove Road.
@gdickson
Thanks to these roads, accessibility isn’t a problem anymore. The major reason why roads are constructed is to connect places… but these structures don’t just connect places; these connect relations. Just like what universities do…
Posted by: Megan Payne | April 05, 2012 at 10:59 AM