Duncanville, TX

Only 20 minutes from Dallas and Fort Worth, Duncanville, Texas, provides its 38,000-plus residents all of the advantages of big-city life without requiring them to sacrifice the perks of a small-town community. Along with Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Lancaster, Duncanville is part of the Best Southwest, a partnership of the four cities' chambers of commerce that aims to foster area development through better education, business, and quality of life. Not surprisingly, Duncanville prides itself on its successful schools, safe neighborhoods and business incentive programs.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Along with supporting existing establishments, Duncanville actively seeks to attract new business ventures to the city. Besides helping local business owners procure low-interest loans and qualify for tax abatement programs, the city government offers businesses incentive and grant programs for the following:

• Relocating
• Facility/office expansion
• Refurbishment plans (landscaping, painting, replacing signs)
• Tear down/rebuild projects

A major factor influencing Duncanville's thriving business and industry sectors is its geographic location, only minutes from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, as well as Love Field, the main hub of Southwest Airlines. Professionals can also take advantage of the two runways at Dallas Executive Airport, a municipal airport that provides services for corporate flights. Moreover, a railway passes through Duncanville, and the Interstate 35 NAFTA Corridor is nearby, both allowing for cost-effective shipment of inventory.

Duncanville's workforce is highly educated, diverse and successful: approximately 50 percent have college degrees and earn more than the state average. Additionally, 70 percent of Duncanville's residents have white-collar jobs in business management, education, manufacturing, retail trade, and health and social services.

Over 23 different kinds of industries operate in Duncanville, from telecommunications to hotel and restaurant management and from software development to electronics. Leading businesses that make their home in Duncanville include:

• Hilton Hotels and Convention Centers
• Dr Pepper StarCenter
• Texwood Industries
• Pappas Restaurants

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Duncanville accommodates about 13,200 houses and its occupancy ratio is 97 percent. Out of the occupied houses, about 9,250 are owner-occupied houses and 3,600 are renter-occupied houses.

The walkability of Duncanville is good, but some movie theatres and bars are far from the center of the city.

The City of Duncanville is currently working on a revitalizion project to make Duncanville's Main Street a more vibrant community and commercial center. The project is aimed at providing convenient public parking and a pleasant walking and café experience between businesses. Additionally, a downtown housing initiative, the Center Street Townhome project, is underway on the North side of Center Street, East of Main. That project consists of 31 "live/work" townhomes.

FOR VISITORS

• International Museum of Cultures: The exhibits and artifacts on view in this museum portray the lifestyles, cultures, and traditions of remote indigenous people.
• Armstrong Park Gardens: Working with the Texas & Horticultural Extension Service, the Duncanville horticulturalist Frank Allen maintains the iris garden, the perennial garden, and the rose garden at Armstrong. From Allen's research, the public is educated about growing healthy plants without using chemicals.
• Dallas Nature Center: This 360-acre park is a habitat for the black-capped vireo, as well as a variety of other birds. Visitors can also observe an array of native butterflies, wildflowers, and reflecting pools in the Mary Alice Perkins Bland Butterfly Garden. In addition to seven miles of hiking trails, the park features picnic areas, a visitors center, and a gift shop.
• Joe Pool Lake: With a surface area of over 7,400 acres, Joe Pool Lake, only four miles from Duncanville, is a haven for people who love the outdoors. The lake is surrounded by four main parks that have marinas, boat ramps, swimming areas, hiking trails, campsites, and hundreds of picnic tables and barbecue grills for feasting and fun with family and friends. Fishing for white bass, white crappie, largemouth bass, and channel catfish is a popular activity at Joe Pool Lake. Cedar Hill State Park, located along the northeast corner of the lake, has a fishing barge and over ten miles of mountain biking trails.
• Dr Pepper StarCenter: Endorsed by the Dallas Stars hockey team, this 95,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility houses two ice rinks, a pro shop, a bar, and a grill. The arena offers figure-skating lessons, hockey lessons and leagues, curling, speed skating, and public skating sessions.

FAMILY FUN

As a member of the Keep Texas Beautiful organization, Duncanville organizes beautification projects throughout the city, to keep its streets, sidewalks, and parks in pristine condition. A full-time horticulturist maintains the city's flowerbeds, planting almost 50,000 annual bulbs every year to ensure color year-round.

Duncanville's city park system includes 13 parks with athletic fields, tennis courts, and walking trails. The largest of these is Armstrong Park, where children flock to Kidsville Playground, the largest volunteer-built playground in the nation. A recreation center with a gym, a fitness center, a game room, a teen area, and meeting rooms can also be found within Armstrong Park.

Duncanville has convenient access to events in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex at the following venues:

• Meyerson Symphony Center
• Bass Performance Hall
• Texas Stadium
• American Airlines Center
• Six Flags over Texas
• Lone Star Park
• Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

EDUCATION

Because of its convenient location, Duncanville provides students of all ages easy access to higher education.

The following colleges are located in neighboring towns:

• Cedar Valley College
• Mountain View College
• University of North Texas at Dallas
• Dallas Baptist University
• Northwood University

Universities located within 45 minutes of Duncanville include:

• University of Dallas
• University of Texas at Arlington
• Texas Christian University
• Southern Methodist University