City officials want to hear what residents have to say about the future of Division Street between Cooper and Collins streets, one of Arlington's most integral-and challenging-stretches of road.

An effort called Discover Division aims to find ways to support Division's historic past and keep it commercially viable, while encouraging new investment that would provide jobs and increase property values in the area.

Residents are encouraged to bring their ideas and opinions for the Division corridor between Cooper and Collins to City Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 29. The public open house will provide a status update on the project and allow citizens a chance to give input and discuss corridor-specific issues.

Lyndsay Mitchell, a planning project manager for Arlington's Community Development and Planning Department, said the Division corridor has a prime location that makes it a unique opportunity.

"We want to hear what people have to say," she said. "We want a clear sense of how people feel about the Division corridor-what they enjoy now and what they might like to change."

Mitchell said the road is an established, major corridor with viable businesses.

As part of State Highway 180, Division Street carried drivers between Dallas and Fort Worth before freeways took over. The vehicular travel established there, Mitchell said, resulted in motor courts, gas stations and automobile sales lots cropping up.

"The businesses along there are viable. The market is working for them," she said. "We want to find ways to complement and diversify current economic activity in the corridor to ensure long-term stability."

A recent market analysis shows that the corridor consists of aging and outdated buildings that don't provide visual continuity or a variety of land uses. It also lacks pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and landscaping.

City leaders are consulting with Freese and Nichols and Catalyst Urban Development, which also worked with Fort Worth and Weatherford on redeveloping their portions of Highway 180.

The Discover Division effort began earlier this year with an advisory committee analyzing conditions and meeting with stakeholders. Thursday's public meeting will be the first of several scheduled in 2012. The effort could be completed and taken to the City Council by the end of the year.

Thursday's meeting will be held in the City Council briefing room on the Third Floor of City Hall, 101 W. Abram Street.

For more information visit the City's website.

By Laurie Fox