Winston Capital Group's Uptown development site faces Carlisle Street just a couple of blocks from McKinney Avenue.

But the big appeal for this high-rise residential tract is behind the property: Dallas' popular Katy Trail.

"We have always felt like the trail and connecting to it was an important aspect of the development," said Winston Capital's Stewart Bul.

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With American Airlines Center in their wake, Dallas resident Sarah Brady and her 8-week-old son, Luke, head north for a jog along the Katy Trail.

While the developer hasn't decided exactly what will be built on the tract, it will definitely have access to the pedestrian route. "The trail adds a great piece to the project," Mr. Bul said.

Up and down the Katy Trail, which extends for more than three miles, developers are scrambling to tie their projects into the public right of way.And it's no wonder. On sunny weekends, the pathway is packed with Uptown residents.

Builders say having a project on the Katy Trail, which runs along an old railroad line, has become money in the bank.

Some builders say there is a "25 percent premium for having their product back up against the Katy Trail," said Phil Brosseau, part of the team developing the Residences at Hotel Palomar on Mockingbird Lane.

The Palomar developers are working with the city of Dallas to extend the Katy Trail from where it ends, near Glencoe Park, to their project about two blocks away. The builders are betting buyers in their high-rise condo project will like stepping out the back door and walking the trail to Knox Street, Turtle Creek Park and beyond.

"It used to be considered a negative, having that railroad track there," Mr. Brosseau said. "Now, it's a premium."

The Katy Trail got its start in the late 1800s when the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway built its line from St. Louis through North Texas. For decades, the rail right of way was a major transportation corridor linking Dallas with cities to the north.

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The Katy Trail got its start in the late 1800s when the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway built its line through North Texas.

When the railroad abandoned the line in the 1980s, transportation planners considered putting a commuter route along the Katy path. But nearby neighborhoods raised a ruckus, and ultimately the DART line tunneled under North Central Expressway.

In 1993, the Dallas City Council voted to turn the abandoned rail spur into a pedestrian trail.

Some residents still didn't like the idea, predicting that the trail would give criminals access to their neighborhoods.

Proponents knew the critics would come around.

"We felt that when it got strong enough, people would be tearing down their fences to get access," said architect Philip Henderson, who's worked on the project since its inception. "When the railroad was there, it was like Oak Lawn and Uptown were separated by a wall.

"Now we have a linear park," Mr. Henderson said. "We think 13,000 to 15,000 people a week use it." More than 300,000 people live within a mile of the trail.

Today, the benefits of the Katy Trail are a hot topic in the real estate business.

Developer Gables Residential – one of the largest apartment builders in Uptown – has several projects in the works along the trail. Gables is building the Villa Rosa apartments across the street from where the trail crosses Cedar Springs Road. And a few blocks away, the developer is planning a new residential project to replace aging apartments that back up to the trail near Hall Street.

"I think the Katy Trail is going to play a big role in how development is done in that area in the future," said Gables senior vice president Doug Chesnut. "Your project almost has to have two front doors, with one of them on the Katy Trail."

Dallas' Victory complex anchors one end of the trail, and its developers have funded improvements to the walkway.

"It's an unbelievable amenity for our project," said Jonas Woods, president of developer Hillwood Capital. "We've donated land for it and over $1 million.

"The fact that it begins at Victory is a huge benefit to us."

Dallas real estate executive David Griffin has been working on the capital campaign for the Katy Trail and recently moved his offices to a building overlooking the pedestrian route.

"I hear developers say that any property that is adjacent to the trail can generate a better return than something that is even a block or two away," Mr. Griffin said. "The builders all want to maximize access of their developments to the trail and make the trail an intrinsic part of their design."

As the Uptown area becomes more dense and urban, the trail will play an even bigger role, Mr. Griffin predicts.

"It will be like having a park view," he said. "The Katy Trail is the closest thing we have to a central park, and it runs through one of the most densely populated areas of the city."

Mr. Griffin said the $23 million capital campaign will provide money for landscaping and other improvements along the trail. Construction is also under way on a ramp that will connect the trail directly to Reverchon Park. Future plans will link the Katy with the planned Trinity River trail system.

"Any time you have a great public space and an area where people can walk, it adds to the quality of life," Mr. Griffin said. "It will also add to the value of businesses and residences that are located along the trail."

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com