Allen officials are working to determine infrastructure priorities for the upcoming fiscal years.
In a 6-0 vote with Commissioner Tim Voss absent, the Allen Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the city of Allen’s 2027-31 Capital Improvement Program at an Aug. 4 meeting.
The big picture
A capital improvement program, or CIP, is a planning tool that helps city officials establish priorities, funding sources and timelines for projects, Assistant Director of Engineering Kevin Ferrer said.
“It’s a dynamic, five-year outlook of our proposed projects, and is updated and adjusted yearly at the end of the fiscal year,” Ferrer said.
Projects included in a city’s CIP can have a variety of funding sources, including:
- Impact fees: water, sewer, sanitary and transportation fees collected from new developments
- Community development corporation and economic development corporation funding, which comes from sales tax dollars
- Operational revenues, primarily from water and wastewater collections
- General fund dollars, which come from sales and property tax revenue
- General obligation bonds
- Intergovernmental partnerships: Collin County bonds, Texas Department of Transportation funding, etc.
Zoom in
The engineering department’s priorities for fiscal year 2026-27 in the proposed CIP include upcoming and ongoing projects, as well as projects that are still in the design phase, Ferrer said.
Upcoming and ongoing projects include:
Planned design projects include:
- Aerial crossing at Whisenant Estates and Greenville sanitary sewer replacement
- Addition of a fifth and sixth lane on Exchange Parkway from SH 121 to Alma Drive
- Improvements to the streetscape along Main Street and Butler Drive
- Rockridge water main replacement, which is in Allen’s extra-territorial jurisdiction
- Widening of Watters Road from SH 121 to Exchange Parkway
Ferrer’s presentation did not include any details on project costs or specific funding sources.
Diving deeper
Director of Parks and Recreation Kate Meacham also gave a presentation detailing parks and public art projects included in Allen’s proposed 2027-31 CIP.
There are approximately $18 million in parks projects included in the proposed CIP, with about $5.8 million coming from sales tax and the remaining nearly $12.2 million coming from general obligation bond revenue, per Meacham’s presentation.
“We’re trying to cadence out some of these projects so we don’t have three regional parks down under construction all at the same time,” Meacham said. “Our goal is to get Spirit Park out the door first, first of the year. Ford [Park] would follow in the spring, and then Celebration [Park] would follow in that late summer time frame.”
What’s next
The proposed 2027-31 CIP will go before Allen City Council for final action at its Sept. 8 meeting, commission Chair Dan Metevier said.
