The original vision for Frisco Square—a place to live, work and play—continues to evolve after its inception about 15 years ago. The 147-acre development features retail, offices, apartments, a hospital, restaurants, a movie theater, green space and a variety of government uses.

Now, with construction on an office building, an apartment complex and a church underway, developers are working to provide for the expected influx of visitors, employees and residents by addressing one major issue: public parking.

“As development increases in Frisco Square, we’re going to need more parking,” said John Lettelleir, Frisco director of development services.

Lettelleir said for Frisco Square there is one parking space per 300 square feet of retail space, which he calls fairly typical for a center of this type.

Fronting Main Street west of Coleman Boulevard, construction is underway on the Tower at Frisco Square, a five-story office building. The Ablon at Frisco Square apartments are also under construction south of the office building. During the construction phase several parking options residents and patrons were accustomed to utilizing have no longer been available.

“We knew [parking] was going to be hard [during construction], but we just didn’t anticipate [how] much of an issue it was,” said Susan Roberts, senior real estate manager for Frisco Square. “We had a plan, and there is enough parking—it’s just the proximity of it all.”

Frisco Square retail leasing company, Behringer Harvard, built temporary lots to add back about 45 spaces and added complimentary valet services on Coleman Avenue while construction continues in the area.

Future parking plans

When the Tower at Frisco Square and the Ablon apartments are complete, the number of employees and residents in the area will increase by an estimated 1,000 people, said Mark Flynt, Behringer Harvard senior vice president.

Three new parking garages are expected to help ease the additional traffic, Roberts said.

One garage will be adjacent to the Tower at Frisco Square. The first floor of the garage will be reserved for the public, and the rest will be tenant parking.

The second garage, behind the Plaza at Frisco Square apartments, will be open to the public. It shares a wall with the Ablon apartments parking garage, which will be reserved for residents.

The Tower at Frisco Square garage and the second public parking garage are slated for completion by September, Roberts said. All three garages will add an estimated 1,200 new parking spaces, which includes 66 surface parking spaces, according to city officials.

“So when they open, problem solved. It’s just with such growing pains, it’s just hard for everybody to live through it,” Roberts said.

Lettelleir said there are future plans for more parking garages as development increases at Frisco Square.

As of June 29 the master plan shows 14 potential garages, Lettelleir said.

There are currently three parking garages in Frisco Square—the City Hall parking garage and one at Forest Park Medical Center, which both have public parking, and the Boulevard at Frisco Square apartments garage that has private parking.

Lettelleir said the surface parking lot east of Coleman Boulevard and surface lot south of the Cinemark movie theater will be replaced with parking garages in the future. He said construction depends on future Frisco Square development and no timetable has been set.

Event parking

In addition to new construction increasing Frisco Square parking needs, special event traffic has picked up in recent years.

The Frisco Square Property Owners Association hosts regular events throughout the year, from Music in the Square to Christmas in the Square in addition to city-sponsored events such as Freedom Fest and Merry Main Street. There are about six to 10 5K race events booked a year within Frisco Square, and FC Dallas plays at least 24 games annually in nearby Toyota Stadium.

“When we host parties, we need the back parking lot for our clients. But when there are special events, the parking isn’t available,” said Jackye Patrick, manager of The Coop party venue on Coleman Boulevard.

Patrick said when special events are occurring in the area, FSPOA provides maps to show clients and patrons available parking. She said people are not aware of free parking options.

Underutilized existing options

Lettelleir said during special events in Frisco Square he often sees people paying $20-$40 to park on the grass that fronts Main Street when free parking lots are not full.

Lettelleir said the garage behind City Hall is open to the public, and the city has street signs directing drivers to the garage. But he said he rarely sees it full.

The City Hall parking garage has 504 parking spaces with an additional 70 surface parking spots. The first and second floors are reserved for the public,  and if those spaces fill up, the public is allowed to park anywhere in the structure, Lettelleir said.

Area business owners say another underutilized option is the FPMC garage at the corner of Frisco Square Boulevard and World Cup Way to the east of the hospital.

“In general our guests are one of the lucky ones because we do have full access to that garage,” said Emily Brakebill, general manager of Three Squares. “We do have three spots close to the restaurant on World Cup Way, but because of construction, guests are not really sure where to park.”

Brakebill said many customers think the FPMC garage is only for hospital visitors and employees even though there is a sign directing people to the garage outside the restaurant.

Lettelleir said the parking issue at Frisco Square is all about perspective.

“What it comes down to, is there enough parking immediately in front of the store versus overall,” Lettelleir said. “Yes, it can be crowded sometimes but so is the mall during Christmas time. You usually find a spot.”