The University of North Texas has signed a lease with Hall Office Park for its new satellite campus in Frisco. UNT plans for a soft launch in January, and the campus will do some basic program development work with corporations in Frisco between October and January, UNT President Neal Smatresk said. The campus will accommodate 500 students and will focus on business communication and technology programs. The university leased 36,600 square feet of office space in Hall Office Park that will cost $25.50 a square foot, UNT confirmed Oct. 2. For each year until June 2021 the rent will go up by 50 cents per square foot. UNT will pay about $933,300 next year, and the university will pay just over $1 million for the final year of the lease, from mid-2020 to mid-2021, UNT spokesperson Kelley Reese said. Smatresk said the campus will be the stepping-stone to building a permanent campus in Frisco. “We all know that Frisco is a super hot area; we know there are a lot of tech companies; we know it’s one of the fastest-growing regions, and we feel like we’re the institution of choice in North Texas, and we ought to have a footprint there,” Smatresk said in a previous Community Impact Newspaper article. UNT also partners with Collin College at its Higher Education Center, which offers junior- and senior-level college classes and graduate degrees from four-year universities. Smatresk said the move would have no effect on UNT’s partnership with Collin College. “We believe we’ll still have a footprint at Collin College; we like our relationship with them and we see no reason to disturb it,” Smatresk said. There is a planned meeting Oct. 8 between UNT and Collin College officials, Collin College spokesperson Marisela Cadena-Smith said.