Restaurant/lounge, venue and entertainment space in plans Some of Main Street's most visible icons could see new life if a developer's vision becomes a reality. MDS Capital LLC is considering the grain silos on the northeast corner of John Elliott Drive and Main Street as a possible dining/lounge space and a multipurpose facility for weddings and other events. The city of Frisco at a May 6 council meeting agreed to lease the silo property to MDS Capital LLC, provided an engineer deems the silos structurally sound for development. MDS Capital, which has been in talks with the city for about two years, will fund the study. Frisco City Councilman Bob Allen said the deal the company offered the city was too good to pass up. "[MDS Capital officials] are very tenacious," Allen said. "Initially I pushed back on it because I really wanted to master-plan the whole area first, but they just kept coming back and working harder and harder. Finally you get to a point where you have so many priorities and there is so much going on, you just can't do them all. So taking staff time to go through and master-plan that area right now is a hardship for us." While the taller white silos are thought to be structurally sound, the round metal silos may not be, according to city officials. After the engineering study, if MDS Capital decides to move forward with the project, the initial lease period with the city would be for 20 years with an option to extend it another 10 years. The annual base rent for the first five years is $56,400. That rate would continue to increase until years 16–20 when MDS Capital would pay $65,292 annually. The city would have no money invested in the project, but it would have input. Detailed plans of the architectural and structural work must go before City Council for approval before construction could begin. "The council has talked a lot over the past couple of years about bringing unique and destination dining and venues to Frisco," Councilman Will Sowell said. "I think this really sets a very high bar—no pun intended—of what we would want to do moving forward. [The lease is] well done." The land has been home to grain silos since the 1900s, although the current silos are thought to have been constructed in the 1940s or 1950s by Continental Grain. Fire, a common fate for grain silos in the early 1900s, is thought to be responsible for destroying several silos on the property throughout the years, including one bought in 1915 that burned in 1922.

Connecting the dots

Repurposing the grain silos could be the starting point for connecting the pieces of Frisco Square, Main Street and the area loosely defined as Frisco Junction around the Frisco Heritage Museum. Richard Galvan, president of the Downtown Frisco Merchant's Association, said if the project becomes a reality, it could tie the areas together and create more traffic—and therefore more business. "I'm excited about it," Galvan said. "I think it'll be a great thing if it comes to be. It could really be a tourist attraction." Galvan said a dining and entertainment destination such as the silos combined with growth along the Dallas North Tollway—such as the eventual public multiuse event center and Dallas Cowboys headquarters at Warren Parkway that will soon be under construction—could draw more attention to the downtown area. "I think it would drive more growth and revitalization," he said. Galvan said the downtown merchants see an advantage to tying historic downtown with Frisco Square and Frisco Junction. "What I see in the future is that the Frisco Square area continues to grow," Galvan said. "Eventually, as it grows to the east and comes downtown, all that we will see change is the structure of the buildings. Hopefully it will all eventually be one downtown district." Mark Flynt, president of the Frisco Square Property Owners Association, said the silo development concept is an appealing one that would "connect Frisco Square and the downtown Frisco area nicely, along with highlighting the city of Frisco's history." He said the possible silo development is encouraging news and it would add to the established businesses. "We are very pleased to have two new buildings breaking ground in Frisco Square this year as well that will bring new activity, new residents and new jobs to this area," Flynt said.

A broader vision

Allen, a longtime City Council member and Frisco resident, said his vision is to create a pedestrian-friendly area from the silos south to the Heritage Museum and eventual Museum of the American Railroad that would connect with both Frisco Square and Main Street. The development of the silos, he said, could be the first part of that. The city has bought various parcels of land in the area—from the silos south to Babe's Chicken Dinner—in the past six to 10 years, Allen said. "We've preserved the property; now we just need to partner with somebody who can make that a reality," Allen said. He said his wish is to see businesses such as a couple of microbreweries, specialty restaurants, art shops and other features built from the silos to the museum land. The councilman said he has an even broader vision for the long-term future—an eventual connection from the silos through the Frisco Heritage Center area, across the Dallas North Tollway into Grand Park and eventually to Lake Lewisville. "Someday you literally could start at the silos and go all the way to Lake Lewisville and back," he said. "Wouldn't that be incredible?" He said the council always knew connecting the Frisco Square, Main Street and Frisco Junction areas was going to be a long-term project. "It is kind of like Grand Park—we did the hard part when we set aside land," he said. "This is the same thing; it's going to be a long-term project, but we just need to do it right when we do it and any change we make needs to be positive, evolutionary change to where we get to the end goal. We've got the multiuse event center going on, we've got development still in Frisco Square, all these other projects, businesses and opportunities—how do you prioritize all that?"