Planners at the time were tasked with determining the best use for a large swath of the city that would inevitably be affected by air traffic noise.
Their solution: shift future residential development east of Freeport Parkway and reserve western Coppell for industrial use.
What was originally meant to serve as a buffer between the air traffic noise and nearby neighborhoods has proven to be a massive tax generator for the city.
“Zoning of a city is critical for development,” Coppell Development Services Administrator Matt Steer said. “The people that put together ... that future land-use plan did a really good job in separating out where the industrial would be appropriate versus the residential here in Coppell.”
The 2.8 square miles in Coppell’s industrial district—about a 19% of the city—are now home to dozens of global corporations’ headquarters and other business operations. Most recently, one of the world’s top supercar manufacturers, McLaren Automotive, announced the relocation of its North American headquarters to the area.
“The new construction and mass development highlights the growth of the Coppell market and identifies with our growing brand,” McLaren North America President Tony Joseph said in a statement.
While the area is considered industrial, passersby will not find large-scale manufacturing operations.
“There’s nothing more intense than light industrial,” Steer said. “We did have heavy industrial in the [city’s ordinances], but we took that out. ... [Light industrial is] office warehouse and distribution and light manufacturing.”
Airport guides industrial use
City master plans dating back into the early 1970s drew a clear line between the eastern, residential and western, industrial sides of town. The city’s current future-use plan delineates the two uses along Freeport Parkway and Belt Line/Denton Tap Roads.
Western Coppell’s proximity to the airport and major thoroughfares as well as its location within the flood plain contributed to determining the land’s future use, according to the plans.
Because the airport receives funds from the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport must fulfill certain requirements, said Sandy Lancaster, the environmental program manager at the airport.
“One of those conditions [is] that we would protect the land use around our airport and in airport flight paths to those that are compatible with aircraft operations,” Lancaster said.
Industrial, office and agricultural uses are all deemed compatible with aircraft operations by the FAA, Lancaster said.
Coppell Community Development Director Mindi Hurley said the proximity to the airport has shaped how much development is zoned for light-industrial use.
“We have a large amount of light-industrial space in Coppell,” she said in a statement. “While there is some residential on the west side, the majority of the land is open space or commercial.”
Attracting businesses
The majority of Coppell’s industrial district falls within a zone that reaches an average annual day and night noise level of 65 decibels. While not ideal for residential development, the area is attractive to global corporations.
“Once McLaren North America made the decision to relocate to the Dallas area, Coppell became an immediate consideration,” Joseph said in the statement. “The proximity to the airport and the mass development in the area, especially within [the] Cypress Waters area, helped to confirm our decision.”
Coppell’s industrial district houses a variety of operations, Hurley said.
“There is a real mix of types of industries represented in the light-industrial area,” Hurley said in a statement. “Most are warehouse/distribution, but you have some corporate headquarters and some light manufacturing and assembly.”
McLaren, for example, will not house any of its manufacturing operations at its new North American headquarters, Joseph said.
“Our dealership sales and technical training will take place from this facility, so ease of access to the airport is desirable,” he said. “Additionally, we will host customers and dealers [at] our facilities for various events, including launch events, and the desirability of the area was a key consideration.”
Other major business operations in the industrial district include a Subaru parts distribution center, the U.S. Postal Service’s regional administration offices and distribution center, and three Amazon fulfillment centers.
All of those brands—including some of the equipment and inventory within their buildings—contribute to Coppell’s hefty commercial tax base.
Tax revenue generated
The market value of commercial real estate along with business personal property in Coppell totaled $5.2 billion in 2019, according to Dallas Central Appraisal District data. And much of that taxable value is found in the city’s industrial district, officials said.
That total makes up 52.5% of the city’s entire market value, with the rest being residential.
The DCAD bases its appraisals of commercial facilities on the amount of revenue coming through businesses’ doors.
“No matter where it is, we’re going to look at the income [for appraisals],” said Cheryl Jordan, the community relations officer with the appraisal district. “We do look at some sales, but ... what kind of income is it going to generate? What are the market rents? What does it lease for?”
Taxing entities can also collect on the value of businesses’ personal property, Jordan said, which can serve as a major revenue source for cities that have developed like Coppell.
“As far as business personal property, that’s all of the machinery, furniture, fixtures ... and even the inventory inside the property that is used in the production of income,” Jordan said.
