Construction is underway on many of the developments along US 380, especially on the Prosper side of the highway. Frisco, on the other hand, has only planned developments that have not started construction.

According to commercial real estate agents, real estate investors and city officials, US 380 has been talked about for a long time as being the next major corridor for commercial development.

In March, Frisco City Council set its top 10 priorities for 2016, which included winning the US 380 battle. This means attracting more development to the Frisco side of the highway.

Frisco City Council Member Bob Allen said luring Stonebriar Centre to Frisco’s side of SH 121 was a catalyst for Frisco.

“Overnight it took the city in a different direction and gave it an investment,” Allen said. “US 380 is the same thing, and it would be great for us to take advantage of that location. Whichever [city] gets the biggest draw for revenue from outside the community is the one that will benefit the most from it.”

Rex Real Estate owner Rex Glendenning said US 380 is just now beginning to experience the growth SH 121 has already experienced in the past decade.

“We finally have enough rooftops up in the Prosper area and the North Frisco area to facilitate the retail growth and retail demand along US 380,” Glendenning said.

When Dallas attorney and real estate investor Donald Godwin bought his first tract of land along US 380 in 1991, he said he envisioned development along the highway that would go from Denton to McKinney.

Godwin now owns about 400 acres of land at the US 380 and Dallas North Tollway intersection. Godwin’s land is for sale, and he said a substantial number of buyers are interested.

“There is a lot of current activity on the Prosper side, but I believe personally that’s going to change in the coming months and certainly this time next year,” Godwin said. “We’re going to start seeing development on both sides of US 380.”

Why not Frisco?

Although plenty of land is still available to develop along US 380, development announcements on the Prosper side of US 380 are becoming much more frequent than the Frisco side.

Some of Prosper’s established developments include a Kroger grocery store and Windsong Ranch, a 2,030-acre master-planned community. Other projects are under construction.

In Frisco, one commercial development with a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a mixed-use development are planned at FM 423. A movie theater will also soon be under construction at the DNT.

Glendenning said it might seem that a lot more activity is happening on the Prosper side than the Frisco side, but that is because Prosper is playing catch-up.

“Prosper has been retail starved until Kroger opened in Prosper this year, its first grocery store,” he said. “So it’s been a catch-up campaign for Prosper to get retail that’s been nonexistent until now.”

Glendenning said Frisco has always had retail options readily available elsewhere in the city, so it had no need to put a rush on the developments the way Prosper has.

Allen said Frisco has already made the investment in roads and infrastructure along US 380 to attract developers.

He said it was important that the city have utilities such as water and sewer lines in place so the land would be ready for any potential developers.

“We’re looking for development partners to do things [on US 380],” Allen said. “We’re no different than other cities, but the difference is that we have made an upfront investment, and we are prepared to move quickly when those opportunities present themselves.”

Frisco Director of Development Services John Lettelleir said the city is actively pursuing development opportunities for US 380 now that the infrastructure is in place.

“There is always friendly competition for retail [with other cities] and that does become challenging along the borders where retailers are seeking the best deal,” Lettelleir said.

Frisco development

In 2015, City Council approved plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter to anchor a commercial development at US 380 and FM 423. The development includes fast-food restaurants, a convenience store, a bank and retail buildings. The Wal-Mart is expected to open in 2017.

In March, the City Council approved a mixed-used development called Frisco Crossing. The 83-acre development on the southwest corner of US 380 and FM 423 is planned to have retail, restaurants and residential space.

Lettelleir said he expects the project to break ground sometime next year.

Frisco North was one of the first developments planned for the Frisco side of US 380. The project was intended to be a 320-acre mixed-use development at the southwest corner of US 380 and the DNT with Cinemark Theatre anchoring the project.

Frisco City Council approved the plans for the project in 2012, but the original developer, Forest City Inc., pulled out of the project in 2013. The property has remained without a developer since. Because Cinemark still owns the property for the new theater on the land, it plans to continue the project. Construction on the theater is expected to begin later this year. According to the city’s development reports, there are still plans for three retail buildings within that same property.

Prosper development and growth

Earlier this year, Kroger opened its first store in Prosper at the intersection of Preston Road and Prosper Trail.

Kroger recently broke ground on a second location at the intersection of US 380 and Gee Road near the Windsong Ranch community in Prosper. A third Kroger location in Prosper is planned on US 380 at Custer Road. Lowe’s Home Improvement is under construction at the same location at Custer Road.

A Wal-Mart Supercenter is under construction at the northeast corner of US 380 and Preston Road also in Prosper. This site is part of the mixed-use development The Gates of Prosper by Jerry Jones-owned Blue Star Land Co. development firm. The development is planned to accommodate more than 570,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the 93 acres.

Texas Health Resources is building a 65,000-square-foot health care campus in Prosper on US 380 west of the DNT. The Home Depot submitted a zoning application to develop a store on the northwest corner of US 380 and Windsong Ranch Parkway in Prosper.

John Webb, Prosper director of development services, said based on the attractive market along Preston Road, US 380 and the future extension of the DNT, Prosper is expected to experience a growth rate similar to Frisco’s.

“But we anticipate our build-out population to be around 72,000—much less than Frisco,” Webb said. “Unlike Frisco, we will be a lower-density community with less focus on the high-density residential developments as seen in Frisco.”

When Prosper’s comprehensive plan was adopted in 2012, it was anticipated that the US 380 corridor would attract major commercial development that would benefit the town, Webb said.