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Baylor Scott & White and H-E-B are looking to build on the Heritage tract development along Robson Ranch Road and I-35W.
The Argyle Planning and Zoning Commission tabled the Heritage planned development for March 5 at the applicants request to give town staff a chance to look over Baylor Scott & White and H-E-B’s proposal.
What’s happening?
Argyle held a joint workshop with the Town Council and Planning and Zoning committee Feb. 5 to discuss future plans for the Heritage planned development.
Baylor Scott & White wants to develop on 50 acres of the 195-acre property, which will include several different buildings including retail, fitness and medical spaces. They have plans of potentially constructing a specialty heart hospital, which may include a surgical center and acute care hospital later in the construction timeline.
H-E-B is looking at purchasing another tract of land on Heritage. In Denton, there is discussion of getting H-E-B to move onto Robson Ranch Road at the Hunter Ranch Property.
“We're at a point where we need to get something done, and that's primarily for the grocer,” said Jim Wills, property owner for the Heritage tract. “We are in a race ... for this grocer with Denton, right across the street in Hunter Ranch.”
Wills said that the zoning needs to be approved by council in March or the grocer will be gone.
The details
Baylor Scott & White has a five-phase plan lasting 24 years with the provisional plan of constructing a wellness campus consisting of:
“We ... [are] a little bit too far out to say for sure exactly what [Phase 3 and 4] is going to look like,” said Charles Shelburne, system vice president of campus planning at Baylor Scott & White. “Because, again, the community need, and honestly, we're not 100% the hospital will be built.”
Though the property would be owned by Baylor & Scott, the fitness and retail facilities would be taxable.
“We have a number of relationships, 10 or more, with different joint venture partners that provide these services that are taxable entities,” Angel Benschneider, system vice president at Baylor & Scott, said.
A representative for H-E-B was not present at the joint work session.
“I wanted them to come tonight,” Wills said. “They said that they don't do any type of announcement ... until they have closed on the property and have a building permit.”
H-E-B wanted to keep their name a secret but a plan was leaked on Facebook for a proposed H-E-B on the Hunter Ranch property in Denton by Dave Salisbury, owner of The Real Estate Station.
Zooming out
The Heritage planned development is located off of the southwest corner of I-35W and Robson Ranch Road. It consists of 195 acres in total dedicated to community retail, office retail and community facilities, according to city documents.
The landscaping will follow the minimum requirements of the town with exceptions for areas zoned as community retail, which includes 129 acres, Community Impact previously reported. The applicant also proposed a 25-foot landscape preserve which includes an 8-foot paved path.
The overall development of this land is expected to consist of five phases over a 30-year period, with Phase 1 lasting from 2024-28 and including the construction of the grocery store and retail along I-35.
What they’re saying
“I just think that [Baylor Scott & White] is probably a good quality development over there to have,” Commissioner Courtney Mitchel said. “I just want to try to be able to preserve the potential for tax producing venues.”
“It's not that they're not going to put a hospital,” said commissioner Matt Nelson. “If [Baylor Scott & White have] done all the research they've done, and we say no to a hospital, the hospital is going to go somewhere. And so I would prefer it to be here just because it is Baylor.”
“I don't think we're opposed to development,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ronald Schmidt. “It's a big piece of property ... so I think we're here to work with you. It's just there's some scary stuff up here.”
The backstory
The Heritage development was tabled twice by planning and zoning, first on Dec. 4 and again Jan. 8.
In September, the developer had a Program From Argyle Community Engagement meeting to show the plans to the community and gather feedback.
What’s next?
The Argyle staff will set up a meeting with the grocer and the applicant to go through the details for the provided plan before the next planning and zoning meeting on March 5.
Argyle City Council could look over the plans and make a motion March 17.
