The commission approved the proposal with a 6-1 vote during the March 5 meeting with Commissioner Mike Udovic opposed.
What happened
The Heritage developer reduced the acreage of the development to 123.93 acres instead of the 195 acres that was originally proposed. It will be located on the southwest corner of I-35W and Robson Ranch Road.
The commission recommended that large scale development, which includes buildings that are 40,000 square feet or larger, only be permitted in certain areas. The plan says that large-scale development is permitted in areas for the proposed hospital, medical campus and grocery store.
Though the developer wanted to include 15% landscaping in all areas, the commission recommended changing that to 20%.
In addition to the landscaping, the developer included an 8-foot-wide trail to be constructed adjacent to the retention or detention open space areas along with one amenity item such as a fountain, outdoor seating or public art. The commission recommended that two amenity items be included on every acre of open space.
The details
The development could include an H-E-B up to 150,000 square feet along with a Baylor Scott & White wellness campus consisting of 50 acres. The wellness campus proposal includes retail, fitness and medical spaces, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The medical hospital is proposed to be six stories not to exceed 120 feet, according to city documents.
The medical campus may include four-story buildings with a height not to exceed 75 feet, per city documents.
The rest of the proposed development would be dedicated to commercial retail and not exceed 50 feet in height, which corresponds with town standards.
Zooming in
Baylor Scott & White has a five-phase plan lasting 24 years with the provisional plan of constructing a wellness campus consisting of:
- 44,000 square feet of medical spaces and 36,000 square feet of retail spaces from 2024-2028
- 40,000 square feet of medical spaces and 54,000 square feet of retail and fitness spaces from 2029-2033
- A joint-venture outpatient facility, which may include a surgical center from 2034-2038
- A specialty heart hospital and medical office from 2039-2043
- An acute care hospital from 2044-2048
Phase one will include a 100,000-square-foot grocery store with gas pumps, 44,000 square feet of medical office space and 36,000 square feet of retail space, according to city documents.
The road built out to Old Justin Road won't be considered until Phase 4 of the project and will only be constructed if required to meet the level of service demanded by the Texas Department of Transportation, said Tom Juhn from engineering firm, JBI Partners.
Additionally, a traffic light will be built during Phase 1 on the two north access drives proposed along Robson Ranch Road to deal with the expected increase in traffic, per city documents.
Measuring the impact
According to an economic impact study presented by the developer, over a 30 year period, the development is expected to generate over $17 million in new tax revenue and over $131 million in new sales tax revenue.
The development is also expected to generate over 3,200 jobs.
The backstory
This development first came to Planning & Zoning on Dec. 4 and was tabled. The development was again tabled at the Jan. 8 and Feb. 5 meetings.
In Denton, the city is looking at developing an H-E-B on the Hunter Ranch Property on Robson Ranch Road. If the H-E-B is developed in Denton, then the developer for Heritage would look at bringing in a different grocer, said Heritage property owner Jim Wills.
What’s next?
The proposed development will be brought to Town Council on March 17.
