The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a special use permit for the facility, dubbed Argyle Sports Academy, on June 4.
The overview
Argyle Sports Academy would be located along FM 407 and accessed by Avalon Boulevard, Hampshire Drive and Gateway Boulevard. It would be constructed on a 2.35-acre lot within Argyle Landing, a community of 198 single-family homes currently being developed.
The sports facility is planned to be constructed in two phases. Phase 1 would have 24,000 square feet of pickleball and badminton courts. Phase 2 would add 9,600 square feet to the building and four additional courts to accommodate a total of 20 badminton and pickleball courts. The facility will also include a pro shop.
The impact
The facility will be like the Frisco Badminton Academy, which trains athletes in badminton. Two of the athletes that trained at that Frisco center became the first U.S. Olympians to win a medal in badminton in Paris, said Karri Reddy, who serves as the principal CEO at the Frisco Badminton Academy. The facility would also hold tournaments, which could see athletes from all over America.
Additionally, memberships and everything sold in the pro shop generate sales tax for the city, Reddy added.
More details
The 15-foot sanitation sewer easement along Gateway Boulevard limited where the applicant could plant trees and add other landscaping, which meant the developer could not meet the town requirements for landscaping.
The Planning and Zoning Commission made a recommendation that the applicant plant the trees necessary to meet town standards elsewhere on the property or pay the equivalent amount of trees to the Argyle tree reforestation fund, which could allow the town to plant more trees somewhere else in the future.
The landscaping includes a 25-foot buffer along Gateway Boulevard. The developer also included one tree per 30 feet, according to town documents. Additionally, the development has 4.84 acres of open space adjacent to the property, which is a part of the Argyle Landing development.
Argyle staff asked the developer to redo their traffic impact study from 2021 when the Argyle Landing development was approved to make sure this facility didn’t spur more traffic than initial projected for the development. The trips generated are expected to be 258 cars during peak p.m. hours for Argyle Landing with the inclusion of this facility, which is two trips less than what was determined in 2021, per town documents.
Looking ahead
The item will be considered by Argyle Town Council on June 16. Additionally, the infrastructure for Argyle Landing is expected to be completed by March 2026, Wicks said.
