The overview
The proposed plan consists of three new multitenant, single-story buildings on nearly 2 acres located at 409 US 377 S., Argyle.
The front building along US 377 will be 13,600 square feet, and the two buildings in the back of the property will be nearly 5,000 square feet, according to town documents. All three buildings will be connected with a pedestrian path.
“Our hope is to be a good neighbor and to really do something special here in town that fits well with trying to create a look that's got a continuity to it,” said a representative at Colo Development Partners, the developer for the project.
The current buildings will be torn down, Director of Community Development Harrison Wicks said. A representative of Colo Development Partners reached out to businesses on that property, which include Argyle Party and Gifts and Holtman Designworks, so that owners could make accommodations.
The building that housed 407 Nutrition, which used to be a train depot, will be moved for historical preservation, Director of Community Development Harrison Wicks said.
Though no tenants were revealed, a representative of Colo Development Partners said that their tenant mix currently in Argyle is typically locally owned businesses.
“Almost every business that's moved into town is in one of our buildings,” he said.
The development will also include lights and electricity plugs for the Argyle Farmers Market and parking for the Argyle Nature Trail, Wicks said.
More details
Currently the site plan has proposed 93 parking spaces, and the town requires 118 spaces, with 16% of the spaces at the front of the property facing US 377, Wicks said.
“I think a lot of that could be solved by shared parking agreements with adjacent properties,” Wicks said. “For instance, the professional depot building has a pretty substantial-sized parking lot on the south that connects to this property.”
There are 170 parking spaces located on all the properties, including the developments in adjacent lots, according to the Colo Development Partners representative. Colo Development Partners owns the property adjacent to the proposed development, he said.
The town is working with the developer to create an agreement that allows for shared parking across the different lots, Town Manager Mike Sims said.
“We have a parking problem,” Little Joe’s Farmstead owner Jim Reid said. “You bring another restaurant next door [and] it's going to be a problem for all of us. We need to make sure we have proper access to [the adjacent] property.”
The development agreement in negotiation would also allow for the developer to plant trees off-site on nearby properties, including The Argyle Nature Trail and the future US 377 median, Sims said.
The developer proposed this development in an attempt to unite the different properties on the lots and create cross-access from the Rapid Med Urgent Care to the professional depot building, a representative of Colo Development Partners said. After US 377 is reconstructed, there will be a median, which will have one access for those turning left into the retail buildings located from Cook Street to FM 407, according to Texas Department of Transportation documents.
What they’re saying
Commissioners were largely not in favor of the development due to the amount of variances the developer was requesting.
“The big issue here is just a number of variances,” Commissioner Jody Johnson said. “Much of it sounds like it is being addressed by a development agreement, which we don't know the terms of yet.”
The variances include lighting for the Argyle Farmers Market, more than 10% parking along US 377, less overall parking than town standards require and no landscaping at the front of the property, Wicks said.
“It looks like a really nice development,” Commissioner Marilyn Lewis said. “I’m sure you got the right paints to make sure it’s going to blend in with Little Joe’s, which we love. I just think that there is not going to be enough parking.”
The Municipal Development District agreed to give the developer $300,000 so that this area can be redeveloped, blends in with Little Joe’s and provides electricity for the Argyle Farmers Market, Sims said.
“I have a really hard time understanding why Argyle would want this at all and why we're paying [$300,000] potentially to have it,” Commissioner Michael Udovic said. “It just seems like yet another strip mall.”
Looking ahead
Argyle Town Council will consider the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation at a special meeting Oct. 14, Town Attorney Brenda McDonald said.
If the council votes to deny the proposed development, then the developer will likely drop the proposal, a Colo Development Partners representative said.
If council approves the development, then construction will begin early 2026, a representative from Colo Development Partners said.
