The Link is estimated to generate $7 million a year in property tax revenue and $3 million a year in sales tax revenue once fully built out. The 2 million to 2.5 million square feet of office space would attract between 8,000 and 10,000 jobs, according to project estimates. And an untold number of other jobs would be created at the site for the restaurant, retail, hospitality, wellness, medical and entertainment uses planned there.
Council Member Will Sowell said this project checks a lot of the boxes for Frisco.
“Who wouldn’t want this development in their city?” he asked.
Mayor Jeff Cheney said the developers took an odd-shaped plot of land with a flood plain in the middle of it and created what is expected to be a world-class project.
“We’re sitting here today [talking] about potentially building a $1 billion development because of the halo effect of the PGA,” Cheney said.
The May 18 vote was the third time that the nearly 240-acre project had come before City Council. In two previous meetings, the project was tabled after some council members expressed concerns with density and the timing of the trail construction.
The approved plan has 150 fewer residential units than the original request. The plan allows for up to 2,206 multifamily units, at least 500 of which must use concrete and steel construction. The revisions also allow for up to 500 single-family and cottage homes.
In addition, the developers agreed to construct the 3.5-mile hike and bike trail during the first phase of construction. The trail must be completed before the first certificate of occupancy is issued.
Project representative Clay Roby called the trail “the heartbeat of the development” that will connect The Link to the resort-style development that will be the new home of the PGA.
“We’ve created ... a large pedestrian promenade that goes through the center of the development, ensuring that it’s a very walkable mixed-use property,” said Roby, a managing director at Stillwater Capital.
Council Member Shona Huffman said a lot of work went into the final plans for The Link.
“We can’t let down our guard. We still have to push for better. And that’s what we did here tonight,” she said after the meeting. “I really do appreciate that the developer worked really hard with us to get better.”
Cheney said the council took a long-range view of the community in approving a project that will affect generations to come.
“This is a project we should be celebrating,” he said. “This should be an exciting day in Frisco’s history.”
