"I am really passionate about downtown," Council Member Angelia Pelham said. "It feels like it's the land that time forgot."
During the work session, the project was split into three pieces: Main Street, Fourth Street Plaza, and Elm Street. Each section of the project currently has a $5 million budget, for a $15 million price tag for the whole project.
Design highlights for the Main Street portion of the project included 20-foot sidewalks, trees, steel planters and brick pavers for roads. About 30% of the design phase for this portion of the project has been completed, according to the presentation to council. This portion of the project also has a proposed cost of $2 million per block for a total of $10 million. A start date has not been determined, but the project is expected to take one year to complete.
Feedback on the Main Street portion of the project from council was that they support the pedestrian experience with ample sidewalks, but asked the design firm to come back with a cost breakdown of what features could be put on Main Street at each price point.
For the Fourth Street Plaza portion of the project, design highlights included restrooms and open space for events. Approximately 30% of the design phase has been completed and it has a proposed cost of between $7 million and $8 million. A start date has not been determined, but the project is expected to take 18 months to two years to complete.
Feedback from council was that they support creating bathroom structures and the aesthetics of the performance state.
Design highlights for the Elm Street portion of the project include brick pavers for roads, sidewalks, trees and lighting. Approximately 95% of the design phase of this portion has been completed and it has a proposed cost of $5 million. City staff said the project is ready to be sent out for bids with the expectation work would begin in the fall and last nine months.
Council was in favor of the design and suggested Elm Street move forward as the potential first phase of the project.
"It feels like we talk about downtown and Main Street, we get really hot and heavy, and then like nine months go by, and we do it again,” Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said during the session. “How do we finish this?”
The mayor asked that Kimley-Horn and Mesa Design Group take the feedback they received from council members and come back in “a month or two” with a breakdown of costs for each portion of the project.
The next public work session for council is scheduled for June 21.
