Frisco Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved updated plans for The Mix at an Aug. 22 meeting.
The approval comes weeks after commissioners postponed their vote July 25 to allow project applicants and city staff to resolve some lingering issues, including minimum office tower heights and the timeline for building residential, retail and office spaces.
All of the city’s concerns were addressed in the new plans, Senior Planner Jonathan Hubbard said.
“I'm excited about this project,” Commissioner Ed Kelly said. “I'm happy to see it finally come together.”
The details
The agreements made between project representatives and the city will ultimately lead to a better product, The Mix Project Manager Tim Campbell said.
Here is a quick look at what will be included in The Mix:
- 650 hotel rooms
- 3,299 multifamily residential units
- 2.4 million square feet of office and retail space
- A grocery store
- More than 16 acres of open space
- An underground parking garage
If approved by Frisco City Council, The Mix would replace the existing planned development Wade Park, a failed planned development approved for the space in 2015.
Wade Park ultimately fell through due to financial issues, leaving behind an empty space and a large hole where an underground parking garage was never finished.
“I do have a little bit of sympathy for [the developers] since there is such an enormous financial burden with a potentially $175 million hole in the ground,” Commissioner Jake Petras said.
The financial burden developers may have adopted was not a factor in the commission’s approval, Commissioner Jon Kendall said.
Keep in mind
The Mix is expected to be less dense than Wade Park, which could mean less traffic overall, Transportation Planning Manager Joel Fitts said.
“It will still be a fair amount of traffic, a lot of traffic, but it will be less impact than what the original plan was,” Fitts said.
City staff received two project input forms opposing the project before the Aug. 22 meeting. However, no citizens spoke during the item’s public hearing.
Stay tuned
Council is expected to vote on The Mix in September. If approved, construction on the development could begin shortly after, Campbell said.
“We’d like to start building this year,” Campbell said.
